Sex is a natural part of life but for those who take it to an extreme and develop unhealthy behaviors, it can harm their health and wellbeing. Despite the fact that there are serious consequences of being a sex addict, sadly the condition still isn’t taken very seriously or discussed openly. The truth is however that it’s no different to and can be just as devastating as an addiction to alcohol or drugs.
The difference between sex for the average person and sex for an addict is that there’s no intimacy involved and they are doing it to try and medicate an uncomfortable emotional state. Addiction is often about shame and low self-esteem – sufferers are simply trying to fill a void in their lives.
Below we discuss some of the most harmful consequences of sexual compulsivity and the impact it can have on the sufferer and those around them.
* Sex addiction can cause a person to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior and make poor decisions. For example, an addict may post an advert online to find people to have sex with. This can expose them to opportunistic criminals who prey on vulnerable individuals.
* Sexual addiction and hyper sexuality increases a person’s risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Because their inhibitions are lowered, their focus is elsewhere and they’re not thinking properly which is more than enough to increase their chances of forgetting to use or choosing not to use protection.
* Someone who is very sexually active with multiple people may come across as incredibly confident to the outside world. Often, this couldn’t actually be further from the truth. A sex addiction can be soul-destroying and it most certainly will eventually erode any self-esteem a person once had – especially if they need to engage in harmful or humiliating behaviors to obtain sex.
* Inability to resist the compulsion to have sex could lead to infidelity or being unable to hold down a relationship. Addiction is highly likely to ruin romantic partnerships and interfere with a sufferer’s daily life because sex will dominate their life. It takes priority over other responsibilities and obligations and sadly, this often comes at a cost.
* As with any addiction, over time your tolerance increases and you therefore need more of the substance or behavior that you’re addicted to. For example, a smoker may start with just a couple cigarettes a day. After a year they may need five cigarettes to get through the day, after another year this may increase to eight per day and so on. This means that sex addicts require an increase in intensity, frequency or risk level in order to have the same effect. As a result, they often lose control of their behavior. It may even escalate to illegal activities such as prostitution, sexual harassment, rape or molestation in order to satisfy sexual urges
If you think that you could have a sex addiction, our New Beginnings Program can help you to get your life back on track. Please feel free to contact us for more information about recognizing the symptoms and how we can help you with sex addiction counseling.
