As well as taking an emotional toll on both the sufferer and the people closest to them, sex addiction does sadly often lead to a number of health consequences.
Below we have listed some of the most common physical and mental problems which can arise if sex addiction treatment isn’t sought out in a timely fashion.
Depression
Sexual addiction often leads to depression because it causes so many overwhelming feelings including anxiety, loneliness, remorse and guilt.
To make matters worse, for however long your addiction has been present, you will have been facing moral conflicts and contradictions between your ethical values and the behaviors you haven’t been able to control. A sex addiction counsellor in Toronto will be able to help you recover from the addiction as well as any mental health conditions which may have occurred as a result of it.
Low self-esteem
Someone who is sexually active with a number of people may come across as being very confident to the outside world but 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.
It’s not uncommon for those with sexual addiction to suffer from low self-esteem before they enter sex addiction treatment. Aside from the factors mentioned above, this could also be the result of losing your job, friends, family or partner or because you’re ashamed of the fact that you haven’t been able to control your addiction.
Other emotional side effects
Because addiction can be so isolating, you may suffer from a number of other mental and emotional side effects including:
- Loss of productivity at home or work
- Loss of interest in the things you used to love (such as a hobby or seeing friends)
- An increased chance of abusing other substances or behaviors (such as gambling or developing an eating disorder)
- Financial problems caused by overspending in an attempt to satisfy your addiction or because you’ve lost your job
- Not fulfilling your commitments in both your personal or professional life
- Losing your job, friends or family as a result
Developing other addictions
The majority of people with sexual addiction suffer from other addictions or eating disorders as well. Chances are that until you recover from sex addiction, the feelings you’re battling will cause you to turn to drugs, alcohol, gambling or food in a bid to help you cope with the painful emotions that are present.
Sexually transmitted diseases
If you’re engaging in dangerous sexual behaviors, you’re going to be putting yourself at risk of catching any number of diseases. There are many health consequences of sex addiction and some of them can be potentially fatal including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B and C.
Engaging in risky behaviors
As with any addiction, over time your tolerance increases and you therefore need more of the substance or behavior that you’re addicted to. With sex addiction, sufferers often find that they need to increase the intensity, frequency or risk level in order to achieve the same high that they used to get.
As a result, they often lose control of their behavior. This may even escalate to participating in illegal activities such as prostitution, sexual harassment, rape or molestation just so that they can satisfy their sexual urges.
If you think that you may have a problem and would like more information about sex addiction in Toronto, please feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to help.
