“Am I a Sex Addict?” Learn to Read the Signs According to a Sex Therapist
“Sex addiction is not about sex or orgasm. It is about the search for sex and the desire for orgasm.
It’s a process addiction.”
Addictions, specifically process addictions, are not defined by the number of times a person engages in a certain behavior, nor are they defined by the specific type of behavior.
What makes an addiction an addiction is the reason why people keep engaging in said behavior despite the impact that it has on their everyday life. The impact is often negative and destructive and the reasons can be traced to a wide array of emotional issues.
Drawing a line to try and establish how much sex is too much sex is tricky and almost impossible since every person has their own views both about what classifies as sex and about the number of encounters they consider excessive.
It’s too much when YOU feel it’s too much, and it could be an addiction or compulsion if it starts to keep you from delivering in your everyday life.
When it comes to having an addiction to sex, we asked Dr. Kate Balestrieri if there were any signs to tell when our relationship with sex is becoming a damaging one. Here are a few behaviors that could indicate a problem:
“Am I a Sex Addict?”
Is your relationship with sexuality causing any negative consequences in your life? Are you having a difficult time course-correcting those negative consequences?
Those negative consequences can look like:
Self-inflicting a physical injury from compulsive solo sex
Passing an STI to a partner as a consequence of engaging in sex outside with relationship
Putting your jobs at risk for having inappropriate content on a work computer
If your relationship with sex feels unhealthy to you, check in with an expert about it. Many people struggle with compulsive behaviors, sexual and otherwise. Set aside shame and remember that what you say to a mental health professional or therapist is confidential.
