Six Types of Sexual Addiction *

Six Types of Sexual Addiction - Douglas Weiss, Ph.D.

Addiction is characterized by profound craving for a drug or behavior that so dominates the life of an addict that virtually nothing can stop the person from engaging in the addictive behavior. This program covers the definition of six types of sexual addiction, the etiology of the problem, and looks at some treatment methods. The explosion of the Internet into the day-to-day lives of your average Joe has transformed the use and popularity of pornography and has ratcheted up the rates of cyber-porn addiction. Those vulnerable to sexual addiction no longer have to leave the safety of their own homes and confront embarrassment and shame about buying porn; they simply surf from their home computer or hand-held device Why is this so addictive and so powerful? We know that the most powerful sexual part of our bodies is what lives between our ears! Exposure to these images and experiences activates the pleasure centers of the brain and if the firing of synapse in these pleasure centers is excessive, a faulty wiring system can set in. Addictions actually hijack our reward systems, causing a reprogramming of the reward system with sometimes lasting brain changes. What eventually motivates the person to seek treatment is that this behavior begins to significantly affect his mood, functioning or and/or relationship. Mental anguish, profound worry and dismay, shame, anxiety and depression accompany this addiction as well as feelings of being out of control. Our speaker in this interview has been in the forefront of treatment of sexual addictions and he has developed a model describing six types of sexual addictions, which he shares with us in this interview.