Sex addiction comes in many forms. Many people don’t realize that the disease is related to early childhood development and that it becomes progressively worse without treatment. However, a sex addiction treatment program can make a difference. Reach out to Promises Behavioral Health at 844.875.5609 today to learn more about the symptoms of sex addiction.
Sex Addiction Can Involve an Inability to Make Healthy Connections
Researchers believe the problem often has to do with an individual’s attachment style, which is established in the way they bond―or do not―with primary caregivers. Insecure attachment occurs if a child experiences trauma, abandonment, or any other negativity from caregivers that causes early trust issues. As infants, they become avoidant, and this pattern continues into adulthood as they seek relationships without emotional attachment.
Sex Addiction Can Involve Relying on Masturbation
Young boys with attachment disorders learn to self-soothe through masturbation and many discover sex on the screen. Many have never held a girl’s hand or asked anyone out on a date. They isolate themselves instead. This extreme behavior has the same impact on the brain as if they were doing drugs every day. Their brain isn’t developing or learning to socialize so they grow up with few or no tools for healthy relational intimacy.
Contact with Women Exists in Fantasy Worlds
Their concept of relationships is distorted because it’s based on porn actresses or sex workers. One man explained his compulsion with strippers: “I pay them money and they tell me what I want to hear, and they do whatever I want.” If a strip club or sex club is the first physical exposure to women, they don’t develop the skills for normal relationships. Through paying sex workers, they develop a false sense of control over sexual relationships.
Porn and Sex Addiction Symptoms
As the disease progresses, their arousal template expands along with the need for riskier, more taboo sex. They become bored with vanilla sex and look for anything that will give them a high. They may engage in fetishes, risky public sex, or illegal activities. They become less and less able to get aroused by their real-life partner, if they have one, and more reliant on porn or masturbation for sexual release.
Sex Addiction Symptoms: Leading a Double Life
True intimacy remains elusive and married individuals with sex addiction look for ways to fulfill compulsions in front of their computers―or outside of the home―hiding their activities from spouses. They may:
- Invent a business trip in order to sequester themselves in a hotel room to excessively view porn
- Spend hours on the Internet
- Hire sex workers
Because they have this compartmentalized double life, they are always on guard about what they say to their significant others for fear of a verbal slip up. Honesty, communication .and intimacy are impossible in this scenario.
Help for Sex Addiction Is Available at Promises
Sexual addiction is an outward grab for inner security. Recovery is discovering that the important things have been inside all along. The process of recovery requires learning how to be honest and vulnerable. If the acting out ceases and sobriety begins, underlying issues that have been medicated will surface and need to be addressed in a healthy, holistic manner. For many, the bonding that happens, especially on an inpatient basis, is the first time they haven’t shamefully hidden who they are. At that point, recovery is possible.
At Promises Behavioral Health, you’ll find a team of compassionate addiction professionals who understand what you’re going through and are committed to helping you overcome your challenges. Our individualized treatment plans for sex addiction are designed to give you the best chance for a successful recovery. Contact us today at 844.875.5609 to learn more about our programs and how we can help you get started on the road to recovery.