Sex Addiction
Addiction, a compulsive psychological need for a habit-forming substance according to an online dictionary (p). In this instance, the substance is sex or masturbation. A sex addict needs progressively more and more explicit pornographic material in order to become aroused. Their behavior becomes centered on different sexual experiences and the desire to attain them. The person cannot control their sexual appetites resulting in severe consequences for themselves and others. Sex addiction is a lifelong problem that needs to be contained in order to avoid continued complications. Shame, secretiveness, and abusiveness in a person accompany the addiction. Treatment is available in different forms; however, because this subject is relatively new a cure is not known. An important question is arising around this subject is whether or not sex addiction results from nature or nurture.
Patrick Carnes, Ph.D., the first person to identify and treat this affliction, hypothesized sex addiction results from a person needing certain neuro-chemical changes (4). Everybody experiences certain neuro-chemical changes that make the physical act of sex feel pleasurable. A normal person produces this stimulus, attains the natural high, and is satisfied. An addict, however, uses this chemical to escape pain or seek relief from stress (4). This theory supports a nature argument because there is nothing a person can do about it. Their body creates an altered response to a completely normal act and fosters an uncontrollable need to experience sex. It is comparable to an alcoholic's reaction to alcohol (4). The sex addict needs this chemical to be released in order to desensitize themselves from their problems. This is not healthy, but i...
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...ttp://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.sexualrecovery.com
4) Sexual Addiction Home Page , Home page with basic information
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.sexaddictionhelp.com
5) Sexaholics Anonymous Home Page , Home page for support group
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.sa.org
6) Sexhelp.com Home Page , Home page for Dr. Carnes
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.sexhelp.com
7) Porn-Free.com Home Page , Web site about religious recovery help
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.sexhelp.com
8) Sex addiction FAQ , Home page with basic information about different aspects of addiction
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web2/www.sexhelp.com
9)Page on Dictionary.com, definition of addiction
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=addiction
Patrick Carnes’ book offers a real life look at the problem of sexual addiction. He used
Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2000.
There are many different definitions in which people provide regarding addiction. May (1988) describes that addiction “is a state of compulsion, obsession, or preoccupation that enslaves a person’s will and desire” (p. 14). Individuals who suffer from addiction provide their time and energy toward other things that are not healthy and safe. The book
Gelvin, James L. The Modern Middle East: A History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 1991. Print.
Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. New York: Scribner,
Sex is a beautiful thing that happens between two people, but sometimes sex can become addictive, and like with any other addiction, it can ruin lives. Patricia is in her mid-thirties, and to those who know her, she is a soccer mom with a successful career. But after her marriage ended due to her husband’s affair, Patricia became insecure, and started exploring dating sites on the internet – soon, Patricia was going on dates, sex dates - and in an interview with the Philadelphia Weekly, she admits that she is addicted to sex, and there is a problem. The American Psychiatric Association and Diagnostic (APAD) and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) don’t recognize the abuse of sex as an addiction. Although not recognize as an addiction, the abuse of sex has the same qualities as drug addiction and should be recognized as a medical condition.
George F. Koob defines addiction as a compulsion to take a drug without control over the intake and a chronic relapse disorder (1). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association defined "substance dependence" as a syndrome basically equivalent to addiction, and the diagnostic criteria used to describe the symptoms of substance dependence to a large extent define compulsion and loss of control of drug intake (1). Considering drug addiction as a disorder implies that there are some biological factors as well as social factors.
... tempted to falsely inflate earnings is to take away their personal gains, if the company's stocks go up. I believe that when upper level management has too much incentive based on personal financial gain, which is directly based on the performance of the company; it compromises their judgments. I think that upper level management should not be allowed to receive stock options or to even own stock in the company as the financial statements would provide a neutral, bias-free report. Management would have no reason to "cook the books." I also feel that any management who still decides to falsify documents needs to be held more accountable for their actions and receive tougher punishments. I think that these strict guidelines would help the people in the United States and people all over the world feel more confident in investing their money into the stock market.
Addiction is a term that has traditionally been used to refer to psychiatric syndrome that is caused by illicit drug use. Actually, addition is the only psychiatric condition whose symptoms are regarded as an illegal activity. In most cases, this term is described on the basis of drug use, which is the main focus of many research and treatment programs. Generally, drug addiction has significant negative effects on individuals using the drug and those around them such as family and friends. Family and friends are usually forced to watch their loved ones wilt away in illicit drug use. While addiction has traditionally been regarded as a psychiatric condition, there are numerous debates that have emerged on whether it’s a disease or merely an immoral act by a selfish individual. My standpoint is that addiction is actually a disease because of the observations I have made on how illicit drug use takes control of the addict. I have watched my brother battle prescription drug addiction and eventually passed away from an overdose at the age of thirty-two years. As a result, I believe that addiction is a disease because it changes the functioning of the addict’s brain. In essence, studies have demonstrated the effects of chemical substances on the brain and how addiction affects feelings, thoughts, and actions.
While alleged sex addictions have existed for many years, they have only recently been accepted as valid excuses for sexual deviancy. Attitudes toward sex addiction in the past offer a stark contrast to how it is viewed today, as the constantly medicalizing society insists on putting everything under the technical microscope. Sex addiction is commonly associated with a person’s inability to control his sexual behavior, implying an abnormally high sex drive and obsession with sex which have negative effects on his personal life (MedicineNet 2007, 1). Rather than breaking down the science behind the disorder, a customary practice in today’s medicalized society, older attitudes towards sex addiction placed it under the same light as alcoholism, where a lack of control and unwillin...
Toates, F. (2010) ‘The nature of addictions: scientific evidence and personal accounts’ in SDK228 The science of the mind: investigating mental health, Book 3, Addictions, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 1-30.
Main Point: What defines an addiction? According to Psychology Today, “Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance…. or engages in an activity….that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health.” This can range anywhere from drug use to eating disorders, to gambling, to even texting in today’s generation. Shocking to say the least, especially when most people do not even know they are addicted or are an addict until they realize this definition.
In life there are many people, things, or places that we experience that have influenced our lives so unique and powerful there unlike any other. Some women experience such alteration with the birth of a new baby. While for another person this life alteration may be making partner at a law firm. Though everyone experiences life on a different level one thing is for certain, not everything in life is a good experience. Everything in life is balanced, and with every joy comes some form of heartache. For some people it takes an emotional toll so incoherent that it never fades. After World War I many men experienced the let down affiliated with the war, and discovered there fight for admiration and loyalty led to nothing more than a expulsion of lost values, thus leading to the “lost generation.”
Drug abuse dates as far back as the Biblical era, so it is not a new phenomenon. “The emotional and social damage and the devastation linked to drugs and their use is immeasurable.” The ripple of subversive and detrimental consequences from alcoholism, drug addictions, and addictive behavior is appalling. Among the long list of effects is lost productivity, anxiety, depression, increased crime rate, probable incarceration, frequent illness, and premature death. The limitless consequences include the destruction to personal development, relationships, and families (Henderson 1-2). “Understandably, Americans consider drug abuse to be one of the most serious problems” in the fabric of society. And although “addiction is the result of voluntary drug use, addiction is no longer voluntary behavior, it’s uncontrollable behavior,” says Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Torr 12-13).