Opinions on sex addiction

13 Comments

I have just read that American Psychiatric Association decided NOT to include "sex addiction" into the DSM V manual, which I personally consider a clever decision.
I am interested in your opinions on this issue. So what is your opinion on sex addiction? Is it:
-a real illness, medical diagnosis, similar to drug addictions
-just a metaphor meaning that "sex addicts" have some troubles with sexual issues, e.g. they cannot resit temptation, they love sex "too much", but not a real medical disorder, not comparable to drug addictions
-a complete nonsense, just another fable in the hands of moralists, religious zealots or pharmatheutical industries etc...

I´m male - sex addiction is a real illness 60
I´m male - sex addiction is just a metaphor 45
I´m male - sex addiction is nonsense 40
I´m female - sex addiction is a real illness 35
I´m female - sex addiction is just a metaphor 30
I´m female - sex addiction is nonsense 14
other - please comment 4
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Comments ( 13 )
  • dom180
    11 years ago

    I guess I think it is "real", as much as you can say any mental health problem is "real". All anything needs to be for it to be considered a disorder is for it to be a mental state which very damaging to the quality of life of whoever has it (or to their family, friends, animals and people who live around them because they're violent or abusive etc.). That's all it has to be, and there's no question sex addiction can absolutely to damaging to the quality of life of the person with it (because they can't hold down a non-open relationship) and their partner (because of the likelihood of being cheated on).

    The term "sex addiction" is a misnomer, though. It's thought of scientifically as "hypersexuality disorder", not an addiction in the strictest sense. That term was just coined by the media to sensationalise the issue, as it always does.

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  • Beanbag10
    11 years ago

    The world is getting so scared of offending people that anything that isn't normal is suddenly an illness.

    It's like fat people being told their obesity is a result of aggressive marketing by fast food chains and society's unwillingness to challenge this. BOLLOCKS, you're a fat fucker because you gobble down burgers all day long and your free will is the driving force behind it. Would everybody be happier if we were handed a government approved mandatory meal list that was enforced by law? No.

    And in schools, you can't "fail" any more, you're simply "deferring success". What a load of shit. You're a dumbass.

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    • quentari
      11 years ago

      In what country did they bring in the "deferring success" thing? I would LOVE to be told I just "deferred success" rather than failed my class lol,

      Kind of agree with the obesity thing though, for every 100 obese people only 2 have a legitimate medical reason for being so fat, everyone else just has poor free will (like me. I'm a little chubbier, and that's because I eat too much junk food. I know and accept this.)

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      • kinklu
        11 years ago

        When I got married, my weight went from 160# to well over 220#. I'm 5'11". I was lucky to have a wife who could cook well, but it caused me to gain weight over the years. Working with my doctor and friend, I lost weight until I got down to 160# again. I found something more interesting than eating. Instead of going to the refrigerator to search for a snack, walk up to your lover with that certain gleam in your eye.

        If people think I'm a sex addict thats OK. It's better for my health than obesity and a hell of a lot more fun.

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  • GoraIntoDesiGals
    10 years ago

    I think it's just a metaphor and only a problem when you get none as is my case. Nothing would make me happier than actually having sex all day :-)

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  • White___October
    10 years ago

    I don't know what causes a sex addiction, but I'm sure it exists. I'm totally addicted to sex myself and not afraid to admit it.

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  • Terence_the_viking
    11 years ago

    Oh boo hoo is this what rapists are gonna use as an excuse now?

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  • Quizguy
    11 years ago

    I don't think it was included because sex is in our DNA. It seems to me that I think about it quite a bit. Does that make me a sex addict? Really it's all just part of life isn't it?

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  • Thexoutcast
    11 years ago

    I think it is to be taken seriously. Especially with people who have sexual trauma from the past. It can have severe psychological effects. I know from experience and the way I treated sex was directly parallel to how others treated certain drugs.

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  • LordHawHaw
    11 years ago

    In my opinion it's not real. People with no self-discipline just invent these so called 'illnesses' to justify themselves, they blame what goes wrong on something else while they have to look in the mirror.

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  • bristexai
    11 years ago

    Partly related:
    If ther is a plague plague that decimates the population, and it is an STD, people will not keep from screwing and getting themselves infected. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

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  • MargieRooster
    11 years ago

    Sex addiction for a female can be a blessing, a curse, or even both. It all depends on your personal beliefs and practices.

    Too much sex can spoil, rush, or dull a relationship overtime, and if that is caused by the female, it will tend to leave her embarrassed and lowered self-esteem.

    As long as you know how to control it, (which takes years of practice), a sex addiction can be managed without medication in females. {Of course, this is a statement based on the MAJORITY of nymphomaniacs, not every single one -excluding the extremists-}

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  • quentari
    11 years ago

    It probably wasn't added because people can then use it as a legitimate defense for "I raped this dude/chick, but I have a mental disorder. I'm addicted to sex. I couldn't help it."

    But sex addictions do exist, same as other addictions.

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