Sex Addiction
Sex Addiction Recovery Treatment in Center City Philadelphia. Do you want to learn more? Are you curious about what is a sex addiction? Or how to know if you simply have a high sex drive Take our Sex Addiction Quiz Or if you have longer, try the following exercise to figure it out for yourself. If you’ve already figured out you do have a sex addiction, and need some help telling your spouse about it, read this tip. Maybe you feel like there are obstacles that you must first learn to overcome before telling anybody.
Before making an appointment at the Center for Growth / Sex Therapy in Philadelphia, ask yourself the question: “Do I really want to recover?” http://www.sextherapyinphiladelphia.com/sexaddictionrecover.htm You may not be ready to fully recover, and prefer quick fixes, like how to stop masturbating at work – this could help you minimize negative consequences. Lastly, you could be a spouse trying to figure out if your partner has a sex addiction
We at the Center for Growth / Sex Therapy in Philadelphia believe sex addictions are best understood as a form of an intimacy disorder. Addicts typically experience compulsive sexual thoughts and/or actions. For example, sex addicts compulsively masturbate, view pornographic material, surf the web, engage in phone sex, swing, have affairs, attend strip clubs, frequent massage parlors, engage in voyeurism and—in the extreme—rape people. The common element among sex addicts is that they feel powerless to stop / control their behavior. It’s as if the behaviors are controlling them. Frequently, the sexual behaviors are progressive. Even as sex addicts suffer the natural consequences of their behaviors: poor self esteem, depression, loss of interest in things not sexual, financial problems, relationship troubles, health risks, job loss and possible arrest, addicts are still unable to listen to their rational self. They are unable to stop.
Sex addicts organize their world around sex. Sex addicts interact with people as a way to facilitate their ability to obtain sexual pleasure. Sexual addiction takes up a lot of energy. As their energy investment increases, a pattern of behavior tends to emerge. Specifically, the sex addict begins to engage in ritualistic behaviors as part of their “acting out.” Though it’s different from person to person, the ritualistic behaviors may be flirting, masturbating, cruising online, having one-night stands, swinging, engaging in sex with a prostitute, and even raping someone. Sex addiction is not about the actual sexual behavior, but about the anticipation of sexual behavior, the temporary relief felt during sexual behavior, and the denial of feelings while being sexual. Most notably, after the sexual acting out, there is usually some combination of: remorse, guilt, depression, despair, shame, hopelessness, confusion and resolve not to do it again. Then the cycle repeats itself.
While the recovery process is different for each sexual addict, there are some themes. Recovery typically involves the following four categories: 1) Detoxing; 2) De-traumatizing; 3) Centering & Healing; and 4) Sexual Health. We define Detoxing as stopping the behavior and learning to tolerate the uncomfortable feelings: boredom, discomfort, anxiety, emptiness, pain, and sadness. De-traumatizing is best understood as identifying and exploring past events that have contributed to the uncomfortable feelings that the sexual addiction masks. Centering and Healing refers to learning to be comfortable with self and identifying new coping mechanisms to reduce negative feelings. Sexual Health is defined as learning ways in which to express one’s own sexuality. Full recovery is not celibacy, but rather developing the skill set needed to be sexually intimate with self and others.
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