In today’s hyper-active social setup sex addiction has become a prevailing malady.
While a healthy sex life is good for the body, excessive indulgence in the act or obsessing about it can have a negative impact on your personal life.
To define what sex addiction is, in simple words: it is the presence of a strong urge to have sex as often as you can or get sexual gratification via pornography, masturbation, flirting or in severe cases even voyeurism.
This urge manifests through certain behaviour that makes a person a sex addict.
So in case you were wondering if you might be part of the gang, read on to see if the signs are visible in your life.
1. Are you always thinking about it?
Between the two sexes, it is said that men think about sex more than women. But how often is too much? There is no definitive guideline for this but if you have sex on mind when you should be focusing on other things like work or when you are spending time with family or friends then this might be the first indicator of sex addiction.
2. Constantly seeking sexual material
Sex has a strong representation across various media. Whether its newspapers, websites, magazines, music, movies and television. Sex addicts usually seek out sexual content wherever they can. For instance, they might pick up a woman’s magazine only to read through articles on sex, or find they are more excited when intimate or sexually explicit scenes appear in movies or music videos. If you can sit through a love making scene without getting aroused or you don’t find the need to seek out material that is sexual in nature then you are doing fine.
3. Not following the sexual code of conduct
Sex addicts are often prone to cheating out of sheer compulsion. This is planned, proactive and the person indulging in this has very little regard for the consequences. They are ready to risk their personal relationships just to satisfy that urge. Celebrities like Tiger Woods and David Duchovny have wrecked their marriages because of the constant cheating and affairs. You can have a strong sex drive but if it is making you seek out multiple partners then you are seriously risking losing a wife or a girlfriend, not to mention a lot of emotional trauma that is to follow.
4. Regular sex is just not good enough
Nowadays you find the usual routine of love making very boring. There is a need to experiment, try new things and look for new stimuli. A lot of couples do indulge in stuff like this to spice up their sex lives but if this need is compulsive and causing you to do outrageous things, then these are symptoms of sex addiction. For instance, role playing might be a good idea but if you are thinking of swinging then there is a problem.
5. Addiction to porn
If you have a large stash of pornography that you turn to very often for relief or just pure indulgence then this is a sure sign of addiction. Yes porn was cool when you were a teenager but if you have past your teens and are still downloading the latest movies and clips, you need help.
The good news is that sexual addiction can be cured. With therapy and the support of your loved ones you can overcome it and lead a normal life. If you find that help is required, get it fast, before it’s too late.