Table of contents:
- Signs of a person experiencing sex addiction
- What causes a person to become addicted to sex?
- Therapy to cure sex addiction
- 1. Individual therapy
- 2.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- 3. Psychodynamic therapy
- 4.Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- 5. Group therapy
Sex addiction is also known as hypersexual disorder. It is characterized by sexual thoughts and actions that occur continuously, increase, and have a negative impact on the life of a person who experiences it.
Usually, people who are addicted to sex struggle to control and delay their sexual desires and actions. Most sex addicts do not know how to achieve true intimacy and satisfaction, even though this can build a mutual bond with their partner.
Signs of a person experiencing sex addiction
People who are sex addicted can usually express themselves in many ways, so you need to look for possible signs and warnings that you or your partner may be a sex addict.
Kathryn A. Cunningham, PhD, director Center for Addiction Research at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, identified some of the following signs and behaviors of sexual addiction:
- Everything about sex dominates your life, and easily overrides other activities.
- You like to have sex on the phone (phone and chat), online sex on computers, frequent sex with sex workers, indulge in pornography, or even be proud to show your sex in front of many people (exhibitionism).
- You love to masturbate, and you do it a lot
- You have multiple sexual partners
- In extreme cases, you engage in sexually charged criminal activity, including stalking, raping, or even engaging in incestuous sex.
What causes a person to become addicted to sex?
Many sex addicts report that they were formed as a result of some form of abuse or neglect as children. Over time, they perceive themselves to be disoriented or damaged.
In addition, genetic inheritance can also affect the causes of a person to become sex addicts. For example, their parents may have had sex with addicts or may have been sex addicts in the past. This suggests that genetic and environmental factors may play a role. The presence of emotional stress and pain also triggers compulsive sexual behavior.
Therapy to cure sex addiction
If a person is suffering from hypersexuality, aka sex addiction, he needs counseling in the area of addiction. Sex addiction is a clear situation where a person needs the help of a therapist, a community to share with, and even a motivational book to recover. In the end, no one else can make a sex addict heal, but only himself can push and act to get well.
There are several treatment options for people who are addicted to sex, including the following:
1. Individual therapy
You should spend about 30-60 minutes with a mental health therapist. Here, you and your therapist will focus on your compulsive sexual behavior and co-occurring disorders.
2.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This CBT therapy will put forward the idea that concludes that your behavior, emotions, and thoughts are interrelated and work to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
3. Psychodynamic therapy
This therapy, associating the existence of memories and conflicts that unconsciously affect your sexual addiction behavior. This psychodynamic therapy will reveal the influence of early childhood on current habits or current factors that trigger it on current sex addiction.
4.Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
This therapy basically consists of 4 parts, namely group skills training, individual care, DBT coaching, and consultation. These four stages are designed to teach four skills: alertness, tolerance of harm, interpersonal effectiveness, and regulating the addict's emotions.
5. Group therapy
This group therapy will be led by a professional therapist. Group therapy is designed to replace negative and harmful behaviors with positive pro-social behaviors. This therapeutic practice also gives addicts confidence that they are not alone and can support each other to heal.
