Michael Porter, LICSW
Licensed Sex & Love Addiction Therapist
What is Sex Addiction?
Understanding compulsive sexual behaviors, common warning signs, and how professional treatment helps regain self-control.
Definition & Dynamics of Sex Addiction
Sex addiction is characterized by compulsive sexual thoughts, urges, or behaviors that become uncontrollable and continue despite severe negative consequences to one's health, career, finances, or personal relationships.
Just like substance use disorders, sexual compulsions function as a primary mechanism to numb emotional pain, escape stress, or cope with trauma. Over time, the individual builds tolerance, requiring increasingly riskier behaviors to achieve the same emotional release.
Common Signs & High-Risk Behaviors Include:
- Compulsive use of online pornography or cybersex that interferes with daily responsibilities.
- Repeated extra-marital affairs, anonymous sexual encounters, or engaging with sex workers.
- Inability to stop or reduce sexual behaviors despite explicit promises to oneself or a partner.
- Elaborate lying, living a double life, and feelings of overwhelming shame or guilt following acting-out.
- Prioritizing sexual pursuits over family, career, physical safety, or legal boundaries.
How Treatment Helps
Recovery from sex addiction is not about eliminating healthy human sexuality, but about achieving healthy, congruent boundaries and restoring authentic intimacy.
Sex Addiction — Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about compulsive sexual behavior and how it is treated.
Reach Out for Confidential Sex Addiction Counseling
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