Do You Believe in Sex Addiction

• Prescott

  ..or is it just a convenient excuse and a part of damage control for people in the public eye.
  
  Tiger claims he suffers from sex addiction as does Steve Phillips, a former ESPN analyst.
• Con_Alma

  ...maybe A-Rod needs to see a therapist too.
• Upper90

  I believe in it, but also do think it's used conveniently as a bailout for those in the public eye.
• derek bomar

  

  umm we're all addicted to sex...I'm more concerned with people who aren't. Those are the weirdos.
• se-alum

  

  Upper90 wrote: I believe in it, but also do think it's used conveniently as a bailout for those in the public eye.

  Agree, as are many other "addictions".
• Skyhook79

  

  Sex addiction is ok as long as it is with your wife (if married) and your wife only.
  
  Tiger and Steve Phillips were both married so I think their "sex addiction" was an excuse.
• SnotBubbles

  I believe in human nature. We are all animals designed to multiply frequently and often.
  
  Some people can control those urges, others can't.
  
  As for me, if it wasn't for my wife...I'd have somewhere around 1,324,492 children.
• Con_Alma

  SnotBubbles wrote:...
  
  Some people can control those urges, others can't.
  
  ...

  Sure they can.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  se-alum wrote:

  Upper90 wrote: I believe in it, but also do think it's used conveniently as a bailout for those in the public eye.

  Agree, as are many other "addictions".

  ^ Both of these!
• ernest_t_bass

  

  SnotBubbles wrote:As for me, if it wasn't for my wife...I'd have somewhere around 1,324,492 children.

  Doubtful, as it takes "two to tango," or something like that. You'd have to find a willing suitor first.
• BoatShoes

  Well, there have been several models of addiction that a "sex addiction" could coincide with. Think about it in the context of an eating disorder. We all, like sex, have a desire to eat generally until we experience satiety. A person with an eating disorder like bulimia, for example, has a desire to be thin or not gain weight or eat at "normal levels", not throw up, but has compulsive desire to eat an abnormally large amount of food beyond normal satisfaction levels we would see on a normal distribution. A person with a sex addiction, might have a desire to be faithful to their husband and retain a happy marriage but then, compulsively pursues sex with another partner.
  
  Those of us who are able to control our compulsions might think about it as a farce, or "all in their head" or a lack of will power...but it's a compulsion beyond that of most of us. Surely all men are compelled to have sex with a fertile, young, attractive woman but most of us are able control this desire in the name of upholding other values such as marriage, fidelity, etc. Others may have a greater compulsion and are less likely to succeed in adhering to other core values.
  
  I imagine that not all celebrities pursue sex outside of marriage purely on an actual compulsion to bang other broads that is beyond their control and that it may be a face saving ruse for many of them but I imagine there's people out there who truly have little hope of resisting trying to bone strange ass.
• queencitybuckeye

  I believe those who classify every weakness as an illness nearly always have a vested interest in doing so.
  
  Is sex addition real? Maybe. A disease? Not a chance.
• Prescott

  If you are addicted to drugs, the goal is to give up drugs.
  
  If you are addicted to sex, the goal is to...........what??
• fan_from_texas

  Sex addiction exists.
  
  Mrs. FFT is a psychotherapist and does some work with sex addicts and sexual addiction groups. While it may be a convenient excuse, it absolutely exists--if you could sit in on one of these sessions and hear what the people say, you'd be convinced. There are people who sincerely want and need help--and are in counseling trying to get it--who continue to practice shockingly destructive behaviors.
  
  It may be a cop-out for people in the public eye (and I've no doubt it's overused as an excuse), but it absolutely exists. Go to a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting sometime if you don't believe me.
• Fab1b

  

  I think it is a cop out!! I am no doubt addicted to sex and don't need sex therapy to tell me that!!
• fan_from_texas

  Prescott wrote: If you are addicted to drugs, the goal is to give up drugs.
  
  If you are addicted to sex, the goal is to...........what??

  The goal is to stop having sex with hundreds of random strangers and picking up STDs.
  
  People who are sex addicts engage in all sorts of behavior that go beyond simple promiscuity--some of these people do stuff that's clearly, painfully stupid to the point of being insane, yet it's an addiction that is tough for them to kick.
• Upper90

  There's a sex addicts anonymous group that meets @ a church down the street from me.
  
  I know that may open itself up to a lot of jokes, but I'm serious.
• fish82

  

  Upper90 wrote: There's a sex addicts anonymous group that meets @ a church down the street from me.
  
  I know that may open itself up to a lot of jokes, but I'm serious.

  Awesome place to pick up chicks...way cheaper than the bars.
• Skyhook79

  

  "It is Obvious that this "addiction" didnt get in the way of these guys success. Usually addiction takes over ones life and causes them to suffer from it."
  
  Steve Phillips was fired from his job at espn because of it and Tiger Woods has lost millions also not to mention the public humuliation.
  Their continued success is very much in jeopardy because of this "addiction".
• ts1227

  

  ccrunner609 wrote: What Tiger has is a character flaw....not an addiction.

  Why can't it be both?
  
  I will never understand why some people have such a binary way of thinking.
• Prescott

  When are affairs defined as poor behavior and when are they defined as an addiction?
  
  Are affairs typical behavior for a sex addict or is the sex addict's behavior more risky?
• fan_from_texas

  Prescott wrote: When are affairs defined as poor behavior and when are they defined as an addiction?
  
  Are affairs typical behavior for a sex addict or is the sex addict's behavior more risky?

  That's a good question, and I'm not really sure of the answer. That's maybe like asking "When is someone getting drunk just poor behavior, and when it is an addiction?" I don't know if there's a clear line.
  
  There are also degrees of sexual addiction. There was a story on 20/20 (I think) on sexual addiction within the last month. One of the people they covered was an upper-middle class professor who would go out to bars every night and have unprotected sex with dozens of random strangers, sometimes dozens of people a week. She didn't want to do it, and she didn't find it particularly enjoyable, but she didn't feel as though she had any options.
  
  I don't know of the technical definitions, though I bet some googling might reveal the DSM diagnostic criteria.
  
  [Edit: Sexual compulsions are listed in the DSM-IV, but sexual addiction is not, though it should be added to the next edition.]
• sjmvsfscs08

  Addicted to sex is different than an addiction to cheating on your wife.
  
  The dude is a douchebag.
• ohiotiger33

  

  ^^ Devil's advocate, what if his wife wouldn't give it up as often as he wanted, and that made him seek other sources for sex.
  
  I agree what he did was wrong, but it also cracks me up when people know a whole lot about a situation that nobody knows anything about.
• Upper90

  That "made" him seek other sources for sex???