Sexual health experts have debated the existence of sex addiction for many years, in large part because, when it comes to identifying and diagnosing true forms of the condition, there has been a distinct lack of methodology. According to Rory Reid, an assistant professor and research psychologist at UCLA, sex addiction may still affect your wellbeing, and his study may have found a way to identify it using specific guidelines. In a statement, Reid commented, ‘The criteria for hypersexual disorder that have been proposed, and now tested, will allow researchers and clinicians to study, treat and develop prevention strategies for individuals at risk for developing hypersexual behaviour.’ So how do you identify sex addiction?
‘Identifying characteristics of sex addiction disorder is an important step in creating a definition for the condition, says award-winning wellness writer Hope Gillette, who points out the definition ‘entails more than just the desire to have sex frequently. The inability to break away from sexual activity may be one of the defining characteristics of sex addiction.’ However, the study researchers were keen to avoid turning common behaviours – such as watching porn or having sex often – into classifications of a disorder. For Reid, individuals with hypersexual disorder, ‘might consider the consequences momentarily, but somehow feel their need for sex is more important, and choose sex even in situations where such choices might cause significant problems or harm.’
For the study, 207 individuals who had been referred to a mental health clinic –152 of whom had been referred for a sexual behaviour problem, 35 had other psychiatric issues, and 20 individuals were referred for substance abuse – were interviewed. The researchers defined hypersexual disorder as ‘recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, and sexual behaviour’ and noted that patients were required to be under distress or unable to maintain aspects of a normal life because of these sexual urges, in order for a diagnosis to occur. The participants were asked about their frequency of participating in sexual behaviours, such as going to strip clubs, engaging in telephone or cybersex, having sex with other consenting adults, masturbating, and watching pornography.
‘Using the established criteria, Reid’s team identified 134 of the patients with sexual behaviour issues established as hypersexual disorder,’ Gillette details. ‘Eighteen of the original 152 patients with sexual disorders were found to have a different mental health issue or no issue at all. The majority of other patients in the study not originally there for a sexual behaviour issue were diagnosed with their original condition or a condition other than sexual addiction. In addition to being able to positively identify hypersexual disorder, researchers found study participants who were diagnosed with sex addiction disorder also indicated masturbation and pornography viewing was considered problematic, so much that some individuals had lost their jobs because of the behaviours.’
Moreover, if you have a sex addiction disorder, you’re more likely to perform disruptive sexual behaviours despite knowing the consequences. Reid explained, ‘It’s not that a lot of people don’t take sexual risks from time to time or use sex on occasion to cope with stress or just escape, but for these patients, it’s a constant pattern that escalates until their desire for sex is controlling every aspect of their lives and they feel powerless in their efforts to change.’ If you’re concerned that you may have a sex addiction, you need to identify with a number of the following factors outlined in the study:
- Recurring pattern of sexual fantasies
- Urges and behaviours lasting a period of six months or longer, that is not caused by other issues or disorders.
- Pattern of sexual activity in response to unpleasant mood states or to cope with stress
- Failure to reduce or stop sexual behaviour even when known as problematic. Reid added, ‘As with many other mental health disorders, there must also be evidence of personal distress caused by the sexual behaviours that interfere with relationships, work or other important aspects of life.’