There is no reason to think that sex addiction is inherently gay vs. straight.  Here are the available estimates to date.  Rob Weiss who writes on sex addiction and gay sex addicts reports that 10% of gay men are sex addicts.  Studies and estimates of the number of straight sex addicts in the U.S. are in the range of 6 to 9%, so a conservative estimate would be about 7%. Given the available recent data, around 3.5% of the U.S....

Even if they do not talk about the problem in terms of porn addiction, many countries are concerned about the mushrooming consumption of porn and are making moves in the direction of criminalizing internet pornography.  A number of countries already have.  The concern is not only about child porn but all hardcore online porn. Whether governments should ban porn or not is a complicated matter that is debated on many levels.  But there is...

As a porn and sex addiction therapist I am often contacted by the spouses looking for sex addiction treatment for their partner.  I will look at the reasons for this and give my views on why the role of the spouse or partner is important in getting treatment for the addiction. Why partners do the initial reaching out for help The sex addict usually resists treatment for the same reason any addict does—part of them would really like...

When a partner discovers they are in a relationship with a sex addict they are to a greater or lesser degree in a kind of post traumatic state of shock.  This means that they may not be able to sort out what they are feeling very well. Often the first reflex is to be angry and want to reject the addict.  But I have found that the partner or spouse will usually realize that the addict has a serious problem and begin to do the leg work of...

Some people start recovery for sex addiction at a full gallop and never look back.  But for people who struggle with sex and porn addiction and who have multiple slips or periodic relapses there is one key thing they may be missing. I’m not talking here about the spiritual enlightenment side of it, the so called “white light moment” or even just the daily spiritual practice.  Those are important elements but there is something much...

Let’s assume you are already clear on the fact that you are a sex addict.  You have consulted with experts and ruled out other causes of hypersexual behavior such as medication reactions (as with some Parkinson’s drugs) and other psychological, physical or neurological disorders. Are there any wrong reasons to get help?  Yes and no.  The initial motivation for getting into sex addiction treatment is often as a means to some...

In sex addiction treatment we describe the addicts addictive sexual behaviors as “acting out” behaviors.  What does this mean?  In general when we talk about acting out it means doing something that indirectly expresses a fantasy or feeling. Often this acting out is done without awareness of the real fantasy or feeling underneath.  For example, if I lash out when I feel hurt it means that I am acting out my hurt instead of being...