Sexual behavior in its various forms can be used to cause the release of chemicals in the brain which have the effect of taking the person away from unpleasant emotional states. Sexual behaviors can become obsessive when they are used in response to these unpleasant internal states to repeatedly block them through brain chemicals relating to pleasure, excitement, or numbing, depending on the type of behavior.
Chemicals released in the brain which relate to specific sexual functions are: dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, opioids and epinephrine. These have the ability to create a desired state of one kind or another, numbing, energy, fantasy/dissociation, or pain (releases opioids) which can be used to “self-medicate” undesirable feelings or traumatic reactivity of one sort or another.
Sexual acting out behavior is usually categorized into one of three types depending on the desired end state. (1) Arousal created by high-risk behaviors or high drama relationships, for example, act like cocaine and amphetamines (2) numbing created by behaviors such as compulsive masturbation mimics the effects of heroin or alcohol, and (3) fantasy or a trance-like state is achieved by behaviors such as obsession with internet pornography or fantasy charged situations which resembles sedation. Further, when the sex addict refrains from sex a predictable set of withdrawal symptoms arise. For more see This is Your Brain on Cyber Porn.
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[…] release of dopamine which activates the reward/pleasure centers. This is addictive in itself (see Sex Addiction is a Drug.) If accompanied by masturbation there are even more rewarding chemicals released. People then […]
[…] A mood altering behavior refers to the sex addict’s reason for engaging in the behavior (or engaging in it to an excessive degree). In sex addiction, as in all other addictions, behaviors are considered potentially mood altering and therefore potentially addictive in that they can be used to “medicate” unpleasant feelings (such as fear, depression, worthlessness, rage etc.) due to the chemicals released in the brain when those behaviors are performed. See also Sex Addiction is a Drug […]
[…] reason most often given for this is that the addict probably has a long-standing pattern of using sex as a drug and as an escape. He or she is seen as needing to have a period of “withdrawal”, much like getting free of any […]
[…] if the behavior (drugs, sex, food etc.) offers escape from uncomfortable emotions (see also Sex Addiction is a Drug and This is Your Brain on Cyber […]