Sex addiction is a way to cope with life stressors and intense emotions. Individuals often find themselves escaping from life circumstances and pain through addiction. Once someone has developed sex addiction, the behavior can escalate, and secrets and lies tend to increase to hide from shame and guilt. Often, individuals justify and rationalize their behavior, because “it’s just sex,” and “we’re all sexual beings, right?”

• Signs of Sex Addiction/Compulsivity:
  • Unable to complete tasks due to excessive preoccupation about sex
  • Lying to family, friends and co-workers
  • Excessively spending money that you don't have
  • Spending 2-4 hours cruising the internet, parks or streets
  • Having rituals or ritualized behavior
  • Cruising to find a bigger or better high
  • Downloading porn at work
  • Masturbating or having sex in public
  • Feeling tired or low energy from acting out
  • Feeling shame and guilt after acting out sexually
  • Sexualizing conversations
  • Fantasizing and sexualizing others
  • Masturbating to the point of injury