Is sex addiction real?

[Arum]

Sehr interessanter Artikel, http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/1 ... wt/feature:



Is sex addiction real?

It's spawned a VH1 show and an excuse for Tiger Woods. But some experts balk at the idea of being hooked on nooky
By Tracy Clark-Flory


Ein Auszug:


Patrick Carnes, the leading expert in sex addiction, defines it as "any sexually related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment." But here's the tricky part: What's the difference between the symptom of a compulsive disease and a disease itself? Repeatedly lathering up in the sink is a sign of OCD. We don't call those people hand-washing addicts, now, do we? Unlike most addictive substances, sex can't be smoked, snorted or mainlined. The term isn't recognized in the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the bible of therapists everywhere (although along with other controversial diagnoses, like those relating to gender identity, sex addiction is being debated for a new version). But for many sex educators and sex-positive experts, hearing the term spoken about so casually, so frequently, is nothing short of maddening.

"People can behave in compulsive, self-destructive ways," popular Savage Love columnist Dan Savage writes in an e-mail. "It is possible to fuck too much, or fuck too many people, or fuck your life up fucking. But sex isn't a chemical substance. It's not a drug."

Addiction experts argue it's the hit of dopamine delivered during orgasm that is abused. (Similar arguments are used to explain gambling and shopping addictions.) But equating those "powerful hoo-haa endorphins," as Savage puts it, with harder substances like crack is "just ye olde sex negativity on display."

Other skeptics take issue with the model for sex addiction diagnosis. An online test designed by Carnes casts a wide, sweeping net in its search for signs of the condition. Anyone who enjoys regular masturbation, has a porn collection, or indulges in an active fantasy life will likely be labeled a potential addict ... potentially in need of Patrick Carnes' services.

Richard Siegel, a licensed sex therapist, says he frequently comes across "normal, healthy college-aged guys" who have been unfortunately convinced by "flimsy pop psychology" tests that they are sex addicts for simply masturbating every day. When "Sex Rehab" star Nicole Narain, she of the Colin Farrell sex-tape fame, went on "The Joy Behar Show" in November, she complained about staying in bed all of one day to masturbate. This gave longtime sex writer (and former Salon columnist) Susie Bright a good laugh. "It is of the same tradition of hair growing on your palms from masturbating too much! It's a werewolf fantasy," she said.

Says Savage, "We live in a culture that's torn between titillation and condemnation -- that's Dr. Drew's whole shtick, actually. Titillate and condemn, condemn and titillate."

[..]


For the most part, the larger community acknowledges that "healthy" sex is subjective, so diagnoses of sex addiction often rely on the patients' feeling ashamed about their behavior. Still, who among us doesn't sometimes feel ashamed? We live in a world polluted by sexual shame and taboos. You might feel embarrassed about your porn collection -- but is it because you're morally opposed to it or because you worry your significant other might find it and ream you out? Do you regret last night's one-night stand because you did it compulsively without being able to stop, or because you're afraid of being labeled a slut?

As Susie Bright put it, we're all "fearful of lust" and "being found out" as sexually abnormal or sick -- but that doesn't mean that we actually are.