sheeats Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 With poor David Duchovny all over the news these days due to his sex addiction, subsequent trip to rehab, and now his divorce, there seems to be a big divide over whether or not "sex addiction" is a real pathological disorder. It's not listed in the DSM, but there are still 12 Step groups devoted to it. Researchers don't seem to have a consensus either way. What do y'all think? Keep it clean, people... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sowanome Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 wow, way to start a topic on a taboo subject.My vote is that it's real... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wernicke Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 In a medical sense, addiction generally refers to chronic use of a substance of abuse that leads to increased tolerance and withdrawal symptoms when discontinued.In a psychological sense, I think people promote the use of the term "addiction" to describe an emotional or obsessive dependence that interferes with normal functioning... sex, porn, gambling, religion, HAIF. In a medical sense, I don't think this term is entirely accurate. "Disorder" maybe.More so, I think only if the dependence is actually interfering with an individual's daily functioning (i.e. not claiming a "sex addiction" after being caught hiding multiple affairs, but rather skipping multiple days of work to sit around and watch porn all day) should the term "disorder" be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 NO...MUST...HOLD BACK...PERVERTED...SMARTASSEDNESS... You're trying to get me banned from HAIF, aren't you!? For the record, I think that it is a very real symptom of certain kinds of mental illnesses. And I think that it is manifested in different people to different degrees and in different ways so as that it is not always obvious in the context of social norms. But poor sexual health goes both ways, too. Some people have issues that prevent them from taking almost any enjoyment from it; here too, I think that that is only a symptom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeats Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 NO...MUST...HOLD BACK...PERVERTED...SMARTASSEDNESS...You're trying to get me banned from HAIF, aren't you!? For the record, I think that it is a very real symptom of certain kinds of mental illnesses. And I think that it is manifested in different people to different degrees and in different ways so as that it is not always obvious in the context of social norms. I admire your restraint, Niche. I've seen sex addiction described as a symptom or manifestation of both Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. So perhaps you're right... I think I tend to agree with wernicke, though, that it's not an addiction, per se -- it's a disorder, or at least a symptom of one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I think it's like any other addiction... it's something you really like doing so you do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) In a psychological sense, I think people promote the use of the term "addiction" to describe an emotional or obsessive dependence that interferes with normal functioning... sex, porn, gambling, religion, HAIF. In a medical sense, I don't think this term is entirely accurate. "Disorder" maybe.I am one of those that believes that it is a real malady. I believe it is a compulsion that is uncontrolable in its nature. Having a friend of mine that struggles with drinking, I always go to a place that I can assure that *I* won't have a drink so it won't tempt him.The thing is to find ways to not give yourself an easy way to that addiction.Which is why I don't own a Wii or PS2 or whatever. I had a serious Wiki addiction going on for a bit, but I'm feeling <twitch> much better now.edit: Minor stupidity Edited October 21, 2008 by ricco67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeats Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 wow, way to start a topic on a taboo subject. Well, I don't discuss religion or politics in polite company (and this includes HAIF), ever. But I will discuss sex. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 If I was married to T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 If I was married to T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) I think it's like any other addiction... it's something you really like doing so you do it.wernicke touched on the difference between what would be considered normal or abnormal in a clinical sense. It is ok to like drinking or smoking or ____ing. But when the excessive practicing of one of those activities starts interfering with other things in your life, for instance the very job that allows someone to pay for all that drinking, smoking, or ____ing, to the point at which there is a downward spiral leading to less drinking, smoking, or ____ing...that would clearly fall under the heading of maladaptive behavior and within the realm of abnormal psychology.The above is a very clear-cut example, but surely the cases where people just can't get their priorities straight are far more numerous. And I would contend that taken together in aggregate, the numerous smaller cases of alcohol/tobacco/sex/etc. addiction (in the informal sense) are far more destructive to society.EDIT: And to be clear, what I just said was that the symptoms were destructive, and in and of themselves, they are. But the proximate cause is an underlying problem, which is what has to be treated. Edited October 21, 2008 by TheNiche Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) During a quick search, I came across this link at a blog.please take into consideration the title before you click on it. That's all I'm sayin' or PM me for the link. Edited October 21, 2008 by ricco67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapillionWyngs Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Yes, it is real. I was married to a sex addict for 15 years. Problem was, the sex was not with ME. It is a real disease with a real diagnosis and hurts real people. Really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Sorry I just can't get the X-files theme song out of my head.clickSrsly, it does not warrant physical withdrawal, unless you consider the "intense desire for more" as withdrawal. Then to call it an addiction would liken myself to have an addiction to artsy girls with colored hair. (ref.young max, for the seeds) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Is sex addictive?Only if you do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Maybe an anti-Viagra type of pill? Is there such a thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Maybe Duchovny is just having a hard time dealing with the fact that his career was over 10 years ago. Could be he's just a vain, middle-aged hollywood has-been, and finds that random hot young women still find him attractive enought to screw. The sex addiction thing could be a ruse by his lawyers in anticipation of a divorce. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Maybe Duchovny is just having a hard time dealing with the fact that his career was over 10 years ago. Could be he's just a vain, middle-aged hollywood has-been, and finds that random hot young women still find him attractive enought to screw. The sex addiction thing could be a ruse by his lawyers in anticipation of a divorce. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time. I wouldn't go that far, he has a new show. And if art imitates life, then I see why he is the star of this new show. Oh, and it IS real, VERY real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Maybe Duchovny is just having a hard time dealing with the fact that his career was over 10 years ago. Could be he's just a vain, middle-aged hollywood has-been, and finds that random hot young women still find him attractive enought to screw. The sex addiction thing could be a ruse by his lawyers in anticipation of a divorce. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time.I heard his "addiction" was to internet porn, not random hot young women. Did something else come out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I wouldn't go that far, he has a new show. And if art imitates life, then I see why he is the star of this new show. Oh, and it IS real, VERY real. TJ! Visuals! Argh!!!!!! I heard his "addiction" was to internet porn, not random hot young women. Did something else come out? Oh, I did not know that. Many men spend too much time on porn at the expense of actual sex. I was married to one whose thing was Japanese anime-style porn, which was even creepier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeats Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Oh, I did not know that. Many men spend too much time on porn at the expense of actual sex. I was married to one whose thing was Japanese anime-style porn, which was even creepier.I'll see your anime porn and raise you clown porn. ...yeah. He was an odd, odd character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I'll see your anime porn and raise you clown porn. ...yeah. He was an odd, odd character.Seriously?!?You know, back in the day I thought he was kinda hot. Ick. I just feel dirty now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I'm wary of the term "addiction". I think it's often applied to benign, atypical behaviors just because they're atypical. I mostly blame the 12-step movement for spreading a non-medical view of addiction and treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I'm wary of the term "addiction". I think it's often applied to benign, atypical behaviors just because they're atypical. I mostly blame the 12-step movement for spreading a non-medical view of addiction and treatment. Amen. Seriously, treatment for behaviors and psychiatry should not be confused in this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 (edited) You can say that a person has an addiction to drugs, right?Well... sex... releases/produces endorphins, which have a similar chemical make up as morphine, a narcotic.So "sexual addiction" is probably just a "drug addiction" to the body's natural morphine-like endorphin production... so I can see why people could be addicted to sex...EDIT: And that would mean they would need access to a 12-step program. Edited October 22, 2008 by BryanS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Many men spend too much time on porn at the expense of actual sex.Cause and effect. Is the sex bad because a man is addicted to porn? Or is a man addicted to porn because the sex is bad?I agree that physical sex could suffer from porn addiction. But you could go further and say that many other things could suffer, including job performance. A person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanS Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Cause and effect. Is the sex bad because a man is addicted to porn? Or is a man addicted to porn because the sex is bad?I agree that physical sex could suffer from porn addiction. But you could go further and say that many other things could suffer, including job performance. A person's whole life could suffer from porn addiction, but then, I know people whose life has suffered/is suffering because of an addiction to the Internet itself, and to forums such as this one....or a man is addicted to porn because its not sex, even good sex, with the same person... it's different stimulation (no pun intended)... this doesn't mean that a couple doesn't still love each other... just the sex dries up and/or gets replaced with porn, so it seems... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 But aren't the two fundamentally different? Sex is (at its best) about intimacy. In the absence of intimacy, there is at least an element of partnership.Porn is about control. With no actual partner, porn enables the viewer to have total control over the sexual environment, beginning with choosing whatever flavor of superfreak you want. I think the control element is what drives people to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 But aren't the two fundamentally different? Sex is (at its best) about intimacy. In the absence of intimacy, there is at least an element of partnership.Porn is about control. With no actual partner, porn enables the viewer to have total control over the sexual environment, beginning with choosing whatever flavor of superfreak you want. I think the control element is what drives people to it.I don't. Sex can be about intimacy, but it doesn't have to be. Sex can also be about control. The big difference is convenience. Porn is always convenient. Why eat a Big Mac instead of a home cooked meal? Because a Big Mac is cheap and easy to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Porn is always convenient. Why eat a Big Mac instead of a home cooked meal? Because a Big Mac is cheap and easy to get.Well you certainly have a point there. Now I have the unfortunate visual of some dude in his puffy chair eating a Big Mac while pausing all the good shots in Big Booty Party IV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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