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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT onto Sex Addiction |
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In order to measure the severity of symptoms of Compulsive Sexual Behavior (CSB) the Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale (S-SAS) was developed.
Nancy C. Raymond, Martin D. Lloyd, Michael H. Miner & Suck Won Kim
Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity: Vol. 14, No. 2, page 119-129 (2007).
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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“All of you know I’ve been through a lot this week with my situation, with my addiction. I can honestly say I have an addiction, and that’s something I’m going to have to move forward with in my life.”
Curator comment: The question that needs to continually be considered is whether some people who consider or describe themselves as sexually addicted more accurately simply enjoy having sex in ways they have difficulty admitting. The relationship between shame and compulsivity is extremely powerful. This is not a commentary on this particular situation, for no information is provided to document the compulsive, rather than merely repetitive, nature of his behavior.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Lott also must undergo a psychological evaluation to determine whether his actions constitute a pattern of repetitive and compulsive behavior....... If such a pattern is found, Lott could serve his sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge, where he would receive sex offender treatment. If Lott is sent to the treatment center, he could spend more time there than if he was sent to another correctional facility."
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Curator comment: Interesting that treatment could keep him in custody longer than simple incarceration.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"The purpose of this study was to investigate personal distress and functional impairment in a community sample of male self-identified “sex addicts” and to explore the associations with related variables."
Curator comment: Based soley on the abstract, this study seems to determine that people who self-identify as "sex addicts" generally expreience distress, often in personal relationships, which seems pretty obvious. It would be nice to see the entire article.
Source: Spenhoff M, Kruger THC, Hartmann U, and Kobs J. Hypersexual behavior in an online sample of males: Associations with personal distress and functional impairment. Journal of Sexual Medicine. Article first published online: 11 APR 2013 (early view).
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Triggers for scrupulosity can be any thought, image, feeling, place, person, etc., that cues an obsession. For example, seeing an attractive person at church may result in sexual thoughts, which in turn trigger an obsessive desire to “undo” that thought in an effort to be pure, holy, and clean. If the scrupulous individual upholds an exaggerated belief that lustful thoughts in and of themselves will automatically result in eternal condemnation, the cycle begins."
Curator comment: Reading this article along with such entries as "The Brain of Someone With OCD is More Active When Faced With a Moral Dilemma" and "The Roles of Shame and Guilt in Hypersexual Behavior" will result in an appreciation for the strong influence of guilt in the cycle of repetitive engagement of unwanted sexual behavior. This supports the finding in "A Treatment-Oriented Typology of Self-Identified Hypersexuality Referrals" that sexual guilt is a powerful influence on the decision of some people to self-identify as needing treatment for some asepct of hypersexuality. It can be instructive to also read "Sexual Orientation Obsessions in OCD" to gain even more insight into the complex relationshio between guilt, fear and obsession which can be especially prevalent in certain forms of compulsive sexual behavior.
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Curator comment: A recent study revealed that the average age for first viewing online pornography may be as young as 12. It should be no surprise that some will develop such "obsession" as decribed in the case of this Scottish youth.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"It is oversimplifying to the point of being incorrect to suggest that there simply is no such thing as sex addiction without saying more......"
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Curator comment: People like this writer who challenge both extremes serve to move important ideas forward. Agreeing or disagreeing with a particular opinion is not as important as the willingness to simply engaging in respectful and thoughtful discussion.
Source: My Dissolute Life: "Husband, Father, Slut. Blogger."
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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Bessigano once told a judge and a courtroom of stunned witnesses, “I’ve sought animals as comfort, for companionship. I’m an animal trapped in a human’s body.” Court date after court date, Bessigano explained himself as a tortured man longing for normalcy, but unable to control his compulsions. “I see an animal ... it’s like a drug,” he told one judge.
Curator comment: It took several days to decide whether to post this account on this site. The concept of sex addiction is not appropriate to use to describe behavior that is better explained by the presence of a mental disorder, and yet this man is describing the same compulsive quality a "typical" sex addict struggles to control. As this article quotes one detective, “No one in the mental health field knows what to do with him." Some sexual behaviors defy easy categorization.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Because so much shame is attached to sexual addiction, The Voice offers large helpings of humble pie for men who have become slaves to compulsive cruising (whether on the Internet or in real time). Kleinberg does an admirable job of explaining how gaining control over one's sexual compulsions is every bit as difficult as conquering the temptations of substance abuse. Like all addictions, it requires living your life one day at a time."
Curator comment: It's good to see Kleinberg start to get some positive press for his performance. What he's doing takes courage.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Despite that the literature emphasizes that cases of hypersexuality are highly diverse with regard to clinical presentation and comorbid features, the major models for understanding and treating hypersexuality employ a “one size fits all” approach. That is, rather than identify which problematic behaviors might respond best to which interventions, existing approaches presume or assert without evidence that all cases of hypersexuality (however termed or defined) represent the same underlying problem and merit the same approach to intervention. The present article instead provides a typology of hypersexuality referrals that links individual clinical profiles or symptom clusters to individual treatment suggestions."
Curator comment: I just had the opportunity to read this article in this entirety and appreciate the central premise of the authors: "There is more than one clinical phenomenon in play, and no single model applies to all clients presenting with or complaining of hypersexuality. This is not to say that all or even any of the existing models are necessarily in error. Rather, what we reject is the (sometimes only implicit) assertion that cases of hypersexuality—no matter how broadly or vaguely defined—all represent the same underlying problem and therefore all merit the same label and approach to treatment. "
Articles like this support the common-sense notion that further differentiation of clinical subtyping is crucial for increased specificity of treatment protocols.
Authors: James M. Cantor, Carolin Klein, Amy Lykins, Jordan E. Rullo, Lea Thaler, Bobbi R. Walling
Source: Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2013 (online first)
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"This study examined compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) and psychopathology in a treatment-seeking sample of men in São Paulo, Brazil. Eighty-six men (26% gay, 17% bisexual, 57% heterosexual) who met diagnostic criteria for excessive sexual drive and sexual addiction completed assessments consisting of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders-Clinical Version (segment for Impulse Control Disorder), Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS), and questions about problematic CSB. The average SCS score for our sample was above the cut-off score reported in other studies, and 72% of the sample presented at least one Axis I psychiatric diagnosis. There were no differences among gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men on SCS scores and psychiatric conditions, but gay and bisexual men were more likely than heterosexual men to report casual sex and sex with multiple casual partners as problematic behaviors. SCS scores were associated with psychiatric co-morbidities, mood disorder, and suicide risk, but diagnosis of a mood disorder predicted higher SCS scores in a regression analysis. The study provides important data on the mental health needs of men with CSB in São Paulo, Brazil."
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"A Bethlehem man blamed his hormones and a sex addiction when he admitted to police that he raped two teens in the city last year."
Curator comment: This example of a person pleading for mercy and forgiveness for a particularly heinous crime because of a self-professed "sex addiction" is enough to make a reasonable person cringe.
It's been said that "most addicts don't stop: they are stopped". Seeking assistance prior to committing an egregious infraction rather than after the fact is one of the few ways a person can avoid the allegation that he or she is merely using the loss of volitional control (a hallmark of sex addiction) as an excuse to avoid unpleasant consequences. Acceptance of personal responsibility is a central tenet of sex addiction recovery. Attempting to negotiate away the painful results of bad behavior is understandable but not generally conducive to the healing process of either the sex addict or those who have been betrayed by his or her actions. It's not a "get out of jail free card".
Anyone desiring a deeper understanding of this controversial topic would benefit from reading the brilliant and extensively annotated treatise "Temporary Insanity: The Strange Life and Times of the Perfect Defense" by Russell D. Covey, which reviews the history of attempts to mitigate legal culpability through claims of impaired judgment or volition. While not specifically referencing claims of "sex addiction", it provides a useful context for considering the merits and limitations of this defense.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Boys will be boys - or will they? New research is challenging stereotypes about the 'innate' promiscuity of young boys and men."
Curator comment: This well-written article contains many observations that are interesting and reassuring to those concerned about the hypersexualization of youth culture, such as:
"There's plenty of .....evidence that young men are becoming more, rather than less, emotionally mature - and less, rather than more, sexually promiscuous....
There is no one description of male sexuality......The Casanovas do exist (but most) guys are not out there trying to sleep with hundreds, or scores, or even dozens of women. Most guys really are choosing to have sex with people they know and people that they are often in some kind of relationship with.''
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"This case report describes a case that presented with depression and had underlying compulsive sexual behavior in the form of frottage."
Curator comment: This case report is being curated here mainly because it's from India, is recent and is printed in its entirety rather than just an abstract. The reference to the subject's participation in a nonconsensual "frot group" is especially disturbing.
Author: Gurvinder Kalra
Source: Indian Journal of Psychiatry (2013), 55:2, 183-5.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"The man suspected of kidnapping three women in Cleveland and holding them in captivity at his home for years calls himself a sex addict, a source close to the investigation said."
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Curator comment: It can be painful to witness a person who has committed horrific crimes self-identify as a sex addict if it seems that this is an attempt to slough off responsibility. The concept of "sex addiction" as it applies to sexual offending is complicated and often emotionally laden. Robert Weiss has recently written a series of articles about sexual offenders that can be helpful to those seeing more understanding about this complex topic. I also wrote an editorial in a professional journal a year or two ago about the ethics of carrying the concept of sex addiction too far in the area of nonconsenual sexual behavior.
Addendum (May 13, 2013): Robert Weiss just wrote an excellent piece titled "Decoding Ariel Castro's 'Cold Blooded Sex Addict' Statement" that is well worth reading.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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In the docs, Jurica blames David's uncontrollable sexual appetite for the destruction of their relationship -- claiming, "After repeated attempts at marriage counseling and therapy, we have been unable to save our relationship due to [David's] addiction to sex."
Curator comment: Another use of the phrase "sex addiction" as a weapon in divorce and custody battles
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Although exploratory, these results suggest that developing a social identity as a "recovering addict".......and subsequently highlighting the difference between such identities may be a useful strategy for reducing relapse among people with problems associated with addictive behaviors."
Curator comment: Although this just-published study focused on substance addictions rather than process addictions, its findings point to the potential benefits that can occur when people who struggle wih chronically problematic sexual behavior marked by loss of self-control utilize addiction recovery groups.
Source: Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2013 Apr 15 (epub ahead of print)
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"In every way, Don Draper is the product of transactional sex. It's what he knows."
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Curator comment: The story of a sexually traumatized boy growing up to be a compulsively unfaithful man is all too common in real life.
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Dealing with the mess of life, love, betrayal, and divorcing a sex addict
Curator comment: I thought I'd collected almost all of the blog sites from people sharing their personal stories about what it's like inside the hurricane. How did this excellent site stay under my radar so long? Wow!
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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The golfer has come a long way since he cheated on wife Elin Nordegren with multiple women -- or has he?
Curator comment: This is basically just the magazine cover and is being posted basically to continue chronicling the use and understanding of the phrase "sex addict" in contemporary society.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"Various patterns of increased sexuality have been described in youth, including sexuality that is excessive, developmentally precocious, compulsive, aggressive, or otherwise socially inappropriate. Such "hypersexual" behavior in children and adolescents is associated with a variety of factors.........Elements of a definition of juvenile hypersexuality are proposed based upon current knowledge about children and adolescents' sexuality in both normal development and a variety of conditions in which it is increased."
Curator comment: This is taken from the abstract of an article published in the journal Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 2012 (Sept); 40(3): 481-503.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"People were assuming it was a film about porn addiction and sex addiction, which really isn't true. That'd be sort of like saying The Maltese Falcon is a movie about a statue of a falcon."
Release date is now projected for late summer.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"One of the Minnesota Legislature’s most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage says homosexuality is a choice and form of sexual addiction."
Curator comment: At the risk of giving free publicity to such blathering, this is just one of many examples of the misuse of the phrase "sexual addiction"
Marriage equality legislation in currently being introduced in Minnesota. Republican State Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen says that gay marriage is "an unhealthy sexual addiction." What an ignorant and offensive loser. He says it is a choice despite the scientific proof that is caused by biology and the American Psychological Association saying it is an inherent trait. I do agree with him the government has no right to make religious organizations marry gay people, but other than that this guy needs to go, he is not a good guy.
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"A 38-year old married woman says she wants divorce because her husband makes excessive sexual demands on her daily......She said anytime she refuses to take the heavy dose of sex from the husband, he beats her up and denies both her and their three children food for the whole day"
Curator comment: This article is from Ghana. It's hard to believe that sexual frequency is the rationale for divorce rather than the reported violence and withholding of food, but facts often take back seat to a juicy headline.
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"Here comes the latest entrant to the contentious debate over sex addiction — and, boy, is it a sassy one."
Curator comment: The article being discussed, from the journal Sexuality and Culture, has already been referenced on this site when it appeared last year in an online "early access" version. As is so often the case, some measured constructive criticism gets obscured by jeering, dismissive broadsides. The more fascinating aspect of this short Salon article is the series of reader comments that follow -- this is mainly why this article is being highlighted here. The quality of public discussion is gradually climbing.......
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Scooped by Bill Herring LCSW, CSAT |
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"(T)he concept of showing how romantic comedies and porn create expectations for their target audience is intriguing. Are romantic comedies the same as porn, in terms of setting lofty standards for their viewers?"
Curator comment: This brief comparison of the fantasies that are embodied in both porn and rom-coms (romantic comedies) is a result of the recent favorable buzz about "Don Jon's Addiction", just picked up for wide release. The reality is that the dark side of obsessive use of porn knows no bounds and can be extremely destructive, but the parallel is worth discussing.
Not so different as they used to be. I don't watch much movies or TV any more and I tend to skip through the sex scenes in books too. Either the modern generation are a pack of sluts who can't be within a foot of the opposite sex (or any warm body) without having to screw - or TV/ movies have lost touch with reality. I vote for the second.
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