Sex Addict Treatment

Sex Addict Treatment - Causes and Factors
There are six different types of sex addicts. Represented among these varying types is a wide spectrum of causes and complicating factors. Common to all types is a basic compulsion to act-out on sexual impulses. Any given sex addict can struggle with one or more than one type and it is possible to exhibit features of all six, however rare.

Sex Addict Treatment - Identifying the Type of Addiction
The rarest type is the Spiritual sex addict; the most common is the Biological. The four other types include Psychological, Trauma-based, Sexually Anorexic, and Mood-disordered. Biological sex addition is not only the most common but it is the simplest to heal with a solid behavioral treatment plan. This type usually starts around puberty when the pre-addict begins masturbating to images, fantasies, objects, or people. Upon climax, the highest level of endorphins and enkephalins are released into the body, hitting the excitement center of the brain and creating a "high" that is four times as strong as heroine. Over time, this behavior and whatever is being imagined or viewed at that moment are reinforced, creating neurological pathways in the brain and conditioning the body to become aroused by these stimuli. Unfortunately, the cycle of behavior continues and worsens, hence the addiction.

Those struggling with a Psychological type addiction are most often survivors of some kind of abuse. In fact, 90% are emotionally, 80% sexually, and 70% physically abused. This type of addict is characterized by "a soul in pain" who has chosen sex as a way to "medicate" this pain. Acting-out sexually becomes an escape from the painful reality of daily life. Similarly, Trauma-based addiction lies in the compulsion to repeat the ordeal of the sexual abuse incurred in an attempt to gain control over the injury and recreate or undo the injury through pleasure. Neither the Psychological or Trauma-based addicts are responsible for the neglect and abuse they've endured-they are, however, the only one who can take the responsibility for their healing.

Sexually Anorexic, Mood-disordered, and Spiritual sex addicts are less prevalent, but each feature unique aspects. Sexual or Relational Anorexia is the intentional or unconscious sabotaging of intimacy in a relationship-understood as "acting-in," intimacy is feared and therefore avoided by the addict through behaviors such as withholding love, withdrawing emotionally, blaming, shaming, and/or controlling. Conversely, a Mood-disordered sex addict, while very capable of relationships, has difficulty controlling his mood, usually because of an imbalance in brain chemistry-just like the liver or pancreas can stop working correctly, needing dialysis or causing diabetes, respectively, the brain, being an organ can malfunction in its flow of neurotransmitters affecting mood. This type of addiction, often diagnosed as Depression or Bipolar Disorder, can be treated successfully using anti-depressants and/or mood-stabilizers. Lastly, the purely Spiritual sex addict, although uncommon, is usually someone who is simply looking for spirituality and/or connection in all the wrong places. Sensing a void in their life, they have chosen to fill it with sexual experiences, becoming "hooked" on the temporary excitement and the momentary fulfillment it brings, not realizing that they are limiting the other lasting aspects of their existence.

Sex Addict Treatment - Being Set Free
The good news is all types of sex addiction can be treated. In fact, men all over the world are being set free from the guilt, shame, and drain that this compulsion causes. Most men report feeling more wholeness and a decrease in anxiety and depression-both common among sex addicts but left behind once in recovery. In fact, some men even double their income in the first year of staying clean! This, no doubt is attributable to the extra energy, creativity, and excitement that replace the emptiness of addiction. If you are struggling and would like to change for the better, don't waste another minute -- reach out for the help available to you and begin your new life of freedom from addiction. You will discover gifts you never realized you had and make supporting, encouraging relationships you never thought possible. Most of all, God will redeem the years of struggle you've endured-that's right, other men in your life also need to hear this message and God may use you to help them. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing another man set free. Remember, just like the man who is shot is not responsible for the crime but is in charge of having the bullet removed, we sex addicts may not be to blame for some of what caused the addiction, but we are certainly liable and accountable for getting the healing we need!

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