Sex Addiction

Sex Addiction Help for Gay Men and Women

If you believe you have a sex addiction, call Freedom Rings at Lakeview Health now at 1-800-231-1820. Our gay-friendly sex addiction treatment professionals are available to help you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All calls are toll-free and confidential.

Sex addiction afflicts both the gay and straight population. It is quickly becoming a significant social problem with characteristics that greatly resemble drug addiction and alcohol addiction.

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health (SASH) conservatively estimates that approximately 3 - 5% of the United States population has a sex addiction. Some criteria for sex addiction include:

• Inability to resist sexual impulses despite ongoing efforts to reduce, control or stop behavior.
• Preoccupation with sexual behavior so much so that it takes significant amount of time away from family, job, school or social activities.
• Excessive amounts of time engaging in, preparing for, or recovering from sexual experiences.
• Continual sexual behavior despite negative consequences such as:
  • Risk of sexually transmitted diseases
  • Relationship problems
  • Risk of arrest
  • Career problems
Great irritability or distress if unable to participate in sexual behavior.

Sex Addiction and Emotions

People addicted to sex usually feel shame about their behaviors. The shame usually has to do with violating one's own standards and values. Over time, the person seems to develop a double life - one in which they are a respected member of society and the other in which they may be participating in sexual acts that would be shocking to those who know and love him.

Whether presenting as compulsive masturbation or indiscriminate sexual experiences with strangers, sex addiction possesses the same unmanageable, obsessive compulsive characteristics as any other addiction. The act of managing the sexual addiction is totally up to the individual. No friend, lover, partner or significant other can control the addiction for them.

Do You Have a Sex Addiction?

1. Do you have sex just to have sex?
2. Do you spend too much time in pursuit of sex or having sex?
3. Are you unable to stop having sex even though there are consequences to pay?
4. Do you constantly have to increase the danger of high-risk behavior?
5. Do you have an ongoing desire to curb your sexual behavior?
6. Do you do sexual things that you repeatedly promise yourself never to do again?
7. Do you spend excessive amounts of time recovering from the experience?
8. Do you have feelings of quilt, shame or humiliation after the experience?
9. Does the thought, act or desire keep you from completing your daily routine?

To take our sex addiction quiz click here.

Answering "yes" to several of these questions could indicate a need for sex addiction treatment. Call Freedom Rings at Lakeview Health now, toll-free, at 1-800-231-1820. We provide sex addiction treatment for the gay man and woman. All calls are confidential and treatment professionals are available 24/7.