Defining Sexual Addiction

Dear Ask The Doctor: Doctor, Ever since the age of 11 my curiosity for sex has been somewhat abnormal. At 12 I had already began my sexual experiences with foreplay and oral. After turning 13 I started sleeping around. Now aged 16 I find myself needing sex. My behaviour towards it is wreckless, I choose not only unsuitable partners (same sex, older men, users, multiple partners) but I use it for a release that is totally unbeatable with any other thing I do. I don't know what this behaviour means but I can not seem to stop. What does this mean? Why is sex so prominent in my thoughts all the time? Why do I feel the need to seduce every man that is unsuitable for me? help me please.

Dear Katie: Sexual addictions are becoming a newly recognized field.  There are still groups of experts who do not believe it is an addiction but the experts that do have used definitions from other addictions to identify sexual addicts. They include:

• Frequently engaging in more sex and with more partners than intended.
• Being preoccupied with or persistently craving sex; wanting to cut down and unsuccessfully attempting to limit sexual activity.
• Thinking of sex to the detriment of other activities or continually engaging in excessive sexual practices despite a desire to stop.
• Spending considerable time in activities related to sex, such as cruising for partners or spending hours online visiting pornographic Web sites.
• Neglecting obligations such as work, school or family in pursuit of sex.
• Continuation of the behavior despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, academic, financial, psychological, or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the behavior.
• Escalating scope or frequency of sexual activity to achieve the desired effect, such as more frequent visits to prostitutes or more sex partners.
• Feeling irritable when unable to engage in the desired behavior.
• Recurrent failure (pattern) to resist impulses to engage in extreme acts of lewd sex.
• Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to stop, reduce, or control those behaviors.

If you exhibit several of these traits, please seek a local expert in the field. You may also want to visit your family doctor to rule out the possibility of a mood disorder (such as depression or anxiety), a psychotic disorder or a personality disorder that better explains your symptoms and behaviors.