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| Sexual Addiction Determines |  There are many people who do not recognize their sexual addiction as a valid form of addiction. They think that sexual addiction is a cause for acting out in this fashion. Other signs are difficult to make in a clinical sense, as in between promiscuity and sexual addiction as the main difference lies within the motivation of the act.
Those who do recognize sexual addiction often equate it to food, gambling, and shopping addictions where an outside substance isn't used to create the pleasure. If a person engages in certain sexual behaviors, it doesn't mean they are a sexual addict. The main factor in determining if a person is an addict is if their behavior is compulsive. If a person sometimes looking at pornography is not necessarily a sexual addict. But if a person spends ten hours a day, spends the mortgage payment and gets fired because of excessive pornography use is most likely a sex addict.
Another example: someone who cheats on their spouse isn't necessarily a sex addict. But someone who is a serial cheater, lies to their spouse about it and is "driven" to cheat despite what they may want to do is possibly a sex addict.
Another factor in determining sexual addiction as opposed to normal sexual function is if the behaviors are used to self-medicate and escape reality, much like a food addict uses food to self-medicate.
Generally, a person with a sex addiction gains little satisfaction from the sexual activity and forms no emotional bond with his or her sex partners. In addition, the problem of sex addiction often leads to feelings of guilt and shame. A sex addict also feels a lack of control over the behavior, despite negative consequences (financial, health, social and emotional).
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