Is it real, or is it just an excuse? I tend to believe it's encoded in our DNA. We are nothing but animals, and millions of years of reproducing with as many women as possible is hard to break. Survival of the fittest wouldn't have helped us evolve if our very ancient ancestors only reproduced with 1 other. Just an excuse. If you get married, keep it in your pants, you know that's the deal before. If you stray, that's on you, it's not an 'addiction'.
Yeah, I agree with you there. I believe some people are real addicts that can't focus on anything else. I've heard some crazy stories about guys who jerk it 15+ times a day. That's addicition. Do any of the celebs have it? No. Well, maybe Fox Moulder.
I think you need to define it better. I can see how sneaking around on your wife would be akin to the temporary thrill some get from gambling. I think at this level, it is a choice that can be easily made for most people or an "addiction" that can be dealt with if the proper tools are available. I'm not ready to say that goes for everyone. You have pedophiles and other deviant types that studies have shown are damn near impossible to reform... you might be able to stop the action, but it is really tough to change the way their mind thinks. I suspect there are a number of folks who have similar issues but target adults or activities in a more society-accepting way. Again, for these groups, it seems to be something hard-wired and not easily classified as an "addiction." Of course, you always have the psychological question of what in a person allows them or leads them to take up an addiction. Many people gamble and have sex and do drugs without becoming addicted, so what happens to others that make them ruin their lives over such things? If I knew that and had a time machine, I'd go back and save a few of my high school classmates from a tough life.
Of course it's real. You can be addicted to just about anything. Per Wikipedia: "An addiction is a persistent behavioral pattern marked by physical and/or psychological dependency that causes significant disruption and negatively impacts the quality of life of an organism." I think that is a very solid definition for addiction.
I'm in the BS crowd, but that's a solid argument, Franchise. There are worse things to be addicted to than getting your groove on.
I would say anything affecting dopamine level upswings can be addictive. People get addicted to drugs because they take them and it causes surges in dopamine levels that make them feel good. People who have sex get this same sensation. People who exercise feel good partly because of the same thing and sensation you get after completing a tough workout. In that sense, exercise itself can be addicting. People who are addicts want these euphoric sensations caused by increased dopamine levels. We are talking about the means to get those good, "high" feelings that normally we would only get less of in our normal day-to-day lives. While certain drugs, and even smoking, are certainly addictive because they have addictive properties in the chemicals, this complicates it a little because you are talking about a physical dependency versus a mental dependency. People who "smoke out" usually aren't addicted because those addictive chemicals aren't there...but they enjoy the feeling from the upswing in dompamine that results. I guess where I'm going is I believe there is a mental, versus physical, addiction which can occur that is tied to the "release" taking into account the upswing in dopamine levels that make us feel good. I believe that is addictive...just as certain drugs are physically addictive due to something in the chemicals. So, I believe it is real. But, I don't think it necessarily justifies what Tiger Woods or Jesse James did. There is more to their stories to that. Addiction might have something to do with the it...but it is not the only thing driving these folks' bad behavior. I do not believe they can simply explain it away as "oh...I'm a sex addict". I think these people are more addicted to abusing the power they have because of their celebrity.
Funny. but Attaching the word ADDICTION to something is a way to justify behavior. Gambling is bad . . . . Gambling ADDICTION is something to be pitied. Sex is bad [sort a . . at least out side of marriage] . . .Sex Addiction may garner you some pity Eating too much is bad . . .having an Eating Addiction or 'disorder' is bad I CAN'T HELP IT .. . It is an Addiction It is an genetic thing it is 'beyond my control' It is like a Social Suffix You add it to a word and you change the connotation of it. Rocket River Social Suffix . . i like that.
By that definition, everyone is addicted to sex. I guarantee you if you made everybody stop humping and jerking from now on the world would end in a few years.
Yes sex addiction is 100% real. But too often its portrayed as a joke or is mis-used. someone who cheats on their wife is not a sex add/ict. Someone who spends every cent they get on hookers is.
As long as people don't try to say sex addiction is a disease. Like how people say alcohol addiction is a disease. Yeah, sure it is.
By saying you have a sex addiction, you're saying your sexual appetite is bigger than most men. NEWSFLASH: We all have big sexual appetites. Yours isn't bigger, you just have less self control.
