Dr. Patrick Carnes defines Sexual Addiction on his website SexHelp.com as:

Sexual addiction is defined as any sexually-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one’s work environment.Sexual addiction has been called sexual dependency and sexual compulsivity. By any name, it is a compulsive behavior that completely dominates the addict’s life. Sexual addicts make sex a priority more important than family, friends, and work. Sex becomes the organizing principle of addict’s lives. They are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their unhealthy behavior.

Dr. Vistor Cline talks about the progression of sexual addictions:

1. Early exposure
2. Addiction
3. Escalation
4. Desensitization
5. Acting out sexually

Addictions are real. The powerful chemicals released in your brain during sexual behavior can “hijack” your brain like illicit drugs. Dr. Carnes on his website explains this concept that’s at the heart of why an addiction is an addiction and not just a bad habit.

Key to understanding loss of control in addicts is the concept of the “hijacked brain.” Addicts essentially have rewired their brains so that they do behaviors (drinking, drug use, eating, gambling, and sex) even when they are intending to do something quite different. The triggers to these maladaptive responses are usually stress, emotional pain, or specific childhood scenarios of sexual abuse or sexual trauma. Breakthrough science in examining brain function is helping us to understand the biology of this disease.

To learn more about what happens in the brain with porn & sexual addiction, check this out:

Brain Science Whitepaper

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