Your sexual desires, thoughts, and behavior are problematic. You are preoccupied with sexual fantasies. Your fantasies are not frivolous. They can be entertaining, distracting, frightening, and arousing. Your fantasies help you plan for your future. We mistake fantasies for reality or let them become rigid. Your sexual fantasies provide you a necessary escape from the here and now. You have sexual urges and act on them.
You repeatedly send explicit texts and images or fondling others without consent are examples while feeling they have no control over their behavior. Your behavior is often referred to as a sex addiction. Your problem regulating thoughts and behaviors related to sex, whether the problem stems from lack of control.
This kind of problematic behavior often believed to remedy underlying distress, even despite negative consequences, from declining health, financial problems, relationship problems, and career problems. Sex addicts feel more shame coinciding with negative attitudes about sex.
Your sexual behavior can be normal, healthy part of your life and you can enjoy many sexual experiences.
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An individual experiences recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, or sexual behaviors
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The time spent engaging in sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors consistently interferes with other important activities and obligations
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Sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors occur in response to dysphoric mood states (anxiety, depression, boredom, irritability) or stressful life events
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An individual engages in consistent but unsuccessful efforts to control or reduce their sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors
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An individual engages in sexual behaviors while disregarding the potential for physical or emotional harm to self or others
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The frequency or intensity of sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors cause significant personal distress or impairment
Some research has shown a link between hyper-sexuality and abuse symptoms. Several theories offer explanations for this link. For example, people may avoid difficult emotions such as sadness or shame and seek temporary relief by engaging in sexual behavior. Sexual cravings, therefore, can mask other issues such as abuse, anxiety, and stress.
1.a. |
Age and circumstances of first sexual experience with another person. How did you feel after? |
1.b. |
Age and circumstances of first experience with pornography? How did you feel after? |
2.a. |
At what age did you first realize you were using other people sexually? What were the circumstances here? How did it make you feel? |
2.b. |
At what age did you have your first know about with pornography? How did this knowledge make you feel? |
3.a. |
How old were you when you first became concerned about your sexual exploits? What, if anything did you do about this concern? |
3.b. |
How old were you when you first became concerned about the amount of porn you were watching? What, if anything did you do about this concern? |
4.a. |
Have there been others in your life that were concerned about your sexual exploits with multiple partners? Who? When? Why? |
4.b. |
Have there been others in your life that were concerned about your obsession with pornography? Who? When? Why? |
5.a. |
How do you feel after having sex with multiple partners? In your past, when did you try to obtain similar feelings and fail? How did you feel then? How much sex would you say you’re having on a regular basis? What was your longest period of abstinence and how did you accomplish this? |
5.b. |
How do you feel after viewing pornography? In your past, when did you try to obtain similar feelings and fail? How did you feel then? How much pornography would you say you’re viewing on a regular basis? What was your longest period of abstaining from viewing pornography and how did you accomplish this? |
