Sexual Addiction (Part One)

By Siavash Tabrizy, Ph.D.

In the last few years, I have been observing the influx of patient referral for sexual addiction regardless of sexual orientation. Most, adult males, who acted-out or acted-in consciously or unconsciously with known or unknown people in their life (though women with sexual addiction issues are being to surface). Some of these individuals have been to numerous in and out patient programs along with 12-Step meetings, but to little or no avail.
At times they display other psychological struggles along with their sexual addiction, such as: dual addiction, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and dissociative disorder. For some there are other ethical and legal issues regarding their acting out behavior that has life damaging consequences such as possible arrest, imprisonment or contracting AIDS. Needless to say, sexual addiction has its multitude of complications which impact one emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Sexual addiction also creates family, legal and medical problems. Consequently, treatment needs to be focused on multiple levels.
Due to the fact that most of us react from our unconscious to the external, and internal events, this makes it difficult to change. Since the onset of any change begins with awareness, and awakening to our state of sleep. Sexual force is one of the most potent and powerful energies in the world. After all, for any creation to occur , two individuals have committed a sexual act. This is the force of life, with it's own intelligence and for some a way of awakening and enlightenment. Therefore, it shouldn't be taken lightly. Like any other force, sexual energy has its own dark side and antithesis "shadow" which one can get absorbed by and be led to sexual addiction and its consequences.
I see sexuality and spirituality as a flip side of the same coin. They are interwoven and interrelated. One has to respect and embrace both energies and hence, one needs to explore and utilize one to help the other. In fact, I believe with sexual addiction one cannot fully recover without integrating the spiritual aspect of recovery. The idea of spirituality is such a broad term and encompasses many meanings, and in this article, I refer to this idea in terms of one's own inner being and consciousness which we have very little of. In the next series of articles we will explore the roots of sexual addiction along with a treatment approach with focuses on multiple levels.