The Black Vault

Dark-Samus wrote:Yeah right maelstrom

So Why Isn’t Sexual Addiction a Recognized Disorder?

It’s hard to say with any certainty. Levin and Troiden (1988) argue that simply shifting societal values are the main reason to blame. They also bemoaned both the soft science underlying the supposed condition and the spate of media attention of “sexual addiction” in the 1980s (not unlike the media attention given to this same concern nearly 20 years later!). Levin and Troiden also level many additional criticisms at “sexual addiction” as a stand-alone disorder, but most of them are comparatively weak and technical in nature.

Compulsions, as defined by the DSM-IV, are not something that bring a person pleasure. That is why gambling is defined as simply “pathological” and not “compulsive.” The only recognition in the DSM-IV that a person might engage in an enjoyable sexual activity to some extreme is the inclusion of a class of sexual disorders known as paraphilias. Paraphilias are “recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors generally involving (1) nonhuman objects, (2) the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one’s partner, or (3) children or other nonconsenting persons.” So while arguably the DSM-IV recognizes sexual compulsions, it’s only in the context of some sexual object, scene or person.

One can’t deny the people who flock to clinicians’ doors looking for treatment for sexual addiction, however, no more than one can deny that people believe they are “addicted” to the Internet. What is both amazing and a little disturbing, however, is to see entire professional societies, such as the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, spring up around a disorder that isn’t even officially recognized as such. And despite no clinical agreed-upon criteria for sex addiction, the Society estimates that 3 to 5% of Americans have it.

Despite there being no agreed-upon clinical definition of the disorder, clinicians and doctors are happily treating thousands of patients for this disorder every year. The treatments of choice? Antidepressants and 12 step programs:

Potato, Potatoe, the only thing certain is that they are too weak to control themsevles no matter what it is.