Good article in Scientific American, "Can You Cure Yourself of Addiction?
Great article Ross! I found it to be very insightful and informative. It definitely gave me a different view of addiction. Thanks so much for sharing.
While I would never be one to say that an individual couldn't cure themselves of a sexual addiction, I do think that this disease is a totally different animal than alcoholism or drug addiction. I say that for two main reasons.
First, every sex addict, or sex and love addict, that I've ever met or worked with had childhood incest or sexual abuse issues to work through, and that isn't necessarily the case with alcohol and/or drug problems. These childhood sexual abuse issues can oftentimes be extremely confusing for the survivor, meaning that the professional assistance of a therapist or counselor is necessary, along with perhaps an in-patient treatment program and a Twelve Step type of support group.
The second reason I see sexual addiction as being different from alcohol and/or drug problems is that it works on all three neural pathways that lead to the pleasure centers in the brain. Some addictions (amphetamines, crystal meth, P.C.P., etc.) work on the arousal pathways. Other addictions (alcohol, barbiturates, etc.) work on the depressant pathways. And still other addictions, such as religion, work on the mystical pathways. A sexual addiction is the only type of addiction that works on ALL THREE neural pathways, making it the "perfect" addiction.
When the addict begins to get worked up and excited, the arousal pathways are triggered. When they enter their ritualization phase of the addictive cycle (when they begin to sexualize, objectify, and fantasize), the mystical pathways are brought into play. And then during the resolution phase of the sexual response cycle, following orgasm, the depressant pathways do their thing. Because a sexual addiction involves ALL THREE neural pathways, it is much tougher to deal with and overcome. Add to that the fact that a sex addict is not expected to be celibate and asexual but is rather supposed to learn about healthy sexuality, along with skills such as interpersonal communication, intimacy, vulnerability, honesty, openness, fair fighting, relationship skills, etc. Recovery for the sex addiction involves a daunting array of tasks.
By contrast, all the alcoholic needs to do is "put the cork in the bottle", and all the drug addict needs to do is stop using, both much easier to do, and to deal with then all the sex addict faces. Now I don't want anyone to assume I'm saying that the alcoholic or drug addict have it easy. I'm not saying that at all. I'm only pointing out how much more involved recovery is for the sex addict, and therefore why some type of therapeutic or counseling intervention is usually needed.