The Storm of Sex Addiction: Rescue and Recovery demystifies the technical information on sex addition using examples based on Connie Lofgreen’s experiences as a therapist.
Connie provides an overview of the problem of sex addiction in our society, describing the many social and cultural factors driving this epidemic including the Internet, sexualized media and marketing, and the disintegration of the family that lead to the brain disorder of sex addiction. The Storm of Sex Addiction outlines strategic responses to this epidemic based on Connie’s clinical experience, research and scientific knowledge, and the traditional value of respect for sexual dignity as a basic human right.
The Storm of Sex Addiction offers hopeful options for recovery based on new brain research, clinical experience, and the accumulated wisdom of recovering sex addicts.
The storm of sex addiction is brewing. Driven by cyberporn and other forces, sex addiction is a gathering danger, a looming national epidemic making landfall and breaching our societal levees. Cybersex is the number one commodity online and is estimated to be a 2.5 billion dollar industry. Allen Cooper, PhD., surveyed over 9000 Internet users and found 8.5% were sexually compulsive. The threat is imminent for every family and the casualties are mounting. From 1999 to 2006, rates of unwanted exposure to sexual material among youth have increased from 25% to 34%, despite similar increases in screening software, according to an article in the 2007 issue of Pediatrics. Largely unrecognized to this point, the danger is more clear and present than the bird flu, and more saturating than American Idol.
In The Storm of Sex Addiction, Connie Lofgreen, marriage and family therapist and sex addiction specialist, identifies multiple factors that are driving the epidemic, its devastating impact on addicts, partners and children, and the costs to all of us. Deep in denial and consumed by shame, addicts isolate behind a facade of secrets and self deception. Lofgreen explains the hijacked brain chemistry of the addict and the result—a delusional state in which he or she will risk everything for a “fix.” However, Lofgreen asserts that addicts who commit to new treatment methods can regain wellness. She uses her intensive outpatient treatment program, STARPRO, as an example of effective treatment that is based on clinical research and brain science.
The Storm of Sex Addiction provides guidance to partners who are searching for answers. It alerts clergy and other helping professionals to warning signs of sex compulsivity and the option of recovery for their parishioners and clients. It clarifies connections between the epidemic of sex addiction and disturbing social issues such as the sexual misconduct of high profile people, the prevalence of child molesters stalking children online, and sex preoccupation in advertising and media.
Parents want to protect their children from cybersex and from the flood of negative sexual messages in our culture. In The Storm of Sex Addiction, Lofgreen, offers parents the four principles of family life, the best preventive medicine available, to safeguard children’s healthy development.
Lofgreen forecasts that we can, if we so chose, do more that seek shelter and clean up the devastation. The misdirection of biological drives for sex and romance into excesses of sexual fantasy and behavior is wrecking havoc, not happiness. "We are catching on," Lofgreen states, "that more is simply less in many areas of life, such as eating, spending, and sex, and we are ready to move on."
Respect for human sexuality is respect for human life, a basic right increasingly demanded around the world. Lofgreen outlines a strategic response to the storm based on this right and on scientific knowledge we already possess. Our response, in concert with other movements which recognize the interdependence of all humankind, can birth a new era of social justice and human dignity. Will we, as individuals, and as a society, participate? If so, we can finally recognize that authentic connection with ourselves and others is the ground of our being and not the impediment to our desires.
In the words of Teilhard de Chardin, “The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God, the energies of love. And, in that day, for the second time in history, man will have harnessed fire.”
Sex Addiction Overview
“Lofgreen’s readable and informative book alerts us to a serious cultural epidemic—sex addiction. She is an experienced counselor with up to date information. Her book is filled with practical advice, hope and compassion. I recommend it to therapists, their clients and to anyone who is touched by sex addiction.”
—Mary Pipher, New York Times bestselling author of Reviving Ophelia
