As a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, I see many clients who are addicted to sex and love. In some cases the addiction started when they were children or adolescents and discovered Internet porn. Soon, they were using Internet porn every day. Adult sex addicts have told me after their first viewing of Internet porn they couldn’t get it out of their minds. Allen Cooper has called cybersex “the crack cocaine of sex addiction,” because people get hooked so quickly.
Why is Cybersex so addictive? Pornopreners use slick marketing techniques to lure consumers for a profit. The intensity of the visual images (often laced with violence) and the sex and romance talk tap directly into the sexual pleasure centers of the brain. In fact sex may be the “ultimate drug” for which all others are merely substitutes! People in recovery from multiple addictions tell us that overcoming sex addiction is as difficult, or more difficult, than overcoming cocaine addiction.
In fact the Internet itself is very seductive. A few reasons are:
- Inexpensive, convenient 24/7 and feels “anonymous.” (an illusion)
- Game-like quality which invites posing and living out fantasies because “it’s not real”
- Encourages fantasy because little is really known about the other person
- A never ending quality that to puts us in a trance.
Cybersex is a tempting escape when we are lonely, angry or stressed, but the cybersex “fix” can quickly lead to cybersex addiction. If you think you may have problem with sex addiction or cybersex, find a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist in your area or attend a local 12- step meeting for sex addicts—SA or SLAA. You can get your life back!
Sex Addiction Overview
