Sex Addiction Background
Sexual addiction research and treatment has rapidly evolved due to the pioneering efforts of Dr. Patrick Carnes whose groundbreaking book “Out of the Shadows,” was first published in the late 1970’s.
Research done with a sample of close to 1000 individuals presenting with compulsive sexual behavior, Carnes discovered remarkable similarities to subjects with compulsive sexual behavior and subjects that had chemical addictions like drugs and alcohol. What he concluded was that many of the same mechanisms involved with chemical addictions were involved in what we now know are process addictions like sex and food.
Further investigations have shown that the brains ability to produce large amounts of dopamine through the experience of sexual orgasm mirrors the same reaction in the brain as someone using cocaine. We now know that repeated sexual experiences over a prolonged period of time increase the brains nueropathways for this type of experience leaving the individual continually looking for next euphoric dopamine high from having a sexual experience. Sex becomes a pathway for the release of dopamine.
Just like a chronic cocaine user’s dependence on the drug to feel normal, so it is for the sex addict chasing the next sexual high. What is becoming more and more evident is that the brain can become addicted to not only ingested chemicals but also to activities that produce natural brain chemicals that make you feel good.