It’s rare, but it can be addictive. The official name of sex compulsion is “excessive sexual drive” and this uncontrolled craving is not a reason to be proud of anyone. The sick person can be harmed at work or in studies, starts to have difficulty maintaining affective bonds and is still at serious risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases – after all, at the time of the crisis, he or she does it even if they don’t have a condom at hand.
To diagnose the disease without mistakes, just having a good chat with a psychologist or psychiatrist. But the American Eli Coleman, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota, has compiled a list of characteristics that help identify a potential sex addict (see the box below). A study published by American researchers in 1991 showed that between 3 and 6% of the US population has some degree of sex addiction.
The treatment of dependents varies according to the diagnosis. If he just has a psychological imbalance, therapy usually does the trick (although full healing can take a long time). Medications can be helpful when there is another psychiatric illness associated with the addiction, such as depression.
When willpower becomes a problem
The person addicted to sex…
…Frequently seeks new partners
…Uses erotic accessories compulsively
…Browses the internet several hours a day in search of pornographic sites
…Demands sex from the partner all the time, sometimes even with physical threats
Wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, who lived in the first century of the Christian era, Messalina transformed one of the rooms of the imperial palace into a brothel, where she held unbelievable orgies. She even challenged a famous Roman prostitute to see who could sleep with the most men in 24 hours. Messalina won, sleeping 25!
CATHERINE II
Empress of Russia between 1762 and 1796, Catherine II was so obsessed with the theme that she had a room built with paintings and sculptures with exclusively sexual scenes. It is estimated that she had at least 200 partners in her lifetime. To date, an impressive number
DON JUAN
There is also a similar disorder with excessive sex drive. It’s donjuanismo, related to men who have an uncontrollable need to flirt and conquer women, without necessarily having sex. This expression comes from Don Juan, an extremely seductive character mentioned in several European novels written from the 17th century onwards.
MICHAEL DOUGLAS
The most famous sex addict in the world is actor Michael Douglas. After filming Basic Instinct, in 1992, he had to check into an addiction recovery clinic to control his compulsion.
Read too:
– What are the erogenous zones of men and women?
– What will sex be like in the future?
– Do animals also have oral sex?