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There is no such thing as "sex addiction"

12/12/2012

6 Comments

 
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Despite recent strides in "sex addiction" research, the condition does not make the cut as an official psychiatric disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

On Dec. 1, 2012 the APA approved the latest version of its mental health handbook known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The manual includes several new disorders such as hoarding and binge eating.

But guidance for diagnosing and treating sex addiction, formally known as hypersexual disorder, won't be included.

Although the manual has an appendix that includes "provisional" conditions requiring further research, hypersexual disorder will not appear in this section either.

The decision comes after a study published in October in which researchers tested the proposed criteria for hypersexual disorder, and found that physicians generally disagreed on who should be diagnosed with it — a demonstration of the criteria's reliability and validity.

Rory Reid, a research psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who lead that study, said he was not surprised the APA did not approve hypersexual disorder for the DSM-5, because sexual disorders are generally controversial.

There are also still questions the APA may want addressed. Studies of the criteria included only people who were already seeking help for a mental condition, or were referred to a mental health clinic, Reid said. So it's not clear whether the criteria would apply in diagnosing people in the general population, he said.

In Reid's study, hypersexual disorder was defined as "recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, and sexual behavior," that lasted at least six months.

Diagnosis requires that these urges cause the patient distress, and aren't brought on by drugs or another mental disorder. The behavior must also interfere with their life, for instance, some patients in the study lost jobs because they could not refrain from watching pornography and masturbating at work. Developing the criteria was a significant step in the field because it will allow researchers to study the disorder in a uniform way, Reid said.

And although hypersexual disorder is not officially acknowledged in the APA's new manual, Reid said he would see little change in his day to day work.

"People are still coming into the therapist office and saying this is a problem. As a psychologist...I'm going to try to understand what's going on, I'm going to try to help them," Reid said. "That’s true whether it's in the DSM or not."

The original post for this blog can be found at:  http://news.yahoo.com/sex-addiction-still-not-official-disorder-192645302.html

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6 Comments
Landon DeCrastos link
12/12/2012 01:27:13

It boggles my mind to think they would take out something like sex addiction. It just seems to obvious

Reply
drwayman link
12/12/2012 02:02:54

The APA, even though they claim a scientific basis to diagnosis, is a product of our society's current thought. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), on the other hand, consider addiction to sexual activity a real disorder.

The fact remains, people are distressed about their sexual behavior. For example, a man who masturbates several times a day came to see me for help because he was distressed about the frequency and its interference in getting his work done everyday. Sure sounds like hypersexual disorder to me...

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Billy Birch link
12/12/2012 02:55:26

What are your thoughts on this disorder in relation to our culture's lack of self control and obsession with youth and nudity/sex/porn? What I mean is: Has this disorder always existed, or does an over-sexualized cultural climate create a disorder in some people?

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drwayman link
12/12/2012 03:22:55

BB- I think it has always existed but I don't know for sure. What was interesting was when Karyn and I visited Greece, much of their ancient artwork was highly sexualized. I recall stone pics of people in sexual behavior. Ancient Greece, from my understanding, was highly sexual.

In Germany, I saw old stone pics of people engaged in sexual behavior with animals (see tomorrow's post).

Also, if one looks at ancient Indian (India) and Japanese artwork, sex (and group sex) was a common theme.

However, all this is from an American 21st century perspective. I don't know, for sure, if these depictions were a normal part of life then or were anomalies.

However, there are some interesting studies regarding menarche. It appears that women raised in an urban environment (where there is supposedly a more sexualized culture) start menses younger than women raised in an rural environment.

I think that you have raised a conundrum, at least in my mind...

Whaddyathink?

Reply
John Martin
12/12/2012 03:46:31

Thank you for bringing this Yahoo article to my attention. My local church is, even now, formulating a policy on ministry to people with sexual issues. I am going to use a few points from the article in our policy. (Who would think the Body of Christ would have to intentionally say it's ok to minister to these folks, but as the article says ... Getting involved is controversial).

Reply
Billy Birch link
12/12/2012 04:02:21

The History Channel aired a program on the history of sex recently. I, too, saw pictures of sexual scenes on ancient walls in various ancient cities. Historians think that in many of those places existed some sort of brothel/bathhouse/place of prostitution.

In Pompeii, if I remember correctly, in the houses of some rich couples there existed what looks like a special room dedicated to orgies.

In any event, if such practices were socially acceptable in some cultures, I'm not sure we learn anything about sexual addiction because we cannot know if any engaged in various, promiscuous sexual activities were debilitated by their sexual urges.

I don't know enough about sexual addiction or its history. I do know, however, that I have sexual urges upon which I do not act. Sometimes the victory comes through prayer; other times victory comes through merely enduring through the urges until they subside, or distracting myself with other activities (reading, watching a movie, etc.). Self control comes into play here, as does denying myself of physical pleasure.

Someone could say that those suffering with sexual addiction *cannot* control their urges, thus demonstrating an inherent mental disorder, like autism or bipolar disorder. But how can we determine if part of their problem is nothing more than a lack of self control? Certainly, they have a problem with immediate gratification. But they also lack adequate coping skills when confronted by their urges.

Our technologically visual age, I think, has been a particular problem for many men, since men are visually oriented and/or visually triggered. But even with those who have access to a computer, for example, self control and coping skills are still necessary.

I'm still working through these issues on sexuality myself. I was not surprised to see "sexual addiction" as a category absent from the APA's list of mental disorders.

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