How to Know If You’re a Sex Addict
The first step toward recovery is admitting that your love of getting it on is getting to be a problem.
Up next in Addiction & Substance Abuse (13 videos)
Whatever you're addicted to -- drugs, booze, porn, gambling, love, food, shopping -- this Howcast video series will shed light on your problem.
You Will Need
- Self-examination
- Brutal honesty
Steps
-
Step 1
Add it up
Calculate how many hours a day you think about sex, look at porn, pursue sex, and/or have sex. If it’s more than a few hours a day, you may have a problem.
-
Step 2
Examine its impact
Examine the impact that sex is having on your life. If it has cost you your job, your significant other, and/or your last shred of dignity, it’s a problem.
-
Step 3
Assess risks
Determine if your behavior is putting you at risk. Have you ever worried that a conquest might: a) be using you, b) give you a STD, or c) strangle you? If yes, is this an occasional worry or a daily concern?
-
Waking up naked in a stranger’s bed should not be a routine occurrence.
-
Step 4
Tally your sexual partners
Tally up your sexual partners. Signs of a problem—it’s over 100 and you’re neither a rock star nor a professional athlete.
-
Step 5
Review your masturbatory habits
Review your masturbatory habits. Is a day without self-gratification like a day without sunshine?
-
If more than one friend has gently suggested you need help, you probably do.
-
Step 6
Try to stop
See if you can go without sex for a week. If you fail, or if your self-denial ends in a three-day catch-up orgy, seek help.
-
Chronic insomnia can increase libido and lead to compulsive sexual behaviors.
