Sex Addiction: A Real Pathology OR Merely An Excuse For Irresponsible Behavior?

[Bobzilla]

I first heard of this alleged disease back in 1988 when a mistress of Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs tried to sue him for millions. In what I thought then was a desperate PR ploy to excuse his behavior in the eyes of the public, Boggs claimed to be under the gripping control of SA, an affliction that had overridden his ability to control his primal urges and his willingness to honor the vows he had made to his wife. What surprised me even more was that the media picked up the ball and ran with this obvious crap. Talk shows invited expert guests who were quite willing to share their expertise on this condition, a condition that many of us had never known existed and simply thought of as old-fashioned adultery, something that's been happening throughout the entire course of human history.

And now 22 years later it's Tiger Woods, who I'm sure after deliberating with his associates has decided on this strategy as his best shot at damage control. Why does the media give any credence to this sorry attempt of an excuse? Does SA really exist or is adultery/promiscuity simply a symptom of a legitimate psychological pathology? I've known married couples who through a tight emotional bond as well as a strong physical chemistry remain very ardent despite being faced with the day to day repsponsibilities of raising children and long work hours. They're probably more active than Boggs or Woods have ever been but within the bounds of their union. Are they addicts, too? How about the women who avail themselves to men of wealth and power and act out their selfish agendas with callous disregard for the families of their targets? Why don't I ever hear about any of them checking into a SA clinic?

Anyway, I realize that there is another thread out there that has specifically covered Tiger Woods' latest problems and this topic has been touched on. But I was curious as to what a poll might reveal in regard to anyone's claim of suffering from SA.

[illinoisbred]

I think its a convenient excuse to protect one's ass(ets). A sorry attempt to redeem one's reputation/image almost immediately upon such declaration. Having 1st hand experience with a brother-in-law claiming this addiction upon being caught,I know what a convenient,sorry crock of shit excuse this is.

[parlay]

a compulsive behavior which in this situation manifests in sexual pursuit.
If we had the opportunity to ask him i think he would tell you the actual
sex act was the low point of the experience. He is not a "sex addict", there is no such condition. It is a case of seeing the symptom as the disease.
He has other issues that well could have lead to alcohol, drugs, the list is endless.

[johnhannibalsmith]

I think he pretty much admitted the true nature of the problem when he bassically stated that as a wealthy, successful celebrity, that he felt entitled to whatever he pleased without consequence. I'll vote "C" by proxy on behalf of Tiger.

[jballscalls]

I think many sex addicts are actually love addicts if that makes sense. Sex is one of the ultimate acts of love, and they are looking for someone to be with, someone to make them feel validated and loved. if you noticed, it wasn't like Tiger was just f'ing all these girls, he was having bonafide affairs, texts, saying he loved them etc.

I gotta feeling this Elin is a real ball buster!

[johnhannibalsmith]

I gotta feeling this Elin is a real ball buster!

I gotta set that would tolerate her busting.

[Dave Schwartz]

I think this poll leaves out the actual correct answer:

4. It is real but most of the people caught do not have it and are using it as an excuse.

[headhawg]

I agree with Dave's #4 choice. I also think that the people who voted that it's BS also believe that ADD and bipolar disorder are also BS.

[Bobzilla]

I agree with Dave's #4 choice. I also think that the people who voted that it's BS also believe that ADD and bipolar disorder are also BS.

Not at all. The American Psychiatric Association's published manual on mental disorders, currently the DSM-IV, recognizes Bipolar Disorder, ADD and OCD as conditions that can be diagnosed. From what I understand there is some debate among mental health professionals to whether or not sex addiction is actually a problem by itself or if it's a symptom of something like bipolar disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder. It's my understanding that the DSM does not currently recognize sex addiction as a mental health disorder.

[Greyfox]

It's my understanding that the DSM does not currently recognize sex addiction as a mental health disorder.

What you're saying is technically true, because they look for differential diagnoses. Take nymphomania. It can be associated with bipolar disorder -manic phase or drug induced/ neurochemical imbalances. Then fetishes and characterological problems such as pedophilia fall into other categories.

The term "sex addiction" is a modern invention for sure. Or at best, it's become an "in thing" to label people with recently.
Who ever gave Tiger advice to go to a clinic wherein he would walk out being referred to as a "sex addict" gave him bad advice.

The next time you go to a huge football stadium full of fans, ask yourself
"How did all these people get here ?"
(And No, the answer isn't by bus or the stork.:D )

[46zilzal]

It's always amazing when amateur medical people discuss something they know nothing about.....Really pitiful the biased erroneous conclusions forgetting that each case is exclusive of the next.

[boxcar]

It's always amazing when amateur medical people discuss something they know nothing about.....Really pitiful the biased erroneous conclusions forgetting that each case is exclusive of the next.

What's even more amazing is that any clueless wonder would automatically assume that the issue being discussed is medical in nature.

Boxcar

[badcompany]

Considering that there's 6 billion people in the world, I believe SA has reached epidemic proportions.:lol:

[46zilzal]

Many studies have discovered correlates to being an addictve personality and the way it manifests itself: gambling, obsessive/compulsive, food, sex etc are the only variables to a core disorder.

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/18/science/the-addictive-personality-common-traits-are-found.html

[Tom]

It's always amazing when amateur medical people discuss something they know nothing about.....Really pitiful the biased erroneous conclusions forgetting that each case is exclusive of the next.

So you are qualified as a sex-addict?

[boxcar]

So you are qualified as a sex-addict?

Doubtful. More likely he's a bona fide Wanna-be Expert addict.

Boxcar

[Greyfox]

gambling, obsessive/compulsive, food, sex etc are the only variables to a core disorder.

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/18/science/the-addictive-personality-common-traits-are-found.html

The only variables?? Oh, that etc. could cover just about everything else.
NY Times (Obviously a peer reviewed journal. :D )
(Once again a man with an obsession for spouting poppycock, found an irresistable urge to spout more poppycock. With the title Lord Ha Ha previously taken, the moniker of Dr. Poppycock is still available. )

[46zilzal]

The only variables?? Oh, that etc. could cover just about everything else.
NY Times (Obviously a peer reviewed journal. :D )
(Once again a man with an obsession for spouting poppycock, found an irresistable urge to spout more poppycock. With the title Lord Ha Ha previously taken, the moniker of Dr. Poppycock is still available. )
one source amongst hundreds suggested a uniformity in this condition. Goodman nad Gillman. in their book The Pharmacological basis of Medical Therapetuics hinted at the same things

[Robert Goren]

Doesn't everyone just want him say " It is my own damn fault."

[boxcar]

Doesn't everyone just want him say " It is my own damn fault."

This is modern man's feeble attempt at mitigating or even nullifying personal responsibility for human behavior by substituting one "m" word (morality) with another (medical). Very many want to define all human behavior with medical explanations, which implies no moral culpability -- especially in terms of divine justice.

Boxcar

[johnhannibalsmith]

Here's a bonafide medical term for this cretin from an arrogant non-medical nutcase unverwaefslgfalkgabled in disorders known only to the brilliant: douchebagitis - sex addiction is just a byproduct of this condition.

[DJofSD]

Well I don't think we should jump to too many conclusions about TW. Matter or fact, I doubt any of us can identify with TW -- but I'm willing to try. Where's that list of names and telephone numbers he's no longer able to use?

[46zilzal]

If this were Simmons of the group KISS no one would give it a second thought.

[Bobzilla]

If this were Simmons of the group KISS no one would give it a second thought.

Aren't Gene Simmons and former Playboy Bunny Shannon Tweed in an open relationship where it's agreed that each can taste the fruit beyond their relationship. I'm not even sure if they're married. I doubt he'd ever allow himself to get checked into a sex addiction clinic.

Look, we all come into this world wired for action once we hit a certain age range. It's healthy and normal. But I'm not convinced that Tiger Woods is any more "addicted" to sex than any PA board member who has posted in this thread. Is wanting variety, despite being married and being a father, or having variety because you easily can because of your status, the definition of sex addiction? Hey, it may exist but I doubt it in this case.

[Greyfox]

Look, we all come into this world wired for action once we hit a certain age range. It's healthy and normal. But I'm not convinced that Tiger Woods is any more "addicted" to sex than any PA board member who has posted in this thread. .

The silence of response to your last post and comment on board members here who have posted is

"DEAFENING!!" :lol: :lol:

(I agree that healthy and normal males are born with a genetic wiring that pushes them towards the lure of the apple. It's their choice though if they wish to bite it. Some cultures even encourage harems. In North America that is discouraged outside of certain parts of Utah and Texas. :p )

[Hanover1]

The silence of response to your last post and comment on board members here who have posted is

"DEAFENING!!" :lol: :lol:

(I agree that healthy and normal males are born with a genetic wiring that pushes them towards the lure of the apple. It's their choice though if they wish to bite it. Some cultures even encourage harems. In North America that is discouraged outside of certain parts of Utah and Texas. :p )
And several southern states.....

[bigmack]

It's an addiction if you're married. You're haulin' freight/gettin' tail, if you're not.

I really wish married dudes would limit their infidelities to 2-3 max. And at least half of those being rentals. It's not easy out here but it really is best left to professionals with decades of experience, not unlike Mackalopolus.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/macktime/ein.jpg

[Robert Goren]

Whatever it is, if you are married, it can get real expensive.

[Bobzilla]

The silence of response to your last post and comment on board members here who have posted is

"DEAFENING!!" :lol: :lol:

(I agree that healthy and normal males are born with a genetic wiring that pushes them towards the lure of the apple. It's their choice though if they wish to bite it. Some cultures even encourage harems. In North America that is discouraged outside of certain parts of Utah and Texas. :p )

Greyfox, very true. To be honest I hadn't been following the lastest Tiger Woods drama all that closely. Yesterday morning I was flipping through the channels and came across the topic of SA. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. As it's been in the news as of late I felt that it would be a safe enough topic for a poll.

I think what I was attempting to convey in my last post was that I disagree with the term "addiction" in regard to this behavior. Addiction suggests to me a physiological dependancy. If this were the case then I would expect the afflicted to be absolutely climbing the walls once faced with an extended period of celibacy as they struggle with the DTs. Maybe they do. I don't pretend to know much about this alleged disease. I agree with what Johnhannibalsmith posted and maybe TW was confessing during his press conference to what he believes to be the true root of his current problems; an exaggerated feeling of invincability, a sense of entitlement.

Maybe there is such a thing as SA and in the end I trust that the mental health community can arrive at something definitive on the topic. But as it stands now the use of the term SA simply strikes me as pop psychology at its worst; a pseudo condition all too conveniently available for abuse by anyone who wishes to deflect any personal accountability from their actions.

Big M,
"Haulin' freight".. ?? have to admit I never heard that one before.

[headhawg]

It's always amazing when amateur medical people discuss something they know nothing about.....Really pitiful the biased erroneous conclusions forgetting that each case is exclusive of the next.First of all, I have a Master's Degree in personality psychology from top Big 10 university. I also have a published article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. My wife is a licensed therapist. I mean, I might know a thing or two about the human condition. And your qualifications are? (And I mean about anything that you post here?)

You are really the classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, 46z. So much so that I dub thee the Royal Prince of Worthless Posts. You used to be mildly entertaining, but now you're much like the old comic still using material from 1965. Same ol' stuff.

BTW, for a fee I might even be able to help you with your problem.

[Tom]

Thank your DOCTOR headhawg! :D

[Greyfox]

Maybe there is such a thing as SA and in the end I trust that the mental health community can arrive at something definitive on the topic. But as it stands now the use of the term SA simply strikes me as pop psychology at its worst; a pseudo condition all too conveniently available for abuse by anyone who wishes to deflect any personal accountability from their actions.

.

IMO, it would be "antitherapeutic" to label consenting adults participating in normal sexual behavior as being "sex addicts."

Talk show psychologists/therapists/psychiatrists who refer to TW as having a "sex addiction" are full of crap and are playing media types (Nancy Grace et. al.) like fiddles.
Don't get me wrong. There are kooks out there - rapists, pedophiles, molesters,peeping Toms, and so on who have serious sexual problems. But once again, those aren't "addictions" per se.

In the meanwhile, people should toss away any iota of a belief that Tiger,
Babe Ruth, Walter Hagen, and too many others to mention had sex addictions.

[boxcar]

First of all, I have a Master's Degree in personality psychology from top Big 10 university. I also have a published article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. My wife is a licensed therapist. I mean, I might know a thing or two about the human condition. And your qualifications are? (And I mean about anything that you post here?)

You are really the classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, 46z. So much so that I dub thee the Royal Prince of Worthless Posts. You used to be mildly entertaining, but now you're much like the old comic still using material from 1965. Same ol' stuff.

BTW, for a fee I might even be able to help you with your problem.

He couldn't afford and the government imposes strict rations on that kind of care due to the limited success rate of treating his disease.

Boxcar
P.S. But "free" would work for him since he would that he's entitled, anyway.

[Greyfox]

What I find fascinating about "The Good Doctor" is that he often will state one idea in one post and then negate it in the next. That's called affirm-deny fogging.

For example, in one post here he admonishes "amateur medical" people about failing to recognize that each case is exclusive of the next.
Then in his very next post down the page, he brings forth a reference pointing out the positive correlations observed in umpteen studies on the "addictive personality."
(By the way, I believe the term "addictive personality," is a mental condition existing only in the minds of psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, more than it exists in reality elsewhere. )

[Bobzilla]

IMO, it would be "antitherapeutic" to label consenting adults participating in normal sexual behavior as being "sex addicts."

Talk show psychologists/therapists/psychiatrists who refer to TW as having a "sex addiction" are full of crap and are playing media types (Nancy Grace et. al.) like fiddles.
Don't get me wrong. There are kooks out there - rapists, pedophiles, molesters,peeping Toms, and so on who have serious sexual problems. But once again, those aren't "addictions" per se.

In the meanwhile, people should toss away any iota of a belief that Tiger,
Babe Ruth, Walter Hagen, and too many others to mention had sex addictions.


Agree with all of the above.

[Greyfox]

Agree with all of the above.

Careful on agreeing with me. Some people would even see the rocket in the picture accompanying your avatar as a "phallic symbol.":lol:

[headhawg]

Careful on agreeing with me. Some people would even see the rocket in the picture accompanying your avatar as a "phallic symbol.":lol:True. And the fact that you noticed it and interpreted it as phallic means what to you Mr. Greyfox...

(Sorry, I just had to put on my Freudian suit for a brief moment. :) )

[Greyfox]

True. And the fact that you noticed it and interpreted it as phallic means what to you Mr. Greyfox...

(Sorry, I just had to put on my Freudian suit for a brief moment. :) )

The "pop" psychologist of the homunculus inside me popped out the idea. :D

[DJofSD]

And, would he be "the little guy's" doppelganger?

[Greyfox]

And, would he be "the little guy's" doppelganger?

The little guys Doppelganger?? Sounds filthy. Wash that mouth out.
Sounds like a German word for bra - Schtoppemfloppen.
But I like it. I had to look it up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppelg%C3%A4nger But I'll take the fifth on answering that. :cool:

[Bobzilla]

Careful on agreeing with me. Some people would even see the rocket in the picture accompanying your avatar as a "phallic symbol.":lol:
Uh-oh, didn't want to give that impression. One day I myself was feeling invincible and entitled and felt this photo of the Saturn V launch of Apollo X represented the trend line of my bankroll. Must have been bad karma because since then an avatar illustrating a falling safebox would be more accurate.

[Greyfox]

Uh-oh, didn't want to give that impression. One day I myself was feeling invincible and entitled and felt this photo of the Saturn V launch of Apollo X represented the trend line of my bankroll. Must have been bad karma because since then an avatar illustrating a falling safebox would be more accurate.

Don't change it. I was just kidding you.
Most times a good cigar is really a good cigar and not anything else. ;)

(The exception being Bill Clinton's reference to a good cigar.):lol:

[46zilzal]

First of all, I have a Master's Degree in personality psychology from top Big 10 university. I also have a published article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. My wife is a licensed therapist. I mean, I might know a thing or two about the human condition. And your qualifications are? (And I mean about anything that you post here?)

You are really the classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, 46z. So much so that I dub thee the Royal Prince of Worthless Posts. You used to be mildly entertaining, but now you're much like the old comic still using material from 1965. Same ol' stuff.

BTW, for a fee I might even be able to help you with your problem.
Over the years I have done hundreds of consults on the psych ward and have attended many of the grand rounds in that arena, so my conclusions come from a direct interaction to patients on the wards and the subsequent information their practitioner's related to me.

The concept of the addictive personality is not accepted by all, but like most things we know it is one of the explanations used by many.

[46zilzal]

This is just one journal amongst several that document the understanding of addictive behaviors.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0893164X

Something that is such a universally acknowledged condition is NOT something made up out of thin air.

[Greyfox]

Addiction is a universally accepted concept.

"Addictive Personality" is not. :rolleyes:

[Tom]

Something that is such a universally acknowledged condition is NOT something made up out of thin air.

Although one can fake having it, correct?