Abstract
Sexual addiction is a controversial topic that lacks substantial data. However, a psychosocial and neurotransmitter theories have been postulated in order to shade light on this disorder. Sexual addiction denotes sexual urges, thoughts or behaviors that appear out of an individual’s control or extreme in frequency; extreme addiction to sexuality (Kingston & Firestone, 2008). Addiction, on the other hand, denotes the state of behavior that goes beyond the boundaries of social norms and hinders a person’s ability to develop healthy relationships or function appropriately in life’s general aspects (Kingston & Firestone, 2008). In this paper, I provide theoretical explanations for John’s sexual addiction disorder. John is so obsessed with sex that he has to pick prostitutes to quench his sexual desires. The first section of the paper defines sexual addiction. The following sections highlights scholarly sources that explain sexual addiction in order to understand John’s sexual disorder.
In this paper, I analyze John’s sexual addiction disorder. In order to satisfy his hypersexual desire, John has to pick up prostitutes. This paper provides a psychological evaluation of John’s sexual addiction disorder. Let us begin by defining sexual addiction disorder. Sexual addiction denotes a conceptual model that seeks to provide the scientific underpinnings of sexual urges, thoughts or behaviors that appear out of an individual’s control or extreme in frequency; extreme addiction to sexuality (Kingston & Firestone, 2008). Hypersexuality has not been extensively studied, and it appears to be a continuous sexual construct, but it is linked to obsessive and addictive personalities, psychological disorders, escapism, self-destructive behavior, low self-esteem, a behavioral condition, and lower sexual ambitions.
On the other hand, addiction denotes the state of behavior that goes beyond the boundaries of social norms and hinders a person’s ability to develop healthy relationships or function appropriately in life’s general aspects (Kingston & Firestone, 2008). Theoretical explanations for this disorder vary among scholars; opinions vary as to whether this disorder should be regarded as a psychological, physiological or medical addiction or if it qualifies to be a psychiatric/physiological condition.
In a study conducted by Hilton (2013), researchers attempted to measure how the brains of sexual addicts respond to sexual images. According to these researchers, if sex was to be conceptualized in a clinical sense, the neural response of sexual addicts to sex should be similar to that of alcohol or drug addicts to alcohol or drug respectively (Hilton, 2013; Bridges et al., 2010). Instead, Hilton and his team learned that hypersexual brains do not act in the same manner as those of other addictions. These researchers contend that people with active brain reactions have high libidos, but there is no association between sexual addiction and active brain reactions. The study conducted by nullifies the notion sexual addiction is a mental disorder; this means that John’s condition may because by other factors.
Another body of research that seeks to unearth the underpinnings of hypersexuality concentrates on the effects of neurotransmitters. This school of thought focuses on monoamines especially norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin although clinical studies are few. Normal sexual functioning is modulated by these three monoamines and their action can be evaluated through selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) derived sexual dysfunction, as well as enhanced sexual activity among those who use stimulants. Other studies of sexual addiction have revealed that medications for Parkinson’s disease contribute to hypersexuality, and this means that dopamine is at the heart of this disorder.
Unfortunately, data that highlights how perturbations in these transmitters cause sexual addiction is still scarce. In addition, hormones are essential in defining an individual’s sexual drive. Current data suggests that testosterone levels play a key role in the determination of sexual functioning, but little data is available on how testosterone contributes to sexual addiction (Garcia & Thibaut, 2010). Since high testosterone levels are associated with sexual functioning, sex addicts are believed to have high testosterone levels. John could be having slightly higher testosterone levels, and thus why he has heightened sexual desire. According to the available evidence, people who are addicted to sex such as John have an activated mesolimbic dopamine pathway. This pathway is a reward recruit that reinforces survival behaviors. The mesolimbic pathway is responsible for the distribution of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is an essential brain neurotransmitter that modulates the reward system. The reward system dictates the mental activity and consequent people’s behaviors. Dopamine is regarded as a pleasurable neurotransmitter owing to its effect on the brain’s nucleus accumbens (Garcia & Thibaut, 2010). In relation to drug addiction, continuous dopamine stimulation leads to high dopamine levels that in turn trigger compulsive drug taking (Baskerville et al., 2009). Likewise, in sexual addicts, dopamine levels seem to be high which modulate the desire for sex. However, factors that contribute to dopamine enhancement in this group are not well understood. In line with this theory, John is said to have heightened dopamine levels that modulate his hypersexuality.
Estellon and Mouras (2012) also suggest that sex addicts have the opinion that they will have challenges finding response to their desires in others. Estellon and Mouras (2012) contend that believing calls for recognition an invisible phenomena. At times, these beliefs are vital; it is the natural functioning of an individual’s body. In other words, it is the continuity of self, in the consciousness of others and the reality of the outside world. Absence of belief in oneself limits one’s ability to inhabit their life; psychologists such as Feud highlight that in order to lover others, and individual must love himself or herself first (Estellon & Mouras, 2012). Sex addicts, because of their effective deficiencies and narcissistic fragilities, use other people’s bodies for a fix or to forget their challenges. In line with this, sex addicts zaps from one body to another with no strings attached. In this context, the sexual partner does not exist in a sex addicts’ historical dimension or identity, but rather an anonymous body who offers sedation to the body in desperate need of erogenous stimulation.
In addition, from a relationship perspective, this disorder can be seen as a phobic strategy that helps the individual in question to avoid real encounters with others. Sex addicts seek to avoid the anxiety of intrusion and abandonment that may occur if a relationship goes sour (Estellon & Mouras, 2012). In order to avoid being haunted by these anxieties, sex addicts avoid relationships with attachment; in other words, sex addicts are afraid of abandonment. In order to avoid the depressive suffering associated with breakups and deceptions, sex addicts avoid attachments, but only satisfy themselves when in need (Estellon & Mouras, 2012). These phenomena could explain John’s sexual addiction.
Furthermore, previous studies have shown that sex addicts such as John have affective insecurity, masked depression, affective and social isolation. On top of that, they have rational anxiety, emotional overflow, difficulty with conjugal instability, intolerance and frustration, and a compulsive system. Splitting is a strategy that is commonly used by sex addicts. It is used to mask their affective imbalance. In this context, splitting is used to radically delink sexual impulses from affectionate impulses. In other words, sexual partners are given less affection when compared to other significant associates such as friends and family. Estellon and Mouras (2012) also suggest depression is the cornerstone of sexually addicted behavior. It has not been elucidated whether it has a psychoanalytic, behavioral or psychopathologic alienation. There is a significant loss of belief in bonds of sexual relationships, and lack of insights in the significance of life in the wake of sex addict’s erogenous sensations leading them to compulsive repetitive behavior. These dynamics could be causing John’s sexual addiction.
In summary, this paper has shown that sexual addiction denotes a conceptual model that seeks to provide the scientific underpinnings of sexual urges, thoughts or behaviors that appear out of an individual’s control or extreme in frequency; extreme addiction to sexuality. The purpose of this paper was to give the theoretical basis of John’s sexual addiction. John is a sex addict who has to pick up prostitutes in order to satisfy his sexual desires. First, this paper has noted that a sexual addiction has no well-defined theoretical basis, but different scholars have put forward explanations in an attempt to shade more light on this disorder. However, it has been found that sexual addicts such as John have various shown that sex addicts such as John have affective insecurity, masked depression, affective and social isolation, rational anxiety, emotional overflow, difficulty with conjugal instability, intolerance and frustration, and a compulsive system. Splitting is a strategy that is commonly used by sex addicts. It is used to mask their affective imbalance.
Secondly, another body of research that seeks to unearth the underpinnings of hypersexuality concentrates on the effects of neurotransmitters. This school of thought focuses on monoamines especially norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin although clinical studies are few. Normal sexual functioning is modulated by these three monoamines and their action can be evaluated through selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) derived sexual dysfunction, as well as enhanced sexual activity among those who use stimulants. In relation to drug addiction, continuous dopamine stimulation leads to high dopamine levels that in turn trigger compulsive drug taking. Likewise, in sexual addicts, dopamine levels seem to be high which modulate the desire for sex. Therefore, John could be having high dopamine levels. In addition, hormones play a crucial role in the modulation of sex. In men, high testosterone is associated with better sexual responses; sexual addicts such as John are said to have high testosterone levels.
In conclusion, John could be having high testosterone levels, hyperactive dopamine pathway, or has a psychosocial disorder that are causing him to cover up by overindulging in sex.
References
Baskerville, T. A., Allard, J., Wayman, C., & Douglas, A. J. (2009). Dopamine oxytocin interactions in penile erection. European Journal of Neuroscience, 30(11), 2151–2164.
Bridges, A. J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Chyng, S., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: A content analysis update. Violence against Women, 16(10), 1065–1085.
Estellon, V., and Mouras, H. (2012). Sexual addiction: insights from psychoanalysis and functional neuroimaging. Journal of Social affective Neuroscience and Psychology, 2, pp. 11814-40.
Garcia, F.D., Thibaut, F. (2010). Sexual Addictions. Am J Drug Alc Abuse 36, 254-260.
Hilton, D. (2013) Pornography addiction – a supranormal stimulus considered in the context of neuroplasticity. Journal of Social affective Neuroscience and Psychology, 3, pp. 20767- 40.
Kingston, D. A., & Firestone, P. (2008). Problematic hypersexuality: A review of conceptualization and diagnosis. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 15 (4), 284–310.
