Addicted To Sex?
The White House scandal has the whole nation talking about infidelity and about sex. But there's one group of people who say they can't stop thinking about it. In fact, they claim it's an addiction, reports CBS 'This Morning' Co-Anchor Jane Robelot.
Owen, a retired general contractor who asked that his last name be withheld, says he has slept with 1,000 women, and a week never went by that he did not have sex with somebody other than his wife.
"I'm a bright, intelligent guy, at least from my perspective," he says. "But I was [a sex addict]."
Patrick Carnes is a counselor and author who says sex becomes an addiction when it is the organizing principle of one's life. Carnes treats people with compulsive sex problems, and many are willing to pay more than $30,000 for a month of treatment. He says it's a necessary step to bring order to lives that are out of control.
"People use sex like compulsive gamblers use gambling, alcoholics and drug addicts, nicotine addicts use the chemicals," says Carnes.
Few dispute that ours is a sex-obsessed society. But not everyone is buying into the idea of sex as an addiction. Many say it's a cop-out, a justification for bad behavior.
"Addiction is a popular concept because it allows you to blame your own choices on something else," says Marty Klein, who has been a sex therapist for 20 years. He adds that he has never seen a case of sex addiction.
The American Psychiatric Association agrees; it does not recognize sex addiction as a psychiatric disorder.
"People aren't out of control," says Klein. "People are making decisions whose consequences they don't like. That's the majority of people with sexual difficulty."
 |
| Lenore Little (CBS) |
She believes her addiction stems from being sexually abused as a child. As a teen with insecurities, she claims to have scores of sexual affairs to mask her pain.
"Other people used other things to cover up," says Lenore. "People use alcohol to cover up pain, or drugs, or food, orÂ…work. And I used sex to cover up everything I was terrified of."
Lenore copes with the help of therapy and online support groups. Owen participates in a 12-step program.
Says Owen, "I never, ever, will go back to that life of hurting people, and hurting myself, and not carig about anybody except myself."
While not everyone believes there is such a thing as sexual addiction, those who claim to be afflicted can't understand why anyone would doubt their illness is anything but painfully real.
"You'd have to be sick to make up this kind of a life," says Lenore. "I don't know anyone who wants to go through that much pain and fear throughout their life."