The Truth About Sex Addiction

By Sarah Carrillo

We know about alcohol and drug addiction, but how many of us ever think about being addicted to sex? It’s not just the nympho men on To Catch a Predator that are suffering from it. Three to six percent of the population is addicted to sex, and of them, about 20% are women, according to the website SexHelp.com.

Savvy Miss spoke with Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of the radio call-in show Loveline and the author of Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again, a book about addiction, to find out the truth about sex addiction.

Savvy Miss: What does it mean to be addicted to sex?

Dr. Drew Pinsky: True addiction means the inability to stop despite consequences. In sexual addiction there can be mounting consequences in multiple areas of one’s life, and continued and progressive use in spite of that—that’s addiction.

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Displaying comments 1 to 6 out of 6

crashing_nightingale

I have to agree with Dr. Drew regarding Sex and the City. The characters were meant to be exaggerations of people, not people in real life, and I'm afraid some women have taken what they stand for (women empowerment) as being literal.

I believe I read an interview with Lindsay Lohan saying Sex and the City "inspired" her to date as many men as possible. Funny she said that since it proves what Dr. Drew is arguing.

crashing_nightingale

I have to agree with Dr. Drew regarding Sex and the City. The characters were meant to be exaggerations of people, not people in real life, and I'm afraid some women have taken what they stand for (women empowerment) as being literal.

I believe I read an interview with Lindsay Lohan saying Sex and the City "inspired" her to date as many men as possible. Funny she said that since it proves what Dr. Drew is arguing.

fun_in_the_sun
Wow! What a different way to think of some of my favorite characters! You do have a point, though, Dr. Drew. Too many girls are growing up hoping to model their behavior.

bgeorgopulos@aidforwomen.org -- Chicago

THANK YOU, DR. DREW!! You finally voiced what I've been thinking all along: the women on Sex and the City are quite literally unstable paradigms for our society. I found it sad that young women wanted to emulate their behavior. It was so shallow and none of them actually formed healthy relationships because (DUH!) it was all about sex! I just hope that more women read your article before the movie comes out and revisits their whole philosophy of what I like to call bologna "love"

p.s. I've always been a fan of yours :o)

NickiS
After my divorce, I believe I was falling into the initial stages of a sexual addiction. I've never had problems with any other form of addiction, but I felt very stuck. I had a friend who was brutally honest with me and helped me out of it. I think I'm back on track now, but it can be a little scary.

MorganC
I love sex and the city, but never actually thought of them as "sex addicts." Yes, maybe sexually promiscuous, but Dr. Drew is right, they omit the negative side of these actions on the show. There was never an episode with Carrie getting herpes or Samantha getting AIDS...

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