Sex addiction, hypersexuality, and compulsive sexual behavior are three different disorders.
Here, two sex therapists define each.
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Choose your words wisely.
Theyre not all the same thing, interchangeable as they may seem.
Dr. Nelson adds to this, noting that compulsive sexual behaviors may feel impossible to stop.
This can be a repeating cycle of self-destructive sexual behaviors that are not serving you or your lifestyle.
licensed marriage and family therapist
(The DSM-5 classifies eight specificparaphilic disorders.
While they might lend to compulsive sexual behavior, its not guaranteed that CSB involves these disorders.
Plus, as Wright points out, you dont want to mislabel someone or yourself.
That said, just because you may find someones behavior harmful doesnt mean that it innately is.
Thats not to say that these behaviors arent painful if you find yourself on the receiving end.
In this way, the topic doesnt matterits the impairment, she explains.
For example, most people feel anxiety.
When is it time to get help for said anxiety?
When the anxiety is stopping you from doing things or is getting in the way of you enjoying life.
licensed marriage and family therapist
The Takeaway
Sex is a really important part of life.
Its important to be able to interact with it in a healthy way, Wright says.
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