How to Diagnose Sex Addiction

Understand different types of sex addiction. There are lots of different behaviors that comprise the symptoms of a sex addiction. While some of these things may have a level of a social or societal norm, you may practice them outside of that norm or to such an extreme that interferes with your life. Some examples include:

·         Compulsive masturbation

·         Having multiple affairs

·         Compulsively use pornography

·         Having unsafe or risky sex

·         Sadistic or masochistic practices

·         Practicing voyeurism or exhibitionism

Observe common addiction behaviors. Addictions have traits in common, regardless of what the addiction actually is. For example, some common addiction behaviors include engaging in the behavior even though you know it causes harm, finding it difficult to stop even when you want to, experiencing some sort of withdrawal symptoms when you don’t engage (irritability, restlessness, cravings, depression), and hiding your behaviors from family and friends or minimizing them.

·         Do you engage in any of these behaviors regarding your sexual activity? How do they affect you? How does it interfere with your daily life?

·         To get more information and educate yourself, you may also want to look into resources on sex addiction, such as online or at your local library.

Diagnose a medical condition. Some medical conditions can cause changes to sexuality and arousal. You may want to have a medical check-up to rule out possible factors that can affect sexuality. Some considerations include having a brain lesion, endocrine abnormalities, or side-effects from certain medications.

·         Check with your physician whether you are at risk for any of these problems.