Sex Addiction Treatment

Sex addiction treatment at Holina is rapidly becoming a mainstream behavioural challenge that requires treatment, and as the number of people entering rehabilitation centres for it increases, the stigma begins to diminish. Since 2020, we’ve seen a significant increase in people identifying their addictive disease including sex obsession and compulsions, which is a healthy move forwards for all recovering addicts, in our opinion.

Sex Addiction treatment on a physical level is very similar to substance addictions like alcohol and drugs. We say this because the way the drugs & alcohol flood the brain’s reward circuit is the same as the euphoria created by the chemical messenger that sex (usually through orgasm) unleashes. During the build-up and the climax (orgasm), your brain creates a variety of different hormones and neurochemicals, specifically dopamine, which is also created artificially by drugs and alcohol.

What Is Sex Addiction?

Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD) or hypersexuality is commonly referred to as sex addiction. However, sex addiction as a condition is not formally accepted by all members of the medical community. Though a diagnosis of sex addiction does not formally exist, compulsive sexual behaviour can result in significant emotional pain and other devastating consequences.

Many people may ask, “Is sex addiction a real thing?” In reality, compulsive sexual behaviour goes beyond desire, and it’s a challenging reality for many people who live with it. Approximately 3% to 6% of the general population experiences symptoms of compulsive sexual behaviour. CSBD involves a variety of complex and intense unwanted sexual behaviours and fantasies that, at times, may become harmful to you and others. The condition can be managed, though. It might require seeking the help of a health professional and committing to long-term treatment.

Source – PsychCentral

The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand as what direction you are moving.

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

What Are Symptoms Of Sex Addiction

Sexual addiction can manifest itself in many different ways, both physical and emotional. It takes a healthcare professional to make a clear diagnosis, but here are some signs that can point to a potential sex addiction:

You masturbate often (once to several times daily).
You spend an excessive amount of time planning sexual activity.
You frequently use sexual services.
Your behaviour escalates to reckless sexual activity.
You frequently engage in paraphilia.
You can’t stop your sexual behaviour despite negative consequences to your finances, relationships, health or emotions.

Dopamine, often referred to as the “pleasure chemical”, is responsible for feelings of pleasure or joy, desire, and motivation.

As this surge of dopamine floods the reward circuit it reinforces the messages to the brain that this is pleasurable and therefore begins to create the brain's attachment to the behaviour, before it grows to become a dominant activity, obsession, and compulsion, as the process is repeated again and again.

Just like with drug use, the brain adapts to the artificial pleasure being offered by reducing its impact over time and creating tolerance within the cells responding to it, meaning that more and more of the activity is required to create the same feelings.

Why Do People Get An Addiction To Sex?

The simple reason why people become addicted to sex is that it feels good. It feels so good that the brain begins to crave more and more of these feelings, unconsciously moving through a timeline that eventually shifts from fun pursuits to obsessive and compulsive activities. Furthermore, just like substance addictions, their beginnings started with the desire to control our reality or seek a better one – what we mean by this is that once the brain learns that it can control its joy and pleasure through an activity like sex or drugs, it desires it more of the time, particularly to escape pain or move towards even more joy and pleasure.

Sex addiction treatment, similar to food addictions is particularly difficult to confront because it’s considered such a natural thing to do and believed to be one of the basic human needs – to procreate and to feel good procreating. But how many people with sex addiction are using it to procreate? Almost none. Almost everyone is using sex to artificially feel good about themselves. With such a temptation and such a global and societal mindset around sex, it’s not surprising that it’s so difficult to overcome.

How Our Sex Addiction Treatment Works

Sex addiction treatment begins with the acknowledgement of the problem – that you have crossed a line into unhealthy sexual behaviours and cannot recover from this alone. Change must occur and that change begins with our thinking. It will take courage, faith, discipline, and commitment to accept that recovery is necessary and to surrender to the process of recovering with Holina addiction services.

You must take responsibility for your recovery as much as you do for your other actions in life. This acceptance will play a key role in beginning your journey into recovery as you take responsibility for your past behaviours and move into new ones, launching your newfound freedom and happiness. Your spirit will awaken and as you recover you will see a complete overall shift from selfishness into selflessness, as you regain the ability to live a life thinking of others as well as yourself. Holina addiction services are a beautiful process.

How Much Does Rehab Cost?

We have a wide selection of accommodation options available when you stay at Holina Rehab, and start our Drug Addiction Treatment Program. We believe your environment and the people around you can make a big difference in your treatment and your overall well-being.

Please enquire about the pricing structure of 24/7 medically managed detox, supervised by Doctors and nurses, licensed as an inpatient hospital on the contact form below.