Understanding Codependency Codependency may be one of the most common yet widely misunderstood behaviors. In short, codependency means sacrificing your needs to meet the needs of someone else. But there is more to the story. An isolated act of self-sacrifice or kindness isn’t inherently codependent. Codependency isn’t a mental health diagnosis. Rather it is…
We’re all familiar with substance addiction, but what is a process addiction? While substance abuse gets a lot of attention, it isn’t the only type of addiction out there. Behavioral or process addictions can mess with people’s lives just as much as substance addiction. A process addiction is a compulsion to engage in a specific…
Sex addiction is perhaps not as familiar to most people as substance abuse disorders may be. Sex is a natural part of human behavior, and an interest in sex is completely healthy. Most of us are aware that people’s sexual appetites and proclivities vary on a wide spectrum. It isn’t always easy to recognize…
Everyone adores the feeling of falling in love—but when is it a love addiction? Over the years, we’ve written thousands of songs and poems describing these precious moments. We’ve even created a holiday for it. But not all loves are created equal. Sometimes, we can hold on to that feeling for too long, becoming…
Relative levels of sexual excitement and sexual inhibition help determine which individuals will develop symptoms of sex addiction, regardless of their sexual preferences or gender, according to recent findings published by a group of German researchers. Sex addiction is one of the most commonly used terms for a form of behavioral addiction also known as…
Can watching porn lower a young man’s chances of getting married? A study published in the journal of The Institute for the Study of Labor in Germany in November 2014 says it can and does.
There is a debate raging about whether sexual addiction is a “real” addiction. Skeptics say that there is little peer-reviewed scientific evidence in support of sex addiction and that some evidence actually contradicts the existence of sexual addiction. The official authority on psychological disorders—the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—has so far rejected appeals…
Sex addiction, at base, is an intimacy disorder. And “intimacy,” according to Linda Hatch, Ph.D., sex addiction expert and therapist, “is the ability to be real with another person.” This might seem like a simple thing, but any addict, not just those who experience sexual compulsion, is a person who struggles with being real, (i.e.,…
As sex addiction expert and author Robert Weiss argues in PsychCentral, the connection between addiction and shame is well established. Those prone to addiction often feel ashamed of themselves; it’s an inward-facing criticism with the potential to lead to problems such as anxiety and depression, which in turn creates a desire to escape through the…
Addicted to love? Sounds good, right? After all, love and physical intimacy provide some of the most satisfying experiences in life. But addiction to love or sex can be destructive in ways similar to other types of addiction, reports sex therapist Alexandra Katehakis, in PsychCentral.