Six percent in U.S. are obsessed with sex

Nutrition Health Review, Wntr, 1989

Six Percent in U.S. Are Obsessed With Sex

Some 6% of Americans are so obsessed with sex that they have allowed it to become the governing principle in their lives, therapist Patrick Carnes told 700 psychologists, sociologists, and family therapists attending a meeting of the National Council on Family Relations in Philadelphia.

He said that such people often neglect their jobs and their relationships with spouses, children, and others because of their obsession. Sexual addiction, he pointed out, is much like other types of addiction becasue the victims crave excitement so much that they have difficulty functioning in the family or concentrating on work.

Sexual addicts do not necessarily have sex more frequently than "normal," according to therapist Carnes: "It has little to do with quantity, but with being out of control." As in other addiction is a failure to bond with parents, resulting in feelings of being unloved. Sexual addicts generally come from families with members who were alcoholics, gamblers, or addicts of other types.

The therapist concluded that therapy can assist sexual addicts in overcoming their obsession by helping them understand why they use sex for comfort, how their upbringing contributed to the problem, and why they seem to have no control over their behavior.