PORNOGRAPY/CYBERSEX

Most sex addicts in treatment report difficulty with pornography. Often, the pornography is viewed on the internet (cybersex is now the number one profit center on the Internet). Cybersex has been described as the crack-cocaine of sexual compulsivity. It has created an entire population of sex addicts who might otherwise have escaped the clutches of addiction. And those with a previous sex addiction problem may find their behaviors magnified with cybersex, escalating into areas they might not otherwise have gone. In addition, cybersex addicts often report a declining ability to respond sexually to their partners, creating difficulty in their primary relationship.

The lives of cybersex addicts are often unmanageable. They often take inordinate risks including being discovered at home or work, placing relationship and career in jeopardy. A cybersex binge may last the entire night leaving the addict exhausted the following day. Important tasks are procrastinated or completed abandoned. The behavior is often rationalized as okay because it does not involve a “real” human being—it is not hurting anyone else. However, cybersex addicts do not fully understand the considerable toll cybersex addiction has taken on themselves. Therapy for the cybersex addict includes breaking the dependency on pornography and cybersex. Internet blocking software is often a first step in addition to other treatment tools which help the sex addict avoid destructive behavioral patterns.