Sex and Love Addiction | Signs, Effects & Treatment

Sex addiction can cause significant harm and distress. A common misconception about sex addiction is that it is simply enjoying sex but this is not the case as many people who are addicted to sex take no pleasure from it. Additionally, they may experience some significant problems associated with their condition but remain unable to stop. Problems include relationship breakdowns, legal or financial issues due to paying for sex or health problems such as contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Other common sex addiction symptoms include:

Love addiction is a behavioural condition which is often misunderstood. While many people who are in love experience intense feelings, somebody with a love or romance addiction will feel extreme urges for a person, intense euphoria when with them and may even suffer withdrawal symptoms in their absence.

People with love addiction can become extremely dependent on their partner, craving their company or approval at all times. This can result in them finding life extremely difficult alone and they may struggle to fulfil everyday responsibilities.

Some common signs include the following:

• Struggling to let go of relationships, despite clear problems
• Constantly being in relationships and finding it very hard to be alone
• Staying in abusive or toxic relationships
• Depending on others for your own wellbeing
• Genuinely believing that you are in love, despite not knowing a person
• Feeling extremely lonely if not in a relationship
• Being preoccupied with finding partners
• Looking for new partners while in a relationship
• Using relationships as a way to escape from stress or distress

All of these issues can jeopardise current relationships, friendships, career and school responsibilities.

There are some significant emotional and psychological symptoms that people living with both sex and love addictions may experience. For some, these symptoms may contribute to the development of an addiction while for others they are side effects of their addictive behaviours.

Sex and love addictions develop for a number of reasons and each person’s experience will be completely unique. Many people fall into addiction as it provides an escape from difficult feelings or events and it’s also common for somebody with an intimacy disorder to be living with underlying mental health issues.

Individuals who have experienced neglect or abuse in their early lives are more at risk of developing a sex or love disorder in adulthood. This is thought to be linked to low self-esteem and unhealthy associations with sex and intimacy.

Each person’s experience of sex and love addiction differ, but there are some common consequences of living with an untreated form of this disorder.

Typically, people find both their platonic and romantic relationships deteriorate. Romantic relationships may fail due to infidelity, relations with sex workers or watching excessive amounts of porn. Friendships may also fail due to withdrawing and isolating from others.

There are also health implications due to risky sexual behaviour such as sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.

It is also common for individuals to experience problems at work, including loss of employment. This has serious financial implications as can the money spent on pornography or sex workers.

If you are ready to seek professional help, there are different routes available to you. You can begin by talking to a GP or counsellor, or you can reach out to a mental health service which has expertise in treating addiction. At Linwood House, we specialise in rehab treatment including sex and love rehab and we have helped many people overcome their conditions.

Sex and love addiction rehab

Treatment for intimacy addictions can include a number of approaches, including individual and group therapy, alternative holistic therapies and certain medications to help manage coexisting mental illnesses. Research suggests that psychodynamic psychotherapy can effectively help to address underlying anxiety, loneliness, depression and guilt which may be experienced.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most widely-recognised forms of treatment for behavioural addictions and can be employed to change negative thought processes into more positive, healthy ones. Linwood House’s love and sex rehab programmes incorporate CBT as well as many other forms of therapy and treatment including:

At Linwood House, our sex and love addiction treatment programmes use evidence-based methods to aid recovery from intimacy disorders. We believe that everybody deserves the chance for a brighter future so if you or a loved one are ready to regain control of your life, get in touch with us today.