Sexual Addiction Counseling

Sexual betrayal is one of the most painful things that can happen in a relationship or marriage. Betrayal comes in many forms from affairs to explicit online chats and pornography. Heartbreak, despair, disgust and confusion all abound when a betrayal comes to light. For the addicted individual, a sexual addiction prevents ever feeling truly whole and complete, and it serves as a barrier to intimacy, connection and healthy attachment.

Getting help for sexual addiction starts with understanding the different ways it may be expressed and how therapy can help end the cycle.

What are the signs of sexual addiction?

Many people assume that everyone with a sexual addiction has many partners and is sexually active all the time. While this may be true for some, there are many people who are in monogamous relationships or struggle to even form relationships with others.

A sexual addiction can be marked by:

• Compulsive thoughts about sex or sexual images
• Having fantasies or urges that are difficult to ignore
• Having little control or boundaries when it comes to sexual activity
• Feeling guilty, stressed, anxious or disgusted by one’s own sexual behaviors
• Wanting to stop but doing sexual behaviors anyway
• Seeking out more intense, risky sexual behaviors to feel the same high

Underlying all of these behaviors are unexpressed emotions and unfulfilled attachments. Some emotional and relational signs of a sex addiction include:

• Emotional detachment and avoidance
• Inability to express vulnerable emotions
• Manipulation, gaslighting, and blame shifting

Sex addictions often accompanies feelings of self-hatred and shame, which can cause a person to avoid ever admitting they have a problem.

Sex Addiction in Marriage

Being married to someone with a sexual addiction can jeopardize everything; it leads to heartbreak, confusion and anger when their partner engages in the addiction. Spouses of people with sex addiction often wonder why they feel that they aren’t good enough for their partner. It can leave them feeling undesirable and even unloveable. There is profound pain, trust is broken, and the trauma of betrayal becomes all consuming.

But sexual addiction is a personal problem, not a problem stemming from the relationship. It often stems from unresolved emotional wounds and an inability to appropriately deal with negative emotions.

While both men and women can struggle with sex addiction, at LiveFree Counseling, we specialize in helping men overcome addiction and heal their marriage. We also specialize in helping wives navigate the painful and counter-intuitive process of healing after betrayal.

Common Questions About Sex Addiction