Soul

Cyber partners replacing humans

Healthy sexuality is a pleasurable act and normal part of life experience for most adults. However, for sexual addicts this behaviour can be defined as compulsive and hidden. Unlike healthy sexual relationships, a sex addict will use sex as a way to handle boredom, anxiety or other feelings.

Cybersex is defined as type-written communication for the sole purpose of achieving sexual arousal. It may include viewing sexual images or content online, talking about the material with others online or engaging in two-way conversations about sex acts.

It can also include the use of Web cameras to engage in sexual acts with another partner online. Unlike sex, cybersex does not require physical contact. Consequently, it provides easy, quick access to another world in which more sexual deviance is possible – any fantasy, fetish or interaction is accessible with the click of a button.

The easy access, affordability and anonymity of the Internet sexual experience have greatly increased the numbers of people experiencing a sexual addiction. Most people start off through normal curiosity, enjoy the excitement that engaging in sexual activity online brings and gradually increase the time they spend engaging in cybersex until it becomes part and parcel of their lives.

There is no end to the experience and a user can spend hours viewing constantly changing images. Over time, Internet sex addicts will progress to more extreme forms of pornography or online sexual activity.

Cybersex addiction involves an obsessive and compelling need for a “fix” at the cost of anyone and anything. Cybersex is physically and neurophysiologically transformative. The sexual arousal and release affords pleasure that is temporarily transformative. Simply said, it may be a “fix” for anxiety, despair, self-doubt, rage, fear of abandonment etc. The problem is that the fix doesn’t last. It can’t.

Although cybersex addicts do not face the same risks of disease, arrest or violence as more traditional sex addicts do, an addiction to Internet sex can cause a great deal of pain.

Many will get caught looking at pornography at work or by family and may face negative consequences for their inability to control themselves. Cybersex can lead to increased rates of depression, shame and guilt.

While all addictions have the potential to destroy marriages, cybersex impairs the addicted partner; assaults and implicates the spouse. Whereas it is difficult to hide the evidence of alcohol or drugs, compulsive sexing, masturbating to porn sites or online sexual liaisons can be hidden for a time.

Treatment for Internet Sex Addiction

Sexual compulsions are not easily broken and most cybersex addicts will require professional or structured support to mend their sexual lives.

Sex addicts need to learn why they feel compelled to engage in inappropriate sexual activities, need to learn how they can control their temptations and work on fixing the problems in their life that cause them to seek escape or release through inappropriate sexual gratification.

Sexual support groups model and sexual addiction therapists  are equally common. In most cases it is recommended that the partners of sex addicts get some co-dependency counseling, to learn what role they may be playing in the propagation of the addiction.

Developing the skills and faculties to follow your path of greatest advantage rather than yield in the direction of least resistance is perhaps the most important and difficult challenge of your adult life. Success will surely make you stronger; failure may destroy your life.

Related Articles

Back to top button