Another Kind of Addict

I believe that ppl who confess to have this problem, or alcoholism ect., and look for help are very strong ppl indeed. David is one of my fav. actors and and feel sad for what he is going through, but completly support him in his choice of reahabilitation. Hope he gets better soon, I know he will. Get well soon David :)

david is a fake...a loser who has allow sucess to drive him down the and he thinks he has it all and he doesnt...he simply likes to cheat and screw and got caught and had to join or lose his marriage

I have always liked David Duchovny and was sad to hear of his addiction. I am glad he is open about getting help and that he IS getting help. There is so much more of this in our culture than is talked about. It is rampant now with computer sex so available. I worry most about teens who will be stunted in their ability to develop healthy, open intimacy with a partner due to their obsessive fantasy lives.

I have always like David Duchovny. I am glad he has made public that he is getting help for his addiction and that is IS an addiction. I worry a lot about young people (teens and pre-teens) who are getting into this. It will make developing healthy, honest intimacy with a partner so much more difficult. Our culture has focused so much on sex that it has come down to turning people into things and how you can use them. We are so much more than that.

Okay folks -- did anyone happen to see the percentages of SEXUALLY, PHYSICALLY OR EMOTIONALLY ABUSED CHILDREN!!!! I am appalled that this is still happening to our children of tomorrow!! Are we not all smarter than this???? Have we not seen the effects of abuse enough??? It makes me crazy with anger to think people are still abusing children GET SOME @#$%*&^ COUNSELING if you feel like telling a small child he/she is dumb, stupid, take down their pants or break their arm!!

Duchovny's problem lies in the fact that he hasn't exercised self-control in the sexual area of his life. Of course, if you've not dedicated your life to God, then I'm not surprised, especially in Hollywood.

I am a sex addict, and it is a real addiction. Clinical research is beginning to show rather conclusively that sexual addiction controls a person at least as much as heroin, and can be even more difficult to recover from. Sex addicts act the same as alcoholics or smack junkies. Addiction means that you have taken yourself out of the context of right and wrong and are unable to stop without assistance. Right and wrong still exist, but they are invisible to you where your addiction is concerned, until after you act out (drink, shoot up, hook up, etc), then the shame and depression that remind you that what you did was wrong and destructive are almost overpowering. For those who may doubt that compulsive sexual behavior is an addiction, ask yourself what would cause a husband to cheat on his wife on mother's day, after she'd already forgiven him once and threatened to leave if he did it again, or why someone would spend 11 hours straight looking at porn and masturbating repeatedly instead of spending time with friends. Also, ask yourself if you would be able to remain 'master of your domain' indefinitely. For some it would be easy, for others difficult, and for others impossible.
In my case, I was abused sexually as a young child, and was habitually viewing pornography by the age of seven. I was exposed to sexuality before I was old enough to understand it in a healthy way, and I've been struggling with it for the last 30 years. I've had therapy and am involved in a 12 step program called Sexaholics Anonymous, which is based off of AA.
Just like with all addictions, a sex addict uses his or her 'drug' to cope with the stresses of life that other people would deal with in a healthy manner. Just as a heroin addict would shoot up to forget how difficult life is for a while, a sex addict would use sex, whether with another person, with porn, or with him/herself. It's just another form of self-medication. Just stopping the addictive behavior is the beginning, but not enough. In order to recover, an addict has to address the personal defects that they are trying to cover up. This is hard, because for many of us, we have relied solely on our addiction for so long that we don't even recognize those defects. It takes getting sober and trying to live life without the drug for us to see the problems that we've been trying unsuccessfully to hide.
Some people may say that sexual addiction isn't a true addiction because there isn't a substance involved. They would be wrong. Our brains are already full of substances, every heard of endorphins? Dopamine? The reason many drugs are so addictive is because they in one way or another manipulate the levels and/or behavior of these substances that are already present in the brain. A sex addict has been conditioned to be able to get these "highs" without needing any outside substance. This is why a sexual addiction can be more difficult to recover from than even heroin, at least initially.

Bible Mike, Even FEVERENT prayer could be considered obsessive and/or compulsive. Hold your judgement and be open to those who could benefit from prayer, but not trade up one obsession for another.

To ll99,

Don't you think it is a little unjustified, and steroptypical to say, "Obviously, it is ALWAYS the MAN because he is the weaker sex..." It is not ALWAYS the MAN, sa this is even stated in the article, "Male and female sex addicts are pretty much the same." (page 1, paragraph 5) I am curious, why is it that you would go so far out on a limb to accuse just the men, and men alone, when it is a known FACT that not all men are "the weaker sex"? If it is true that men are the waeker sex, then how have I manages to maintain my virginity for 21 years now, when there are women who have thrown theirs away as early as 14 years? Before you go and attack a specific group like that (aka, be stereotypical), make sure you are speaking truth and not what you want to claim, because there will always be someone out there to call you out on the lie.

OK.... David... call me... i'm available... for free!!!!!!! LOL just a little humor there yall..................GO MCCAIN!

I'm glad to see the secular side of this issue since it's so common in the Christian world. I myself was caught up in sexual addiction in the form of pornography and video chatting. I never crossed the line as to physically cheat on my wife but what I was doing online was just as bad if not worse. The sleepless nights to chat with that person and the constant lies. It totally wrecks your life, BUT I found the best treament ever and it's only one step. I finally realized that I could not help myself, nor could anyone else. I tried everything in my power to quit but I couldn't. I finally surrendered my life to Christ Jesus and Asked Him to help me and since then I have been free ever since. I do have someone that I am accountable to and I allow them to talk to me freely to make sure I'm straight because like any other addiction the thing you are escaping from will always be there, tempting you. But by the grace of God I know that it is not by my power but the power and mercy of God that moves me purity of thought. I hope this helps someone.

Why is it that now every behavior or impulsive act is considered a "disease"? If I repeat my behavior over and over because it's enjoyable, does that now mean automatically, it's an "addiction"? This is such a joke. Every person, man or woman, married or single, at one point in their life has experienced and desired sexual impulses or gratification. There are people that will act on these at every chance, and then there are those who will act on those impulses only some of the time. In today's society, the mentalty seems to be the "victim" card. It seems as though an individual isn't responsible for how they act, instead they just claim that they're "addicted" to a behavior. What a farce. THese individuals just act on every impulse and cop out using some lame a$$ excuse called "addiction" .

I am a 24 year old single man. I was addicted to pornography from June 1997 to June 2007. As hard as it gets, if it was on the internet I've seen it. It dominated my life and I was online looking at it 5 times a week to 5 times a day, for 10 years, and was unable to stop, despite my best efforts. But on a Saturday in June 2007, Jesus Christ delivered me completely, and I have not been back once. Have not had sex once. Have not masturbated once. My whole mind is guarded and renewed now from lustful thoughts and magnetic eyes. Jesus Christ can do in a moment what no man or therapist can do in a lifetime. I am living purely for God, for my wife (whom I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting) as a testament to our covenant, and for my children yet unborn. This is bigger than us. The decisions we make and the lives we lead, impact not only us, but future generations. But the desire is not wrong. God made sex, the beautiful form and essence of woman, and the intimate union with her. So now I have an even greater desire for the intimacy and beauty of the true union, in the covenant of marriage, and forever with God, the Beautiful One, in whose image every woman I???ve ever seen was made. I???ve seen thousands of the world???s most people tenants, and they couldn???t do it. I was always pleasured, assuaged, or anesthetized, but never fulfilled or satisfied. 3 billion women couldn???t do it. But One can. That???s why David said, ??????in Your presence are pleasures forevermore.???

This is a very complex subject. I can speak as someone who did have a sexual addiction (that pretty much ruined my life). I tried counseling...did not work. Basically, the problem was too much DHT (you know the stuff that makes you go bald). The solution was to lower the DHT through the use of drugs which cured the addiction. Then I was able to deal with the issues and mature to the person I am today. This issue has to be looked at from a hormone point of view and not just a mental point of view. Hormones have a huge effect on how we see the world. Now I am not so body obessed about women and can like them more for who they are inside. High testosterone is a curse that causes sexual addiction, irritability, and emotional distance.

As a man who gets his fair share of sex, I can attest to the gratitude felt when times are good (and the lack of afformentioned when times are not). I subscribe to the notion of this "addiction" being completely natural. I wasn't abused or molested when I was a child, and I've never cheated on a partner. The only time this behavior becomes a problem is when one partner finds it obsessive or intentionally "cuts off sex". I hate to sound like a woman-hater, but in my experience, it's usually the "fairer" sex that refuses to keep up with the supply and demand chain.

Thank you for posting this article. I often thought I was alone with this probllem. Whenever I would hear about some politican having an affair with someone and watch how the media would go after the poor soul, (whom I am sure never ment to harm anyone), my heart would just go out to him with understanding. Still, I could never share that knowledge with my wife or friends because of how I felt they would view myself. Futhermore, the "attacks journalism" our national press expresses (not reports), from a hypocriticle moral posture, makes even more difficult for most men to come forth with this addiction. I believe this disorder is more wide spread than most think. GOOD ARTICLE!

Didn't David Duchovny's character have relations or wants with his dead wife's soul in his daughter's body? Scandoulous! lol

I know if you draw close to god that god will take all your fears and you will turn from your sins. I use to look at women like a piece of meat, then I got my heart focused on god, I prayed fervently and read my bible several times a day. I was amazed at the peace I have in my life and the way it changed my EYES and heart.

To grndhg00: Yes, blame everything on women, it's there fault for not putting out that you have an addiction. Typical male thinking. Rather than find someone else to blame for your problem, why don't you come to the fact that's it's solely your problem and no one else's. Women are not there just to be your sex toys. It's your fault that you can't control you addiction, not any woman who refused to put out for you. Women have the right to choose when to have sex, and it's not their responsibility is you have a problem with it

unless you've been there you have no idea about the pain and torture involved in this disorder. the best way to describe it is to say: it's like having the most intensive itch you have ever had, you scratch and scratch and scratch without relief, there is no way to satiate the itch, you just bleed to death unless you engage in sex and even then there is no relief. i know, i was there, today i'm sober but tomorrow, i don't know.