DOES Baltasar Engonga, the Equatorial Guinea top Government official who was shamed when 400 videos of his sex rampage with different women were exposed, suffer from a sex addiction?
If that is the case, what is sex addiction?
Aso known as hypersexuality or compulsive sexual behaviour, it causes a person to lose control over their sexual thoughts and urges.
While it’s normal to have sexual urges, sex addiction describes behaviours that can become overwhelming and cause problems in a person’s life.
Although sex addiction isn’t listed as a diagnosable condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), it can be defined as part of another mental health condition, like impulse control disorder (ICD).
Sex addictions can come in many
different forms, including addiction to:
· Sexual acts
· Pornography
· Masturbation
· Constant sexual fantasies
· Exhibition or voyeurism, where a person has the desire to publicly expose their genitals or watch other people engaging in sexual activity, both without consent
These behaviors can take a serious toll. Like drug or alcohol addiction, sex addiction can impact physical health, mental health, personal relationships, work, and quality of life.
Sex Addiction Symptoms
The symptoms of sex addiction can be both physical and emotional. It takes a health care professional to make a clear diagnosis, but the following signs could point to a possible sex addiction:
Obsessive sexual thoughts
Those who struggle with sex addiction constantly think about sex. These thoughts may become obsessive or distracting.
Spending excessive time on sex
Seeking out sexual partners isn’t necessarily a sign of sexual addiction, but if you’re spending large amounts of time and energy on sex, you might have a problem. This can include time spent planning sex, having sex, being sexual, or recovering from sexual experiences.
Feeling shame or depression
Since it’s hard for a person with a sex addiction to control their urges, it’s also common for them to feel helpless over their thoughts or actions, which can lead to feelings of shame, regret, anxiety or depression. In extreme cases, sex addiction can make a person feel suicidal.
Always preoccupied with sex
If you’re addicted to sex, you might focus on it so much that it consumes your life. This could mean that you start neglecting school, work, or personal responsibilities, or that you withdraw from social activities. You might also start to spend more time on sex than things that help you relax or hobbies that you enjoy. Your relationships with friends, family, and partners might suffer because of this.
Masturbating a lot
Masturbation can be a healthy way to explore your body and release sexual tension, but excessive masturbation can be a sign of sexual addiction. This might mean you can’t stop yourself from masturbating, you masturbate during inappropriate times, or you do it so often that it becomes uncomfortable or starts to hurt.