Am I Addicted to Sex? 

You might be struggling with sexually compulsive behavior that is negatively affecting your life. Causing feelings of distress, hopelessness, shame, guilt, and many other uncomfortable emotions. You might have tried to stop these behaviors and achieved some success for a little while. But find yourself acting out the same sexual behaviors again and again. Your sexual addiction is ruining your relationship, could be costing you your job, and is putting you in dangerous, high-risk situations. Thinking of the possible consequences of sexually compulsive behavior can create even more self-judgment, shame, and guilt.

Out of Control Sexual Behavior, Hypersexuality, Intimacy Disorder, Sex Addiction

Hypersexuality, intimacy disorder, and sex addiction are all terms that different professionals use to label your sexual behavior. You spend a lot of time engaging in sexual conduct or thinking about your sexual fantasies. Maybe you are acting out sexually in response to different life events/feelings such as anxiety, happiness, depression, boredom, irritability, or loneliness. While you enjoy sex, engaging in your sex fantasy or compulsive sexual behavior is harming your relationship, friends, or work. Sex addicts are both men and women, gay and straight, married and single. Your compulsive sexual behavior is unique to you and can show up in many different ways. Here are some signs and symptoms of sexual addiction.

Signs and Symptoms of Sexual Addiction

Ways of  Sexually Acting Out

• Pornography Overuse – viewing multiple times away, spending hours at a time 
• Prostitution – seeing escorts, massage parlors  
• Chronic Masturbation – With or without viewing pornography, with the possibility of injury
• Exhibitionism or Voyeurism 
• Having multiple affairs  
• Risk-taking sexual behaviors – multiple partners, unprotected sex 
• Spending more money and time than you would like in the pursuit of sex 
• Sending sexual images via text or sexting to someone outside of your relationship 

Effect of Sex Addiction 

• Experiencing a decline in personal relationships, social, and family engagement 
• Lower concentration and productive at work 
• Sexual dysfunction 
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• Anxiety 
• Depression 
• Substance misuse or abuse 

If any of these apply, you might have a sexual addiction. You do not have to feel powerless over how you act sexually anymore. You can take back control of your unmanageable sexual behavior and learn how to heal the feeling of shame, embarrassment, and self-loathing that comes with sexually compulsive behavior. 

Sexual Addiction Therapy 

It’s time to start your path of recovery. Our sexual addiction therapy is here to help. Men and women we have worked with learn how to develop honesty and accountability to themselves and their partners. You will learn how to stop unwanted sexual behavior, learning the skills to avoid sexually acting out. Along with learning to take care of yourself when you feel triggered. You will learn how to access your emotions and find safe ways to process them that are manageable and not overwhelming. Our clients look at what led them to their sexual behavior and learn ways to heal those parts of themselves. Along with healing yourself, you will learn how to repair their relationship. 

Healing, Recovery, and Living the Life You Want 

Our clients want to change their sexually compulsive behavior, and we help them do it through our sexual addiction therapy or sexual addiction couples therapy for sexual addictions. You will learn what your triggers are and how to develop new healthy ways to deal with those triggers. How to understand your own emotional needs, and how to have those needs met. You will also start to heal your relationships by connecting in a more personally meaningful way. Sexual addiction therapy will help you live the life you have always wanted. 

Certified Sex Addiction Therapist

At Richer Life Counseling, our therapists are trained by our Clinical Director, who is a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). A CSAT is a licensed mental health professional who has completed rigorous, specialized training in assessing and treating compulsive sexual behaviors, including pornography addiction, intimacy disorders, and betrayal trauma. CSATs use evidence-based models, such as Dr. Patrick Carnes’s 30-task framework, to guide clients through structured recovery phases, while also working with partners to restore trust and heal relational wounds. They address not just the symptoms of addiction, but also the underlying trauma, attachment issues, and co-occurring disorders that fuel the cycle. Due to their specialized expertise, CSATs are uniquely positioned to support individuals and couples seeking long-term recovery and healthier intimacy.

Reasons Why You Might Avoid Sexual Addiction Therapy

The therapist is going to judge me for my sexual addiction.

That might be true if you are seeking out a therapist who doesn’t understand or has not worked with sex addiction. It is not the therapist’s job to make any judgments about what you want. My clients learn to set their own bottom lines that work or don’t work for them. If you want to stop but don’t know how to, coming into therapy can help you understand what it does for you to keep using pornography.

Therapy is just too expensive. 

Therapy might be expensive, or you might have different priorities in your life. Through counseling, you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself. When I hear people say that it is expensive, what I am really hearing is that this is not a priority in my life. If your relationship is important to you, you should be willing to do anything to fix it or strengthen it. Counseling is one of the best investments you can make in yourself and in your relationship.

Will you really understand our problems?

We might have different sexes, ages, and life experiences. It can be scary to open up to a stranger about personal problems. I am so honored to be in a profession that can help you on your journey. We strive to connect with you on an emotional level. As someone who works with sexual addiction, I have helped many start their path to living a different life. 

Sexual Addiction Recovery Starts Today

It doesn’t matter if you have been struggling with sexual addiction since you were younger or if it has slowly gotten out of control. Our sex addiction therapy can help you overcome your sexual addiction and live the life you want to live. If you are not ready to start sexual addiction therapy, you can check out our sex addiction recovery program at www.richerliferecovery.com. This sex addiction treatment provides both outpatient recovery groups and an online recovery program. Contact us with any questions or book a session with one of our therapists today.