Cybersex Addiction Healing And Treatment
What Is Cybersex Addiction?
The popularity of the Internet has unleashed an abundance of information, but has sprung a new realm of addiction for persons who are susceptible to problems of low impulse control. Cybersex/internet sex/computer sex most often occurs when two or more persons are connected remotely via a computer and send each other sexually explicit messages or exchange pornographic images.
According to the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, approximately 2 million people are addicted to Internet sex. Cybersex can occur in chat rooms, email, news groups or pornographic websites. No matter how it is delivered, cybersex can serve as a powerful trigger to the sex addict. Research suggests that cybersex addicts spend at least 11 or 12 hours a week engaging in some form of internet sex.
What Is Cybersex?
Cybersex is defined as the consensual sexual discussion on-line for the purpose of achieving arousal or an orgasm. Cybersex often leads to sexually dysfunctional behaviors such as compulsive masturbation. Compulsive masturbation with or without pornography and compulsive viewing of porn with or without masturbation both present long-standing problems for many cybersex addicts. Whether it is through cybersex, phone sex lines, videos, porn magazines, or simply through fantasy, sex addicts can lose hours daily to the isolating activities of fantasy and masturbation. Loss of control, continuation despite negative life consequences, and preoccupation or obsession with the activity, are the characteristics of any addiction.
Alone with only the computer for company, cybersex addicts are in fact isolated from real human contact. Cybersex objectifies the participants and leads to a loss of intimacy.
Whereas many porn addicts used to be contained to viewing porn via magazines or videos, the Internet has introduced web cams and sex sites. Porn addicts tend to replace important relationships and commitments with Internet sex or other forms of porn. Non-Internet porn addicts can be found in places like strip clubs and adult bookstores.
Treating Cybersex Addiction
The sex addiction therapists at Life Works help porn addicts or cybersex addicts deal with their feelings of shame, humiliation and embarrassment. Additionally, for the spouse of a porn addict or cybersex addict, often low self worth is encountered as they compare their own bodies to the images the porn addict encounters online. In both cases (partner and addict), group therapy proves to be extremely helpful.
Life Works facilitates overcoming pornographic addiction and cybersex addiction to create solid, intimate relationships.
Give Life Works a call for a free phone consultation.
