"He's hypersexual!, She's a nymphomaniac!", are just some of the expressions we hear when we want to label someone as a sex addict.
"When we talk about hypersexuality, we most often interpret this term with attitudes colored by cultural and social norms. There are also notions of nymphomania in women and satyriasis in men, which was even considered a mental disorder due to compulsive sexual intercourse. These are outdated views that divide hypersexuality into men and women, which today's science does not. In diagnostics, there is hypersexual disorder, which is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5. Therefore, it is not registered as a diagnosis of the disease. ” explains the sexual therapist Gladoić Håkansson
Hypersexuality as a sign of other disorders
"Sexuality depends on biological, psychological and physiological factors, and it is influenced by social and cultural factors. Thus, perception is highly dependent on the environment in which we live. When we can say that there is a problem of hypersexuality, it is people who have a constant need for sex and feel bad about it.
They often also have other disorders and obsessive compulsive behavior, anxiety, depression. Sometimes people do it because of other problems they are dealing with, because after masturbation or sex, at least for a moment, they feel better, relieved, more relaxed. If a person feels good after these sexual acts, we are not talking about hypersexuality," explains the doctor Håkansson.
Sexual desire, not addiction
The literature never talks about sex addiction as a serious addiction like alcohol or drug addiction.
"What people often call sex addiction is often placed in gender categories, because in many cultures they have to be steadfast, faithful women. But men are seducers. Such thoughts come from social stereotypes, so often women who like sex or have a higher sex drive are called nymphomaniacs, which is described as degrading. While, for example, in men, this sexual desire is more often considered positive, although a high sex drive can cause problems in personal life. Sexuality is more complex than the labels of nymphomaniac or seductress. It is important how a person experiences his sexuality and sexual desire. Does it bring her positive or negative feelings. "
Proclamation of hypersexuality does not always come from others
Often people think that their sexual behavior exceeds the boundaries of what they consider normal, so they turn to psychologists, therapists or sexologists.
"When someone tells us that they think they have a problem with what we will now call hypersexuality, it means that they feel that the amount of sexual behavior is interfering with their daily life. We are contacted by people who have to constantly go to dating sites, have sex, watch pornographic films... But they don't have hypersexual disorder. Hypersexuality often stems from other problems, such as creating an emotional connection, establishing a deeper connection with another person.”
Sometimes sexuality is for people, like chocolate or food, a source of good emotions and in a way an escape from problems and reality. People are different and deal with different emotions and life challenges in different ways.
And then what is the true disorder of hypersexuality?
"We can talk about hypersexuality in the true sense of the disorder when a person really suffers from sexual behavior, when his whole life revolves around seeking and establishing sexual contacts. According to the literature, there are about three percent of such cases in the world. These people suffer greatly and may develop other paraphilias. Such people are treated with antidepressants or other therapies, which have as a side effect a decrease in sexual desire, but this is extremely rare," explains Dubravka Gladoić Håkansson.
