Compulsive sex is a medical term referring to a series of behaviors which illustrate an obsession with sexuality. Sufferers often have little to no control over their sexual urges, thoughts, and behaviors. Consequently, a compulsive sexual disorder can disrupt an individual's professional and personal life as well as their health and well-being.
Compulsive sex is also known as sexual addiction, hypersexuality, nymphomania and hypersexual disorder.
Compulsive sex carries a range of symptoms including, but not limited to, intense sexual urges, the use of sex as an escape from everyday stress or loneliness, and engagement in risky sexual behavior. Individuals with this condition may struggle to commit to an emotional relationship regardless of their current relationship status. A person with a compulsive sex condition may act in uncharacteristic ways. They may, for example, seek extramarital affairs, or pay for sexual services in order to satisfy their addiction.
Due to some of the risky behavior that people with a compulsive sex condition may engage in, this obsession can be detrimental to their physical and emotional health and the health of those with whom they are intimately involved. Nymphomaniacs are at a higher risk of contracting sexual diseases, which they may then pass on to intimate partners. They may also struggle with feelings of humiliation and low self-worth due to their sexual urges. Because of this, those with this condition should seek help when they realize they have lost control of their sexual desires and behaviors.
There is no established cure for compulsive sex, but it can be treated through sex therapy and self-help. Pornography, erotic literature, and fantasies are common triggers in the development of compulsive sex.
