Just adultery and sexual addiction

Erin Snow

Is there a difference between ordinary adultery and sexual addiction? Yes, no doubt. A person can become an adulterer, not a sex addict. Another person can be a sex addict without having to commit adultery. Another person may be both a sex addict and an adulterer. To clarify, the following definitions provided by Dr. Robert Weiss in Dog House and Sex Addiction 101 may be helpful.

• adultery (also known as infidelity and cheating) is the destruction that occurs when you keep sexual and/or romantic secrets with your main romantic partner.
• Sex addiction Involves (1) focusing on points of obsession with sexual fantasy and behavior, (2) losing control of sexual fantasy and behavior (usually proven by failed attempts to exit or reduce), and (3) negative life related to going out Consequences – Controlling sexual fantasies and behaviors.

As mentioned above, one person can be one, the other, or both. If a person keeps sexual and romantic secrets from his spouse or partner, that person is cheating. A cheater may (or may not) be fully focused on obsession, out of control, and encounter negative consequences associated with his or her keeping secret behavior. If so, scammers will also become addicted. If not, there is no sexual addiction. Meanwhile, a person who is obviously sexually addicted may not cheat. Addicts are either single and therefore cannot engage in infidelity, or the addict does not violate relationship boundaries or keeps sexual secrets.

Unfortunately, many people caught cheating will beg for “sex addiction” as a reason for their behavior. Often, they want to avoid or at least minimize the consequences they may be associated with sexual education behavior. Sometimes these people are really addicted. Other times they are not. Either way, a compulsive behavior diagnosis will not free a person from his behavior. Therefore, whether it is adultery or sexual addiction, the perpetrators are responsible for their actions.

If you are a betrayal partner, liar, or sex addict, you may ask if the difference between adultery and compulsive sexual behavior disorder is important. Either way, the damage to life and relationships is significant, right? However, from a therapeutic standpoint, the difference is really important. Just as doctors don’t want to use medication to treat hypertension, psychotherapists don’t want to use methods proven to be used with sexual addiction to treat adultery without the elements of addiction.

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If you or someone you care about is struggling with sexual, pornography, or material/sex addiction, please help. Seeking integrity to provide hospitalization for sexual, pornographic and material/sex drug users as well as low-cost online task force. Meanwhile, sexAndRelationshiphealing.com offers a variety of free webinars and visit discussion groups, podcasts, and more.