Understanding Process (Behavior) Addiction – Sex and Sex

Dr. Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT

Almost everyone is familiar with and understands the concept of substance addiction to some extent – abuse and reliance on ingestion chemicals such as nicotine, alcohol, illicit drugs, and even prescription drugs. What is harder to understand is the concept of process (behavior) addiction – strategically engaged in behavior despite obvious negative consequences.

In the recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association notes that despite the large problems associated with substances, drug use disorders (also known as drug addiction) occur when individuals continue to use substances.[i] For diagnostic purposes, the APA lists 11 possible benchmarks, any two of which are sufficient to indicate addiction.[ii] However, clinicians treating substance addiction tend to look for the following criteria:

1. Focus on obsession with choosing substances.
2. Loss of control over use is often proven by multiple failed attempts to exit or cut.
3. Negative consequences are related to the use of selected substances.

To some extent, the American Psychiatric Association almost completely avoids discussions about process addiction, and DSM-5 does not include gambling addiction, except for gambling addiction (what they call gambling disorders).[iii] In this regard, the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Society and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (and many other psychiatry and medical professional organizations) are more forward-looking in this regard. For example, the American Society of Addiction Medicine has issued the following statement:

Addiction is a chronic disease of major brain rewards, motivations, memory and related circuits. The dysfunction in these circuits can lead to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in individuals seeking rewards from a pathological basis and/or relief through substance use and other behaviors [emphasis added].[iv]

Despite the weird supervision of the American Psychiatric Association in DSM-5, there is no doubt that process addiction exists, and they all do devastating and destructive like addicts and people who love and care about them.

The most common process addictions are:

• Sex addiction
• Porn addiction
• Love/relationship addiction
• Forced diet
• Gambling addiction
• Shopping/spendence addiction
• Video game addiction
• Social Media/Internet Addiction

If you want to know how behaviors are addictive, let me state that the behaviors listed above trigger the same neurochemical reactions as addictive substances – the release of dopamine, adrenaline and various other pleasure-related neurochemicals (oxygenated proteins, serotonin, serotonin and various opinions). Despite this, the idea of ​​behavioral addiction can be a catch. This is mainly because many potential addictive behaviors are often considered healthy, even essential activities. For example, diet, finding romance and sex are three of the most common processes in addiction that directly promote the survival of individuals and species. If we don’t engage in these behaviors, we will die and eventually our species will die.

Recognizing this fact, our brains evolved to experience fun when we engage in these (and other) life-sustaining activities. And, as mentioned above, this encouragement occurs in the form of dopamine, adrenaline, etc.

Unfortunately, for those struggling with emotional and/or psychological problems (depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, unresolved trauma, etc.), this life-sustaining pleasure response can become the preferred coping mechanism for handling any form of emotional and/or psychological discomfort. This coping mechanism then turns again and again until the individual loses control over it. This is a sure sign of addiction. Whether it is material or behavior, an addict will not feel bad, but Feel less.

Ultimately, the main difference between substance and behavioral addiction is that drug users absorb alcohol or drugs to produce neurochemical reactions that are emotionally escapisted, while behavioral addicts rely on very pleasant fantasies or activities.

To further understand the link between substance and behavioral addiction, consider payday cocaine addicts. After receiving the check, he quit his job early and drove to the bank to exchange it for cash. Then head to his dealership and buy cocaine with the money he should really spend on food and rent. As he approached the dealer’s house, his heart was racing, sweating, and he was so obsessed and focused on the use that he didn’t even notice a police car parked a block away.

At this point, the man is so focused on cocaine that all his daily world, all problems and obligations, have temporarily disappeared. Looking forward to using cocaine, his brain is pumping out dopamine and adrenaline, effectively dispersing his various difficulties in life. He got rid of stress, depression, anxiety, etc. His decisions were distorted and he lost contact with reality. In short, he is tall. It doesn’t matter if there is no actual drug in his system, because his brain is pumping out dopamine and other entertainment-related neurochemicals.

This neurobiological state of distraction and emotional escape, no matter how it is caused, is the target of all addiction. In short, addiction is about the manipulation of neurochemistry, which can happen in Or no An addictive substance.

Special experience for sex addicts High expectations More than anything else, based on fantasy and ritual preparation. In fact, sex addicts experience more fun and escape by expecting, chasing and preparing themselves than from the sexual act itself. They even have the name of this situation, called it bubble or tr. Gambling addicts describe similar states of emotional and psychological separation.

Addiction is not about ingesting substances or participating in behaviors, but about Lost contact with reality Long time. With behavioral addiction, it is the process that leads to bubbles/tr (i.e., “expected high”), which leads to emotional relief. This is why behavioral addiction is officially called process Addiction.

If you need more evidence that process addiction is real, consider the fact that fMRI brain scans gambling addicts, porn addicts, and other behavioral addicts, when exposed to addictive stimuli, reflects a brain scan of a person who is actively using a drug such as cocaine. In fact, the brains of sexual/porn addicts and cocaine addicts are almost indistinguishable.

Sadly, our culture has limited understanding of process addiction, with little compassion, often seen as a moral failure or less severe than a “real” addiction (drug addiction). Neither position is accurate. Process addiction is not a character deficit; like all addictions, they are maladaptive behaviors used for emotional regulation. More importantly, process addiction is as destructive as substance addiction, causing the same type and degree of damage to the addict, family, career and life.

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If you or a loved one is struggling with sexual, pornography, or material/sex addiction, seeking integrity can help. In addition to residential rehabilitation, we offer low-cost online workgroups for both male addicts and male porn addicts, which is a new rehabilitation. Click here for information about our Sex Addiction Working Group. Click here for information about our Porn Addiction Working Group.

refer to

[i] American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5, P 481. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

[ii] American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5, P 490-91. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

[iii] American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5, P 481. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

[iv] “Definition of Addiction”, American Society of Addiction Medicine, visited December 31, 2014, asam.org/for-the-public/definition-of-addiction.