One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
UCLA Study Says Sex Addiction Isn't A Real Disorder
(Photo by Leszek Glasner/Shutterstock)
A recent UCLA study suggests that sexual addiction isn't a real disorder and that people who think they have it don't need to go to "sex rehab."
It reportedly affects 16 million Americans. Celebs like Tiger Woods, Russell Brand, David Duchovny and Halle Berry's ex-husband, Eric Benet, all claimed to suffer from it, some of them even going to rehab for the so-called addiction. (And let's not forget Viggo Mortensen trying to sex up Sandra Bullock in 28 Days.)
In a recent study, UCLA scientist Nicole Prause monitored the brain activity of 39 men and 13 women while they were shown various erotic images, CBS News reports.
"If you think sexual problems are an addiction, we would have expected to see an enhanced response maybe to those sexual images. If you think it's a problem with impulsivity, we would have expected to see decreased responses to those sexual images. The fact that we didn't see any of those relationships suggests that there's not great support for looking at these sexual behaviors as an addiction," she said.
Prause said she doesn't want to discourage people from seeking help, but believes there should be other treatment options beside "sex rehab."
"We want to urge caution and thoughtfulness in thinking about how to treat these types of sexual problems, and I don't think we have a good grasp yet of what exactly is going on," she said.
The American Psychiatric Association just excluded sex addiction as a condition in its newly released updated guide. "There was not sufficient evidence at this time to include sex addiction, not only in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) itself, but even in the index for further study, so there's high skepticism, I would say, around that idea," said Prause.
Sponsored message
A WebMd article quotes Rory Reid, PhD, LCSW, a research psychologist at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior: "It is no more about sex than an eating disorder is about food or pathological gambling is about money."
He says that "sex addicts" often have underlying problems—like stress, anxiety, depression and shame—that drive their often risky sexual behavior.
Related:
The Business Of Doing The Business: Sex Addiction Rehab On The, Ahem, Rise
Teary Tiger Woods: "I've Done Some Pretty Bad Things"
David Duchovny, Sex Addict. Aw Baby - Come Over Here.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
