Is sex addiction real? Does sex addiction affect the brain? Is sex addiction just an excuse? These are some of the questions that many skeptics ask when it comes to hypersexuality. In short, the answer is yes, sexual addiction is a real disorder, that affects the brain in a very real way.
In a study conducted by the University of Cambridge found that pornography triggered brain activity in people with sexual addiction that mirrored the brain activity of drug addicts. Researchers found that compared to healthy individuals, sex addicts had more brain activity in three regions of their brain when exposed to pornography. The parts of the brain that showed more activity were the ventral striatum (involved in processing reward and motivation), the dorsal anterior cingulate (responsible for anticipating rewards and craving), and the amygdala (processes significance of events and emotions). These parts of the brain represent the negative aspects of sexual addiction: reward, motivation and craving, showing that this is indeed an illness, not just an excuse. The study also showed scientists why people engage in behaviors that they know are bad for them. Sexual addicts engage in unhealthy behaviors not because they want to, but because they need to.
These studies are telling scientists that sexual addiction is in fact real. It has a real impact on the brain and a definite impact on the lives of those who deal with it every day. Fortunately research has also been done on how to recover from this disorder, and help is out there.
Reference:
"Brain Activity in Sex Addiction Mirrors That of Drug Addiction" by the University of Cambridge http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140711153327.htm
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