Category Archives: Sex addiction

Addiction effects on intimacy and sexual health

February 15, 2016

Addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships: The danger of substance abuse

Addiction effects on sex

You need sexual satisfaction? stop using drugs because addiction affects sexual health negatively

As the problems of drug addiction get rooted into the society, its effect begins to manifest in many areas of life including relationships. When we talk of relationships and addiction, a lot can be derived from this and so for the purpose of this article, we want to focus our discussion on how addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships. To this effect doctor Akoury who is an addiction expert of several decades says that for those who constantly abuse alcohol and drugs, this becomes their main source of problem in their sexual life something that can have serious complications in their relationship.

With alcohol and drug abuse in the picture under this circumstance, one of the most immediate casualties from substance abuse will be intimacy. Because the substance of abuse is effective in mind alteration, it may not be possible for users of such drugs to maintain healthy relationships while under the influence of the same. And as the addiction takes tall in them, it will completely take over their life leaving no room for any other meaningful activity. Before any corrective measure is taken, the victim falls into illusion and self-absorption causing them to remain that way until they are treated and delivered from the scourge of addiction. According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, total recovery from addiction will automatically cause recovered patients to regain their ability to be intimate and enjoy healthy sexual relationships.

Addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships: Intimacy defined

As we progress into this discussion, lets us understand what intimacy really is. Broadly the word intimacy is derived from a Latin word meaning inner. We can therefore say that it is the closeness or interpersonal relationships involving both physical and emotional intimacy.

Emotional intimacy can vary in degree and it refers to the closeness that people feel for one another while physical intimacy mostly refers to sexual and romantic contact. Progressively an intimate relationship is understood to include a number of elements like:

  • Trust
  • Where partners in a relationship will have widespread knowledge about each other.
  • Partners in an intimate relationship will feel warmth, affection and care for each other.
  • The expectation of the relationship will be long term.
  • Persons in an intimate relationship may mean that those involved think in terms of us rather than me.
  • Those involved in such a relationship will be committed to each other.
  • There is an expectation that the other partner will treat them fairly.
  • They share and agree mutually on many beliefs, experiences, and opinions.

Addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships: Importance of intimacy

Intimacy is an important aspect of being human because of several reasons. Drug addiction and misuse of alcohol has been proven to be the biggest enemies of intimacy and that has necessitated our discussion on this topic “addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships.” Therefore for you to make certain informed decisions, the following are some of the importance of intimacy in any relationship:

  • It is through intimacy that partners in a relationship get to appreciate and fully understand who they are. This closeness can easily be altered if either of the partners is struggling with addiction thereby creating rift between them and eventually killing any form of intimacy.
  • Luck of intimacy is very fundamental when it comes to the breakages of marriages and other romantic relationships. The damage that this omission (intimacy) can cause can be very painful thereby causing the feeling of un-fulfillment and more so to the sober partner who will in most cases be the one noticing that the relationship is lacking in intimacy.
  • On matters spirituality, Intimacy can be very vital and it may not be possible to progress as a unit in spiritual terms if people feel locked out from others.
  • Intimate relationships provide strength and support needed for the individual partners giving them the comfort that they do not have to face life on their own.
  • Egocentricity and self-centeredness can lead to a great suffering. However by being intimate with one another partners will be able to break down their own barriers and turn their focus away from themselves.
  • The sense of incompleteness is bound to happen because partners may feel that something is missing in their life if they do not have an intimate sexual relationship. Promiscuous sex without this feeling of closeness can be a hollow substitute.
  • If people lack intimacy in their life it can leave them feeling lonely. Loneliness can be very catastrophic in peoples’ life because it makes them vulnerable to other health complications including depression. The danger of this is that individuals may turn to maladaptive behaviors for solace.
  • Intimacy and sexual relationships are one of the most rewarding parts of the human experience. It is a real shame if people miss out on these aspects of being alive.

Addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships: Substance abuse and intimacy

Finally experts are registering that when people are so much into misuse of alcohol and drugs, then maintaining any meaningful intimate relationship becomes very close to impossible. This is expressly true because knowing what drugs are users will become obsessed with these substances and the implication is that they will become so much frustrated with their habit leaving no room for anyone else. And as the individual falls further into addiction they may even lose all interest in sex completely. Remember that addiction effects drive the individual into a world of delusion and selfish action. It will not be possible for another human to trust them fully, and this will prove to be a barrier to intimacy. Nonetheless with all these happening, the individual addict may still have people who love them, but the damage shall have been done meaning that, every time there will be a sense of wariness mixed in with the affection. That is to say, the person who is abusing alcohol or drugs may feel almost incapable of feeling true affection.

Addiction effects on intimacy and sexual relationships: The danger of substance abuse

 

 

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Behavioral Addiction and Brain Function

Behavioral Addiction and Brain Function

February 12, 2016

Understanding Behavioral Addiction and Brain Function

Addictive behavior is a compulsion to repeat a rewarding non-drug related behavior repeatedly despite any consequences to the person’s physical, social, financial or mental well-being.  There are genetic factors involved here. The gene transcription factor known as ΔFosB has been identified as being one of the critical factors in the development of addictive states in both behavioral and drug related addictive behaviors.  Overexpression of this gene in the nucleus accumbens is both necessary and sufficient for the neural adaptations seen in addictive behaviors and drug addicts. A recent study suggested a cross-sensitization effect between drug-related behaviors and a natural reward which was mediated by ΔfosB. Besides this increased expression of  ΔfosB, there are many other similarities in the neurobiology of behavioral/drug addictions. 

One of the most important discoveries in the diagnosis and treatment of addictions is the recognition of the drug-based reinforcement and, more importantly, the reward based learning process. There are several structures within the brain that are important in the conditioning process of behavioral addiction. These are called sub-cortical structures.  These sub-cortical structures taken together are called the reward system.  This reward system is something that we all have—it is a necessary survival process, much like digestion. 

Behavioral Addiction and Brain Function

One system being subjected to major study is the amygdala.  The amygdala is a sub-cortical structure that is involved in emotional significance and associated learning.  Research shows that dopamine-sensitive projections from the ventral tegmental area make possible a motivational or learned association with a specific behavior. This means that dopamine neurons play a significant role in the learning and sustaining of many acquired behaviors. 

Three stages 

There are three stages to the dopamine reward system:

  • the initial burst of dopamine
  • triggering of behavior
  • further, impact on the behavior

This means that the most common result of dopamine-based learning is to create addictive properties associated with certain behaviors. The way it works is that once the brain is electrically stimulated (possibly through the addictive behavior), there is a burst of dopamine.  This burst of dopamine further triggers the behavior involved, which encourages these already-stimulated neurons to increase the stimuli.  Once the behavior is triggered, it is very difficult to work away from the dopamine reward system. 

The other side of this equation is the newly found idea that the human brain can anticipate rewards, and can be triggered by the brain’s early detectors of the reward, and can start triggering the behavior that starts the dopamine reward system.  In some cases, it may lead to issues due to error.  These errors can be used as teaching signals to create complex behavior tasks over time. 

Diagnosis 

At the time this article was written, the diagnostic models used do not have the necessary standards to identify behaviors as addictions in a clinical setting. Behavioral addictions have been proposed as a new class of diagnosis in the DM-5, but the only category included in this class is gambling addiction. Internet gaming addiction has been proposed in the appendix as a condition for further study, but this does not help in the diagnosis and treatment of other behavioral addictions such as sex addiction, or the various types of eating addictions. 

Behavioral addictions are sometimes called impulse-control disorders.  These disorders, which include gambling, consumption of alcohol, sex addiction (not limited to but including the use of pornography and sexual intercourse) eating disorders, use of computers and video games, use of the internet, shopping, exercise and stealing (shoplifting) are increasingly recognized as being treatable addictions.

Brain Function

 In August of 2011, the American Society of Addictive Medicine issued the statement that defined all addictions regarding brain changes.  Their statement read in part, “Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, memory, motivation, and related circuitry.”  This means that all addictions are potentially susceptible to treatment with pharmaceuticals.

 This is the first time that the American Society of Addictive Medicine has taken the position that substance abuse is not just about substance dependence.  It is about how the brain function of addicts differs from the brain function of non-addicts.  The emphasis here is not on the external factors that act on the reward system but on the system itself.  Food, sexual behaviors, shoplifting, and even chronic hair-pulling can all be linked to this “pathological pursuit of rewards” talked about in this new definition of addiction.

 The thing is, we all have this reward system.  It is a survival mechanism, creating the desire for things that offer satisfaction, like food and sex.  However, in a healthy person, there is a feedback system that limits our consumption.  In an addict, these feedback systems seem to either be absent or, in fact, dysfunctional to the point that instead of “enough” the addict wants “more”.  This is what leads to the unhealthy pursuit of these items. So anyone who has one addiction is vulnerable to others, but this also points to the possible development of effective treatment for addictions that have historically been hard to manage.

Understanding Behavioral Addiction and Brain Function

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female suxuality

Impact Of Female Sexuality

February 11, 2016

The Different Impacts Of Female Sexuality

 The impact of female sexuality is of crucial importance to a woman.  The first reason for this is that a woman’s sexuality affects her whole life.  It can turn that life into something worthwhile, or it can turn it into something that is not worth while at all. A woman’s sexuality defines who she is in a primary sense, just as a man’s sexuality defines his identity. 

This gender, or sexual, identification starts at birth.  The first thing the doctor announces is “it’s a boy!” or “you have a girl”. This is the first thing that matters, because it’s the first building block in the edifice that people will someday call “man” or “woman”.  Everything else matters, but is secondary to sexuality. 

Psychological impact 

The sex of a woman is vital to her psychology, as it is vital to the psychological development of a man.  It’s importance to a woman is her identity—to a man, it helps him to define himself as something “other” than a woman.  Since it is so very important, the woman needs to see her sexuality as something to accept and celebrate—it is her foundation as a person.  To a man, it is something to accept, because one of the ways he defines himself is in contrast to a woman.  It is also something to perhaps feel superior about, because as a man, he is gifted with more strength than a woman has.  He has a heavier bone structure than she does; he has more muscle mass than she does. He can protect himself in ways that she cannot.  However, the fact remains that she has something he does not—she has the ability to conceive and create a new human being.  He can contribute to that new human, but she has the ultimate power to say this child will/will not be born.  

Sociological 

A woman’s sexuality is the reason society exists.  Even in the most primitive societies, the responsibility of a man is to protect and nurture his woman.  This is because every man must recognize on some level that if women were not sexual, society would not exist.  That being said, one of the commonalities of every culture is to limit the expression of sexuality. This applies to both males and females, but because of their weaker anatomy, it was more often the female’s sexuality that was limited and defined by men.

 

One of the major ways that this happened was the development of societal “norms” which defined men’s and women’s roles. These norms stated that women did certain things and women did other things.   Since we have come into a time where physical anatomy doesn’t matter as much, women’s roles have been changing changed.  The major ways that this is so are:

  • women have more legal rights
  • women are allowed to have more/different occupations
  • women are accorded a greater stature in society

 

Legal

 

The thing is the legal system was originally meant to protect women. The reason it was important for a man to accumulate wealth was to ensure that his children had something to start life out with.  Who provided the children?–Not his buddies.  No, it was his wife. So in order to assure his children of a proper inheritance he had to take care of his wife.

 

Cultural

 

Again, without female sexuality there would be no culture. After all, what is culture? Culture is the way we live. A large part of the way we live is men trying to impress the women so they would have access to her sexuality, so the men could have sons who they could train to carry on after they were gone. So men do everything they can to impress a woman so she will allow him to live with her.

 

Political

 

This is another way that men sought the approval of a woman, inviting her to live with him and bear his children. This would not have happened if the woman were not a sexual being, and if sex were not gratifying to both men and women.

 female suxuality

Spiritual

 

The earliest religions were those which worshiped women because of their ability to create life. Primitive people still do this.  In that way, spirituality and women’s sexuality are connected.  And according to some US studies, spirituality is also connected to a woman’s sexuality in that women who are more spiritual enjoy sex more and so are more likely to have sex. So men are more likely to espouse spirituality in order to have sex more often.

 

Religious

 

One of the ways in which women’s sexuality has impacted religion is because of an apparent contradiction.  Women who are spiritual have sex more often and enjoy it more.  Men who are spiritual have sex less often. So religion, which places limits on both the woman’s sexual experience and the male sexual experience, was born out of the male sexual experience and serves to restrict and limit the sexual experience of both genders.

 

Female sexuality has greatly impacted our society in many ways.  From serving as the identity touchstone to influencing the ways we think, play, argue, and worship, female sexuality has touched the lives of every female and male alive in a myriad of ways.  This article barely skimmed the surface.

The Different Impacts Of Female Sexuality

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Sexting

Sexting And Its Impacts On Sexuality

February 11, 2016

Sexting: Sexually explicit messages, photos, videos, or even voicemail can be sent or received over digital platforms devices such as smartphone, email, laptop or webcam. When such a communication takes place, it is called sexting. Sexting is a term coined from two words; sex and text. Sexting does occur between two individuals who are romantically involved with each other.

Impacts Of Sexting On Sexuality

Sexting creates some feeling among those individuals who get involved in the act. On sexuality, the act of sexting does cause a different kind of effects depending on the circumstances and the environment. Sexuality is when one is infatuated with feelings, thoughts or sexual behavior that they are not in control of. So to better understand the impacts of sexting, every angle would need to be examined.

There tends to be some increase in sexual exploration among those individuals, especially teenagers, who practice sexting. When teenagers send or receive messages with sexual contents, their sexuality is aroused, and being teenagers, their curiosity is also awakened. This may lead to the teenagers getting involved in some dangerous sexual habits; like practicing sex with multiple partners, which may consequently lead to contraction of sexually transmitted infections and even unwanted pregnancies.

Sexting

Reputation is also something that would be affected by sexting. When one sends photos are videos of themselves in nudity, there is no guarantee that such message would not end up in some wrong or unintended recipient. Sexting is done in the privacy of the two involved parties, however, when such contents get the light of public, one’s reputation is normally put in line. Tarnished reputation makes one lose credibility in the public face or even at work places.

There is also the case of emotional disturbance. The relationship between the two previously intimate persons who may have been involved in sexting may change for the worse. In most cases, one of the partners may want payback and expose intimate photo or videos of their ex-partner to the public. Such exposure may cause great emotional torture to the victim to the extent that they may lose their self-esteem. Sexting may also cause emotional turmoil in the case where a partner discovers that their better have may be cheating on them. This would be the case when one finds out their partners have more than one partner.

Sexting may lead to sex addiction. Sending and receiving messages of nude photo contents or explicit videos may make one aroused. Such contents would make their urge to have sex increase. The increase in sexual activities caused by this sex wanting feeling may lead to some immoral practices among those involved. Sex addiction leads to prostitution among individuals. Because they are made to no longer be able to survive abstinence, Individuals start paying to have sex. Sex addiction also causes sexual harassment. Individuals who can no longer control their sexual urge ran the risk of getting charged with sexual harassment. Since they are out of control and are unable to practice restraint, accepting a no from a partner becomes extremely difficult.

Sexting

Sexting exposes teenager to sexual contents at a very early age. This, in turn, triggers their sexual imaginations as they tend to do more sex explorations. They, therefore, are forced to develop sexually in their minds long before their bodies. This is particularly harmful to them since they get into sexual activities and practices at a very tender age, ending up getting sexually abused. There is also the feel of social pressure that arises from sexting. Teenagers who have been involved in sexting normally find themselves getting pressurized into having sex as they feel the urge to be like other ‘cool’ people having or practicing sex.

Also, sometimes, there is the case of someone feeling unsatisfied with their body. This is more commonly to women who, when they receive some photos of nude celebrities in their phones from their partners, they tend to question their own bodies wondering why theirs are not well developed as others. This do affect their self-esteem in a great deal.

There is also the disappointment that comes with someone when their nude photo gets to the public. In most cases, one gets shun by people close to them. This is hurtful to individuals especially if they cannot find some help in dealing with such cases. This leads to depression in most cases.

Impacts Of Sexting On Sexuality

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Biblical-sexuality

The Biblical View of Sexuality

February 10, 2016

Understanding Biblical sexuality

When one reads across the Bible, a wide range of topics are presented throughout is chapters. It primarily contains teachings that guide the human race on how to morally live. One human fundamental topic that has been explored throughout the scriptures book is sexuality. The Bible gives teachings on how human can exist morally as far as sexuality is concerned. There are those scriptures citing that talk of sexuality in great details. According to the Bible, sex as a practice is mainly viewed as a reproductive practice through which God, on the creation time intended for man to use to feel the Earth. Apart from reproduction, sex was also a manifestation of love between two married individuals and was sacred.  Here down is how the Bible views sexuality.

According to the Bible, Genesis, sex was supposed to be practiced by married individuals, who after becoming husband and wife, became one flesh. This infusion into one flesh or soul was enabled through making love. Gen 2:24, 25 reads, “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh”. Sex, as portrayed in the Bible, is, therefore, a tool for bonding a husband and wife into a lasting relationship.

Sexuality in the Bible is also viewed as a manifestation of marriage. Couples, according to the Bible, become married through an act of making love to each other. In the book of Exodus, the Bible says that having sex is in its self a form of marriage. It says, in the book of Exodus 22: 16, 17, “If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. So the bible’s view on sexuality does differ greatly with the view taken by the contemporary world.

The Bible also portrays sex as a Godly gift that should be treasured and shared between two individuals who love each other and most importantly, husband and wife. Genesis talks of making love as a show of a man’s love to his wife, and the joy the two get as a result of doing the act. Gen 24: 67 say, “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and her married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”

Biblical sexuality

The Bible, therefore, emphasizes the purity of people and should therefore only be practiced when and only if one is married. Meaning that pre-marital sexual activities is not encouraged by the bible. And even those who get married are allowed by the Bible to practice fidelity in marriage. So married couple should only have sex with their marriage partners. Sex, therefore, had two purposes mainly, having children and for pleasure in marriage.

Sexual vices such as rape are also talked about in the bible. The Bible condemn such acts and just like in the contemporary society, the scriptures also provide for penalties subjected to those commit such offenses. In the ancient society, rape was punishable by death. The book of Deuteronomy clearly spells out the penalty. In Deuteronomy 22: 25, 27 we are told that, “But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no-one to rescue her.” The book also in different chapters, speaks strongly against other sexual immoralities such as pre-marital sex, and cheating among the married.

Prostitution is also condemned very strongly in the Bible. Viewing sex as a sacred gift given to man by God purposely for pleasure and reproduction after marriage, the bible is against prostitution as a practice. In the book of Leviticus, God gives Moses set of rules to help the Israelites live with high morals. One of the immoralities they are warned against is prostitution. In Leviticus 19: 29, it reads, “Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.”

Sexual immorality is also advised against in the Bible. In the book of first Thessalonians, the Bible advice humanity to desist from sexual immorality. 1 Thessalonian 4: 3-5 says that ” It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.” This sums up sexuality as viewed by the Bible.

Understanding Biblical sexuality

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