What is sexual addiction? Sexual addiction is the term used to describe a person whose behaviour is characterized by having an intense sex drive and an obsession with sex. The obsession with sex occupies the sex addict's thoughts and subsequent actions. This behaviour is characterized by indulgence in pornographic videos and literature, phone and computer sex or cybersex, compulsive self-stimulation and constant sexual fantasies. This would later graduate to the sex addict acting out his or her thoughts and fantasies as he or she gets tired of pornography and craves for something real that may be touched and felt. This would then lead to planning for sexual opportunities, procuring sexual services like prostitutes, engaging in risky and dangerous sexual adventures, unsafe sex and having multiple sexual partners without developing intimacy or attachment.

This uncontrollable urge, as all addictions are, would gradually increase in intensity until it comes to the point where the sex addict, in order to satisfy his ever increasing urge, would be agreeable to having sex with any person no longer mindful of the negative consequence with regard to emotion or health.

Thus, the sex addict becomes promiscuous. This promiscuity would entail negative consequence such as financial loss due to paying for sexual services, the loss of a job due to inability to concentrate with work, the loss of a meaningful relationship or marriage due to infidelity, health problems due to unsafe sex, and worse of all, to be legally arrested and sued for misdemeanour, sexual harassment or rape.

Infidelity on the part of the promiscuous partner is inevitable since the former would be interested in having extra affairs rather than confine the sexual activities with the innocent partner. This would eventually lead to the innocent partner leaving the marriage or the relationship. If such relationship is meaningful to the afflicted, its dissolution would bring emotional distress, anger and anxiety. Like substance abuse, sexual addiction in its long term effect would cause the afflicted to become depressed, remorseful, desperate, lonely and anti-social.  Shame and anger may even lead to suicidal tendencies. For in the end, the sex addict would only find regret and remorse upon realizing his or her pitiful situation. Some of its effects may even be irreversible. At this point, the afflicted has to admit to his or her problem if he or she wishes to recover from it.