Sex Addiction
Compulsive Sexual Behavior
![Addiction Cycle](/media/sex-addiction/sex-addiction-graphic-accent-sm.avif)
Like any other behavior, sexual thoughts or behavior can become addictive if they significantly interfere with your normal life. Pornography and sex addiction are brain-based addictions like gambling or gaming addiction. These brain-based addictions are known as ‘process addictions’.
Process addictions involve powerful reinforcement from chemicals in the brain. The addiction cycle for sex involves preoccupation, ritualization and compulsivity, often with euphoria. However, the high is typically followed by shame and despair, which the addict escapes by a return to the preoccupation. This cycle repeats itself over and over until life becomes unmanageable.