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Ever since Tiger Woods was spotted at the Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, reports have been springing up about sex addiction and how to treat it.  Many agree that sex addiction is no different from any other addiction (e.g., drinking or gambling), and that a 12-step program is all you need to treat it.

But sex addiction isn’t “just like” other addictions.  For example, sex addiction almost exclusively affects men (over 90%, to be exact).  There’s very little information out there for sufferers in comparison with the oceans of websites offering support to alcoholics, drug abusers or gamblers.

And, unlike alcoholism or gambling, the roots of sex addiction don’t necessarily lie in genetics or a predisposition to risk.  Rather, it’s suspected that the roots of sex addiction start in childhood, often because of sexual abuse.  In fact, 60% of sex addicts report experiencing abuse as a child.

What is a Sex Addict?

The first step in treating sex addiction is helping the sufferer see that he does indeed have a problem.  Unless the addict voluntarily wants to change his behavior, there’s little chance of success.

The difference between a sex addict and someone who simply has a high sex drive is compulsion.  The person with the high sex drive may love sex and have sex every chance he gets, but he doesn’t spends thousands of dollars on phone sex, drive himself into debt from visiting prostitutes, or lose his job because he can’t stop surfing the net for porn.

Sex addicts can’t control their behavior when sex is on the menu, even if they know it will hurt themselves and their loved ones.  They feel compelled to seek out sex, whether it’s through masturbation, affairs, paying for sex, pornography, voyeurism, exhibitionism, or non-consensual sex.

If you suspect that you might be addicted to porn, No-Porn.com offers a quick and easy online test to determine if porn is becoming a problem in your life.

Seeking Help for Sex Addiction

Once a person decides to seek help for his addiction, there are several options.  The addict can join a support group, see a counselor, seek outpatient treatment, or attend an in-patient treatment facility.

For help in New Zealand with sex addiction, visit Sex Therapy New Zealand, which will put you in touch with a therapist trained to help you work through your addiction and re-establish a healthy, loving sex life.

What Happens in Sex Rehab

According to Time.com, successful treatment of the sort being undergone by Tiger Woods involves “a mix of one-on-one sessions, group therapy and family counseling.”

The patient is asked to talk about his life and childhood with a counselor, with the goal of helping him come to terms with the past and any abuse that may have occurred.

The patient is also asked to explore his addictive behavior and what motivated it, with the goal of understanding what he did and the real consequences of his actions.

Once the patient can clearly see that he no longer wants to engage in those addictive behaviors that have harmed his life and his loved ones, it’s time to help him develop strategies to keep him on track.

The patient will learn how to avoid the triggers that caused his addictive behavior, and family members may be enlisted as support.  The patient may also need to be accountable to a monitor for the next few months or even years, for extra support during those times when temptation seems inevitable.

There's one final difference between sex addicts and other kinds of addicts.  Many alcoholics become teetotalers, knowing that just one drink can start them on the slippery slope back to addiction.  Gamblers and drug abusers also totally avoid the activity they've become addicted to.  The sex addict, on the other hand, is not asked to take a vow of chastity.  The sex addict can and should continue to enjoy a healthy sex life.

Benoit Denizet-Lewis, author of America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, adds:

“Sex addiction is not about remaining abstinent for the rest of your life.  It is about learning to have sex in a way that makes you happy again.”

Good luck, Tiger Woods!  Hopefully you won't need to seek out porn stars for hot sex when you've already got a blonde, blue-eyed Swedish model in your bed.

And to find out more about "Tiger's Wood," a porn parody by Adam & Eve, click here.