Is sex a drug?

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Psychology Today defines addiction as the following:- 'Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continuation of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary responsibilities and concerns, such as work, relationships, or health. People who have developed an addiction may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others.'So if it interferes with your life, it's an addiction whether it is once a week or 50 times a week. We can be addicted to anything that is pleasurable (to you/your brain) - be it a substance or an activity. The psychology and science of addiction is complex. If you think you or a loved one has an addiction, I suggest you look for professional help for yourself or for professional advice for how to help the other. KH x

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  DynamicCouple36

  8 years ago

  We think that the endorphins, released as a result of sex, are the "feel good " chemicals that can become addictive. One becomes addicted to the good feelings / feeling of well being, that results from this. Sugar is a highly addictive "toxic" substance, but then so is salt & carbohydrates. And manufacturers know this, and add sugar, salt, carbs & fat to their products, to keep the consumer coming back for more. - Posted from rhpmobile

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  isn't addictive in the true clinical sense of the word. It is very compelling (because it tastes good and therefore it's easy to eat a lot of it), and it does have some addictive-like properties, but research so far hasn't shown it to meet the criteria that designates a true addiction. James Fell (website bodyforwife.com) writes good stuff about the sugar issue. He's one of the very few health / fitness people I've come across who is all about the science and evidence, and who dismisses all the fad rubbish and bandwagons so rife in those industries. As for sex, as KillerHeelz said it's not about how many times per week. It's whether it's impacting negatively on the rest of your life, and whether you are able to control your behaviour in relation to it. Same as with any addiction.

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Just curious, why does an addiction have to be negative?

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  It can take you to the moon and back when Really good. It can also leave you feeling disappointed. But it is not a drug. You are not guaranteed what result you will get. Be it good, bad or Indifferent. The sex addiction thing was covered recently in another forum. I believe a lot of us can really really love sex and how it enhances our lives without taking over it. But if it's an addiction it controls your life and that can cause problems. OP you have so many questions in this topic :) Is sugar addictive? I don't know. Maybe. There can be times when we crave a Sugar Hit. But what about diabetics? It pretty much controls their life by having to check their levels all the time. but I don't think people become diabetic because they were addicted to Sugar. ???

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  I want a new drug One that won't make me sick One that won't make me crash my car Or make me feel three feet thick I want a new drug One that won't hurt my head One that won't make my mouth too dry Or make my eyes too red One that won't make me nervous Wondering what to do One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you When I'm alone with you

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Does sex make someone feel good after flooding them with feel good hormones? I'm going to say... Yes! Yes! Yes! Peachy

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  SugarSugar69

  8 years ago

  Is sex a drug? For cum junkies it is! - Posted from rhpmobile

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  DynamicCouple36

  8 years ago

  It certainly is. Google "Is sugar addictive?" and you will see there is a huge amount of clinical studies and medical information about this. - Posted from rhpmobile

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  swingalingson

  8 years ago

  Some people who post fake news say that addicts are all the same and can not be trusted. I beg to differ. Not all addicts. A sugar addict is not a bad person. Sometimes addictions are genetic. Written in the dna make up. Ever wondered why doctors ask that question? If you ever had anything in your family? Not all addictions are negative. Ah Huey Lewis and The News. I dont think Huey posted fake news.

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Swings, name one addiction that is a positive in that persons life. An actual, legit addiction. You can't. Because addiction by definition (as mentioned already, more than once) IS negative. Try Google. You want definitions, You'll find your answers there. Sex can be an addiction exactly the same way alcohol and cigarettes and meth can be an addiction. There are no "how many times a week" numbers that determine if someone is a sex addict. Are you serious? What are you talking about sugar? How does sugar "regulate your body"?? 😂😂😂 That makes no sense! You post the most weird shit 😂😂😂 - Posted from rhpmobile

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Quoting 'swingalingson'<snip> Sometimes addictions are genetic. Written in the dna make up. Ever wondered why doctors ask that question? If you ever had anything in your family?<snip> Just to clear something up here....having a DNA trigger (eg, your dad was a smoker) does not mean you will be a smoker. It just means that you may be more prone to smoking than someone that does not have that trigger. Your own environmental factors and your own value system also have a large affect on whether you will become a smoker or not.

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  "A drug is any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological change in the body" Wikipedia Based on the above definition, I would say no. But in saying that, sex addiction may display itself with characteristics similar to drug addiction but is more of a psychological disorder rather than an addiction itself. If you're dependant on something in your life to function normally, or it alters your lifestyle significantly, then it has the characteristics of addiction. Whether it be sexual acts, sugar dependency, alcohol or drugs; the end result on your life can being similar negative effects. I wouldn't say sex is a drug, but sex addiction would be a life changing and negative disorder to have. - Posted from rhpmobile

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  You seem to be an authority on this subject. I'm going to query some of your key points. Quoting you "and yeah, when we're talking addiction it's an actual need, not a want. We're talking illness rather than just destructive behaviour". Please explain, what's the difference? How would you classify it as an illness as opposed to a need and how would you or anyone else know? Sorry, but that seems a little vague, and could easily be one and the same. You also insist an addiction has to negatively impact one's life, but in a very destructive way yes? So let's examine that. Subject A is a gambling addict (a recognised condition/illness) who, by the very nature of the addiction, leaves a wake of devastation around him/her, lives affected negatively because of the money obviously and associated issues trying to get more money to continue with the addiction. Okay? Now Subject B is a sex addict (non recognised condition/illness) who lives their entire life based around sex, every movement/activity/errand/conversation/every waking thought as well as waking numerous times during the night and staying awake as it consumes them again. The brain and body are programmed accordingly and there's no getting away from it. But that's okay for the addict, because it hasn't impacted their life in a destructive way, aside from lost sleep and the odd run in with the law, they secretly factor sex into everything in their day, planned before leaving home. The addiction is very much there with Subject B, but you can't see that. You have your view and you can't see past that. It's like A.D.D. unless you're inside the brain, you couldn't possibly understand it, it's impossible to explain to another person. I believe you are very wrong here. Sex is free for those of us who have it available to them, so the above comparison I used to illustrate your simplistic view re how much it has a negative impact on the addict's life, indeed you believe it MUST have a negative impact to be an addiction? According to who, some expert? There are plenty of sex experts who wouldn't know the first thing about their own body, let alone the woman's body in general. I could definitely teach most of them a thing or two or three. So you're making these claims based on what exactly? As a nurse you would see worst case scenarios, but that is just a snippet of the population, sex isn't dangerous for your health, the way drug/chemical/substance addictions are, and shouldn't run up millions of dollars of debt, the way a gambling addiction might peak, the associated problems with that would see many end up either in hospital or a psych ward, meanwhile the sex addict flys under the radar because it doesn't have the catastrophic effect on them, or people around them, that you claim it must have to be an addiction ?? Makes no sense. Due respect, but I think you are not seeing past your nose lol 😀😉

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  Sherlock_H

  8 years ago

  I've liked a few posts in this thread, mostly the ones that keep bringing the definitions of "drug" and "addiction" back to the forefront of the discussion. By definition, a drug is any substance that is absorbed into the body in some form, that brings about a change in the body physically. Because of my back, I take a number of drugs, not all of them addictive, some of them that are. I think at the moment I am addicted to three different medications (although technically it's called "dependency", because I'm not abusing the drugs in question... you know, because that makes it SO MUCH BETTER. heh). By definition, an addiction is any practice (be it an activity or consumption of a substance) that one has a psychological or neurological compulsion towards, at the expense of healthy life practices. As mentioned, this can mean that the practice takes priority over familial or financial obligations. This means that an addiction *cannot* be a positive or healthy thing. If one is passionate about an activity, and indulges in it at every opportunity, but this activity does not come at a detriment to ones physical, mental, or societal health, then it is simply a passion (albeit a powerful one), and not an addiction. For example. While I have not been diagnosed, I suspect that I have a sex addiction. I started getting regular massages for my back, and visiting a few nearby brothels in order to have the women there help me take a shower as well as getting a massage (I can shower myself, but it's a painful process. It's nice to have a beautiful woman help you out, and not in the "I'm a nurse and you're a patient and we will not have any kind of meaningful dialogue that might make this intimate" kind of way that you get at a hospital). But more recently, I have started going even when my back isn't that bad. I'll tell myself it's that bad, because sometimes, if I'm up for it, they'll gently take care of me after the massage. Similarly, if I can't sleep, I'll sit up through the night slowly masturbating with a hand massager so as not to hurt myself even more, just basking in the slow pleasure that the activity releases. It has become a release for me, a form of escapism. I have stretched out my food budget and eaten less than I should, so that I can afford my massages. I have sat through classes and tried so hard not to fall asleep, because the sun came up, and I was still browsing porn. One day, I would dearly love to be in a relationship with a woman who is as sexually ravenous as I am, gentle on my body when she needs to be, and free and open to new adventures, sexually or otherwise. Maybe then, with a positive outlet on my sexuality, I can reign it in back to a sheer powerful passion. But right now, I'd give anything to have no libido at all, than be where I'm at. *That*, is an addiction, not a passion. TL:DR: - Not all drugs are addictive. - Not all addictions involve drugs. - Sex can be highly addictive, but it is not a drug.

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  saved that too, friends sometimes miss and like to have a read 😉

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Few things I forgot to say in my other post. This right here probably sums up the closed minded views here. Different examples/subjects to above, get ready for some cliches, but that's what I'm trying to highlight Subject A - male, married with 4 children, sneaks out late at night and hangs out at seedy bars, because of his frustration and restricted time, sometimes has quick sex with whoever which occasionally leads him to having unprotected sex (see cliches note above), he also pays for a whole swag of internet sex sites and further to that, spends a fortune on hotels, meals, clothes/lingerie for his partners and himself, obviously drug addiction comes with this cliche lol 👍 Subject B - single woman who doesn't have to sneak around, consequently saves all the other drama, hence not a drug addict lol but couldn't possibly be a sex addict either because ?? 👂 You're not considering other points of view, and refuse to accept opinions which might broaden your own limited knowledge, I would actually suggest very little knowledge at all, due respect but should you be pretending to be a doctor on here, or insist we should need a doctor if we fall into a certain category, otherwise we don't fit you're preconceived idea of what an addict should be, and don't quote the dictionary, that's just diversion. Saved this too btw 😃

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Quoted from a comment in another topic about stimulating the mind (part quote but you get the drift, particularly since you replied with quote to affirm this character trait) "your willingness to consider other points of view" Really? Roflmao Seriously I fell off the bed laughing 😀

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  saved 👍

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  swingalingson

  8 years ago

  Thanks to all the positive feedback. Keep em cumin.

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  Dryphuz

  8 years ago

  You can be addicted to chocolate without affecting anything else in your life (even your health if you exercise properly). You can be addicted to exercise at a net benefit to your health even if you're already fit as a fiddle and don't need to exercise more. I think addiction is more a matter of continuous use regardless of need. That being said there is also a lot of biochemistry going on in addiction. Normally somewhere in here there is the mention of dopamine response (which is the main cause of addiction to narcotics like alcohol for example), but you get a huge dopamine rush after taking a dump, so it can't be the only factor. It is also the primary factor in addictions (along with acetylcholine i think, but i'm not as confident of that as i am dopamine) that do not involve a substance like exercise, gambling and video games. Sugar is also part of a dopamine response because your brain uses so much of it (more than twice as much sugar goes to feeding your brain as does the rest of your body combined). It sends you a little happiness reward whenever you have some so that you keep doing it thereby ensuring the brain has a steady fuel supply. Artificial sweeteners mess this up entirely by retraining the brain to not associate the sweet with calories which leads to people eating way more than they need to, because the brain is convinced its going to starve. Interestingly the cacao in chocolate causes a dopamine response even though no part of your body needs it. Although the sugar in the chocolate increases this response cacao on its own will also raise dopamine levels. Then there are other chemical receptors which once established can send signals of displeasure when not satisfied. Such is the response to nicotine. Your body builds up nicotine receptors and if they are not serviced they interfere with other processes and make demands. Addictives that act in this way tend to be the ones that cause physiological withdrawal symptoms as opposed to psychological ones (tremors or nausea as opposed to "if i dont get to play world of warcraft soon i'm going to go postal"). Cannabis is a bit of a funny one (and is the only non-narcotic that's religiously lumped in with the narcotics), because you have plenty of cannabinoid receptors in your body already. Your body makes its own cannabinoids and these hormones are there to regulate hunger (which is why weed gives you the munchies, you're artificially triggering your bodies natural starvation response). While many studies implicate dopamine in cannabis addiction, many other studies have shown its more a matter of habit (like cracking your knuckles or saying "errr") than anything else. The 'high' you get is THC which interferes with normal function of some brain pathways. However, while it binds to receptors it does not do so irreversibly nor does it increase the sensitivity of these receptors. That's why its easier to quit smoking weed than it is to quit smoking cigarettes. Many of the studies that supposedly did find cannabis to be physiologically addictive did not differentiate from those that mixed their weed with tobacco. But cannabis is still highly addictive, not because it does chemical stuff to your system, but because its fun. Which leads me, finally, to sex and my point. Hell yes sex can be addictive, so long as you find it fun or your brain gets used to the dopamine response that occurs (to the point of missing it when its absent). And we are biologically designed to find it fun as procreation is a primary function of our lives. We have evolved the impetus to breed because genes are selfish and want to spread and they dont actually care what harm they cause the rest of you in the process. But is sex a drug? Technically no because its not a substance, but i say metaphorically yes and its one of the best ones.

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  RHP User

  8 years ago

  Who needs Google, we have you 😏

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