Sex addiction treatment has countless benefits. When you invest in yourself through recovery, you’ll regain control of your life and start to heal yourself and your relationships. Once you understand the many benefits of sex addiction treatment, you can find treatment that’s right for you and begin your recovery and healing journey.
Understanding Sex Addiction
Sex addiction is commonly called hypersexuality disorder. It’s an inability to control sexual impulses, behaviors, and thoughts.
Sex addiction forms as a coping mechanism in response to trauma. During times of trauma, the body goes into fight-or-flight mode. It’s a hyper-aware state intended to protect the body from harm and happens as a result of external or internal pressures.
But after that adrenaline rush hits, the body needs dopamine to calm itself. Dopamine is a feel-good pleasure chemical produced in the brain. You can get dopamine from sexual pleasure, drugs, or even a hug. Those at risk for developing sex addiction lean on sexual stimulation as a source of dopamine.
The learned connection between stress and sexual release deepens over time. A person with sex addiction rewrites the messages in their brain linking sex and adverse emotions. When they feel bad, they turn to sex to attempt to feel better. Soon it becomes an addiction and no longer a choice.
Signs of sex addiction include:
- Feeling consumed with sexual impulses, desires, and thoughts
- Difficulty maintaining daily responsibilities
- Spending excessive time or money on sexual outlets
- Feeling out of control of sexual impulses
- Experiencing a sense of guilt, disappointment, or shame after seeking sexual release
- Having increasingly high-risk sexual encounters
- Failing repeated attempts to control sexual behaviors
If you’re experiencing these signs of sex addiction, it may be time to consider getting help. One of the benefits of sex addiction treatment is having someone to guide your healing. You have an external, nonjudgmental person to help you learn to regulate sexual behaviors, which is hugely beneficial.
Benefits of Sex Addiction Treatment
Sex addiction treatment will help improve your life as a whole. It’s about rewriting your future and learning healthy coping skills.
“Sex addiction treatment can help people reconnect or connect for the first time with others,” said Matt Wenger, Clinical Director at Begin Again Institute.
“Sex addiction treatment can result in experiencing life from a more grounded, emotionally connected, and empathic place,” he said. “Clients who go through treatment often begin a new life more aligned with their values and authentic self.”
Benefits of sex addiction treatment include:
- Confronting Denial. People can’t heal from sex addiction if they don’t admit what’s happening and fully commit to sobriety and recovery. In treatment, a person learns to accept out-of-control behaviors, so healing can begin.
- Addressing Underlying Issues. Unresolved trauma is the root cause of sex addiction. In treatment, there is space to understand and heal your trauma. Education about sexual triggers is crucial to making healthier choices in the future.
- Healing Relationships. Sex addiction impacts the people you love too. In sex addiction treatment, you’ll discover your power to heal current relationships and build healthier new ones.
- Learning to Manage Behaviors. One of the benefits of sex addiction treatment is learning healthy coping mechanisms to control impulses. These coping skills will substitute previously damaging behaviors.
- Developing Empathy. Treatment programs for sex addiction should involve group support. People who attend group therapy have an increased rate of staying sober. Group support fosters a sense of being understood and helps you learn to experience empathy.
Sex addiction treatment benefits you and the people you love. You’ll learn to experience real intimacy again and gain control of your choices.
Sex Addiction Treatment Programs
You have options to consider when choosing the right sex addiction treatment program.
Sex addiction treatment may include:
- Inpatient Programs. Inpatient programs offer round-the-clock care. These programs can often help jump start your recovery by immersing you in a treatment environment without outside interference or concerns.
- Outpatient Programs. Outpatient programs offer flexible treatment schedules. It may take longer to incorporate what you’re learning, but there’s the benefit of being able to practice healthier choices in daily life. You can practice new coping skills regularly without interrupting your schedule as much as with inpatient treatment.
- Therapy. Ongoing one-on-one therapy is a crucial element of treatment. Healing from the inside out is critical for success. A quality program should offer trauma-specialized therapy to ensure a successful recovery.
- Support Groups. Group therapy is a healing atmosphere shared with others that have similar experiences. This camaraderie will improve accountability and deepen connections to others, helping you learn to reestablish intimacy.
Choosing the right sex addiction program is crucial. Take time to consider which program will benefit your success and your life.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Sex Addiction Treatment Program
Not all sex addiction programs are the same. Take your time and evaluate which program will suit you best.
Consider these factors when choosing a treatment program:
- Staff Credentials. What training do the therapists have? Do they offer specialized sex addiction treatment? Is their approach trauma-informed? Since trauma is the root of most addictions, you want to work with a mental health professional trained in trauma and addiction.
- Loved One Involvement. Addiction hurts the people around you too. Do they offer support for your partner and family along the way?
- Cost. Does the treatment program fit within your budget?
- Treatment Period. Recovery from addiction takes time. Is the commitment reasonable? Does it work with your other obligations?
- Treatment Methods Offered. Quality treatment programs should offer a mix of therapeutic modalities. How comprehensive is the care provided?
Consider Begin Again Institute
The primary benefit of sex addiction treatment is living the life you know you deserve. But you can’t live your most authentic life until you get help treating the root cause of your addiction and learn to make better choices with your behaviors.
If you’re ready to jump start your healing from sex addiction and other intimacy issues, Begin Again Institute’s 14-Day Men’s Intensive may be right for you. You’ll be fully immersed in a care experience that includes individual and group therapies and education to help you understand the why behind addiction.
Your partner also is invited to work with our unique Partner Support Program during your intensive. This program teaches them about addiction and helps them heal as well.
For support after you’ve completed the 14-Day intensive, you can participate in our Continuing Care Program. This way, you stay in touch with your healing journey.
Contact and visit Begin Again Institute now if you’re ready to start your recovery journey.
