Botox? Hair replacement? Christian Louboutin?
No. The latest obsession in the City of Angels, it seems, is self-reflection about one's sexual urges. Yeah, sex addiction and treatment of such has become big business, thanks to publicity given to Tiger Woods and maybe even Charlie Sheen (high-profile women never seem to have these problems).
L.A. seems to be ground zero for sex-addiction treatment — including Sexual Recovery Institute, where business is reportedly up 50 percent, and Elements Behavioral Health and Promises in Malibu. Nationwide …
… the membership of Sex Addicts Anonymous has grown 10 percent annually in recent years, according to Time magazine. America, we have a problem.
Treatment can cost $2,000 a day and more. (Sheen is thinking, For two grand a day I'd rather be mongering. We know).
Time:
“In the year since Woods made sex addiction famous, rehab facilities accustomed to dealing with alcoholics and drug addicts have found themselves swamped with requests for sex-addiction treatment.”
Of course, it's hard to distinguish between sex addiction and human behavior. Charlie Sheen? When you order two or three porn stars for a party session that could derail your career, maybe you have a problem. Woman who has an affair? It's not so clear.
One problem with identifying sex addicts is that everyone has sex (except the Palin family, of course), and that it's a basic human urge. Alcohol or cocaine abuse is not — at least not normally.
So going cold turkey doesn't really jive with our DNA. Even a little sex is essential.
And, as Time notes, ” … Virtually every human male undergoes a period of sex addiction in his life. It's called high school.”
Still, a recently study by scientists at Binghamton University in New York suggests that sex for addicts can be like a dopamine high.
Ya' hear, Charlie? You don't need a suitcase full of coke to get high.
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