Sexuality
...akes about it, sexual addiction has nothing to do with love. It's about the constant overwhelming need and drive to have sex that involves sacrificing just about everything a person holds sacred. The difficulties of facing the addiction not only have a terrible effect on the addict themselves, but also on their families. Addiction is a family disease and despite any measures, the addict may take measures to hide their behavior because the addiction affects all family members from youngest to oldest. Love addiction is a psychological addiction, a result of unfulfilled childhood needs. Children whose needs remain unrecognized may adjust by learning to limit their expectations. This limitation process may take the form of harmful ideas such as, "My needs don’t count," "Getting close will hurt." Such ideas do not satisfy childhood needs, leaving them still to be met later in life. As adults, addictive lovers remain dependent upon others to care for them, protect them and solve their problems. Love addicts are characteristically familiar with desperate hopes and apparently unending fears. Fearing rejection, fearing pain, fearing unfamiliar experiences and having no faith in their ability to inspire love, they wait, wish and hope for love. The desperate need for security leads to emotional scheming. Addictive lovers are inclined to think that doing things for their mate will secure their love. The resulting opportunities for disappointment and resentment are sufficient to make such scheming futile. But addictive lovers are obsessed with impossible needs and unrealistic expectations. Love demands honesty and self-integrity. And it is a dynamic relationship, itself cultivating growth/change in lovers. Sex and love addicts have distorted their natural impulses in dysfunctional ways in order to deny their feelings of shame. Therefore, a major goal ...