Essay Example on Sex and Drug Addiction: Similarities and Differences

Introduction

For many years, there have been critical arguments on whether sex and drug addictions operate in the same manner. Several studies have been conducted and have illustrated that sex and drug addictions have a lot of similarities. Usually, addiction is a conceptual term that demonstrates a strong influence that takes place in the brain, which is illustrated by a craving for a particular object, lack of control, and overuse. In this case, individuals who are sex addicts experienced heightened brain activity in the same manner as those who are suffering from drug addiction. Therefore, the behavioral style that sex and drug addict deploys is almost the same (Griffiths, 2017). An individual who is addicted relies on a particular set of experiences that changes the chemical in mind, thus affecting the manner they behave. The research examines the similarities in sex and drug addiction and psychodynamic therapy that may be deployed in the treatment of sex addiction.

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Mental Health Disorder

In both sex and drug addictions, mental performance is altered by external factors that bring particular feelings. In this case, pornography and substance change mental performance that impacts emotional and psychological wellbeing. Individuals who are suffering in both types of addiction are associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental issues. For addicts to have a particular mood, they are forced to watch porn or take substances (Griffiths, 2017). Due to exposure to either pornography or drugs, the chemical in the body is changed, and individuals develop a craving, which increases the need to retrieve their mood. Addiction impacts individuals to lose control of their impulses, and the action enhances the need for substance or sex (Bobzean et al., 2014).

Additionally, intense stimulation of the brain impacts how an individual response toward particular aspects of addiction. Hence, the brain responds in the same manner on both sex and drug addictions. When the chemical elements of the mind are changes, the condition triggers stress, depression, and anxiety, mainly due to the rate of craving (Campbell et al., 2019). As a result of mental disorders, both forms of addictions are associated with obsession, which hinders their ability to regulate their thoughts. As such, they experience mood swings, which raises the rate of depression. The condition has been associated with being short-tempered or angry as they try to attain a particular desire. People who are addicted to sex and drugs experience problems in fighting depression. In this case, individuals feel loneliness, sadness, and hopelessness, which is caused by the craving rate. Based on the conditions of addiction, both sex and drug addiction experience problems that hinder their ability to overcome distress. As such, depression triggers the development of negative emotions that affects the interaction among other groups (Bobzean et al., 2014). If the condition is persistent, individuals experience seasonal affective disorder that impacts mood change, sleeping issues, and other problems.

In most cases, both sex and drug addicts find it challenging to control their behaviors, which makes them feel that they are not worth living. Self-medicate occur when an individual tries to use aspects such as pornography or substance to impacts their feelings. Due to the condition, individuals find it challenging to cope with the relationship, and the state increases the depress rate, especially when they change their life to attain the required materials to satisfy themselves (Campbell et al., 2019). Most of them experience negative impacts due to the lack of the ability to control their conduct. Additionally, sex and drug addict individuals experience stress when they are in a position that prohibits them from attaining a particular craving aspect (Griffiths, 2017). The condition may force them to reportedly engage in illegal behaviors even though they understand the adverse effects. Therefore, the element is perceived as an obsessive behavioral disorder that is associated with emotional and shameful suffering.

Brain Activities

In sex and drug addiction, brain activities are profoundly altered. Individuals who are sex and drug addicts experience an increase in brain activities, especially in the ventral striatum, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the amygdala. These are vital areas that impact how an individual feels toward a reward and motivates. Due to an increase in activities, the rises the rate of craving and emotion processing, which triggers the need for a particular product (Griffiths, 2017). Additionally, when the activities in the three regions are changes, a sex or drug addict individual experiences change of staying without particular craving aspects (Bobzean et al., 2014). In this case, brain activities profoundly impact the neurobiological mechanisms that regulate conduct such as hypersexual. Changing the brain structure activities create a significant challenge that requires a lot of effort when an individual thinks of how to overcome it (Campbell et al., 2019). As such, brain activities play a vital role in the increase of certain pleasurable activities that impact behavioral development. The condition reduces the willpower, and the state hinders their ability to regulate their behaviors. Despite the craving, sex, and drug-addicted individuals do not sustain the pleasure due to mind activities alternation that changes how chemical responses.

Psychotherapeutic Intervention

Sexual addiction is a critical aspect that requires careful intervention due to its psychological and behavioral connection. Psychodynamic therapy is the most effective psychotherapeutic intervention that can be used to deal with sexual addiction (Griffiths, 2017). Usually, psychodynamic therapy integrates empathy, insight, and relational capability that are integrated into cognitive-behavioral approaches, which is associated with addiction (Oxman, 2017). As such, psychodynamic therapy assists in integrating individuals' personalities to ensure they resume their healthy life (Bobzean et al., 2014). Usually, sex addict individuals live in a world of the 'normal' and 'secret world' that influences them to engage in the behavior. In this case, sexual addiction split the personality that triggers the development of different value systems and objectives on each of the characters (Oxman, 2017). Therefore, engaging psychodynamic therapy may assist in promoting personality linkage by bringing them together to ensure they operate under the light of consciousness (Campbell et al., 2019). The aspect may help to deny adverse effects and ensure the different personality operates in the same manner. As such, psychodynamic therapy may help a sex addict to describe and put the words of emotion into focus, which may assist in identifying the contradictory and threatening feelings that they could not previously acknowledge.

Additionally, sexual addiction is associated with distress and other personality defenses that individuals use to ensure they remain unaware of. The application of psychodynamic therapy assists in focusing on and exploring the avoidance aspects to ensure they adapt to reality. As such, a sex addict is guided on how to identify the recurring themes and patterns to provide thoughts and feelings are places on one side. Through the application of interpersonal experience, sex addicts are trained to develop an aspect that interferes with mental life (Oxman, 2017). Additionally, psychodynamic therapy assists an individual in developing traits that help in overcoming fluctuating effects and managing to control self-esteem. The approach is perceived as a crucial way to improve individual self-regulation, self-efficacy, and self-care. The plan promotes good relationships, which is a critical challenge that sex addict experiences (Griffiths, 2017). As such, the action helps a definite presence of inner capacities that regulates the relationship, and hence, it becomes easier for an individual to create a strong feeling without acting it out. Through the internalization of the nurturance, it is easier for an individual to develop better self-regulation, which may promote healthy sexuality (Oxman, 2017). Furthermore, psychodynamic therapy improves the capacity to reflect thoughts and feelings, which creates the right environment that can be used to regulate an individual from acting abnormally or embracing unwanted mental condition.

Conclusion

Sexual and drug addictions are a critical concept that has a close connection. Both habits are associated with behavioral and cognitive alternations that occur due to the influence of a particular feeling. As such, an individual develops the craving toward a specific behavior or object to ensure they get a particular pleasure. In sex and drug addiction, brain activities are profoundly altered. Individuals who are sex and drug addicts experience an increase in brain activities. Additionally, the condition is highly associated with stress, depression, and anxiety, especially as they strive to attain pleasure. As such, both addicts engage in behavioral approaches despite understanding the adverse effects. Psychodynamic therapy is a crucial rehabilitation approach that may be used in the treatment of sexual addiction. The therapy assists a sex addict to improve their self-regulation and self-esteem that assist in overcoming unrealistic behaviours. Psychodynamic therapy may help a sex addict to describe and put the words of emotion into focus, which may assist in identifying the contradictory and threatening feelings that they could not previously acknowledge. The approach may help in controlling sex addiction and assist in retrieving personalities to ensure individual maintain a good relationship.

References

Bobzean, S. A., DeNobrega, A. K., & Perrotti, L. I. (2014). Sex differences in the neurobiology of drug addiction. Experimental Neurology, 259, 64-74. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Dessauer/post/Is_there_reliable_information_on_the_prevalence_of_13th-stepping_in_Alcoholics_Anonymous/attachment/59d63f9fc49f478072ea9c4e/AS%3A273780801245193%401442285837927/download/Sex+differences+in+the+neurobiology+of+addicition_Perrotti+et+al_2015.pdf.

Campbell, B. K., Le, T., Yip, D., Griffin, K. B., Gubner, N. R., & Guydish, J. R. (2019). Sex differences in graphic warning label ratings by addictions clients. Tobacco Regulatory Science, 5(1), 3-14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6590904/.

Carnes, S., & Love, T. (2017). Separating models obscures the scientific underpinnings of sex addiction as a disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(8), 2253-2256. https://www.doctoddlove.com/s/Separating-Models-Obscures-the-Scientific-Underpinnings-of-Sex-Addiction-as-a-Disorder.pdf.

Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Behavioural addiction and substance addiction should be defined by their similarities not their dissimilarities. Addiction, 112(10), 1718-1720. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/add.13828.

Oxman, A. (2017). What is a sex addict? One man's journey towards self-definition through twelve-step and psychodynamic treatment. https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/61586/PDF/1/.