Sex Addiction Is No Joke, Says Study

Just. Can't. Stop.

Hypersexual Disorder May Now Be Official

People get addicted to things that make them feel good. That's why alcohol, drugs and carnitas burritos are so hard to lay off of. So then why has it taken so long for people to take sex addiction seriously?

Read: Sex Before Marriage Is Good For Your Health

Here's the problem: having a lot of sex does not make you some wanton addict who has no ability to control when and where (or for whom) you spread your legs. It just makes you a horndog.

BUT, when you do have problems controlling your sexual appetite, when it interferes with your professional and personal life, when you know you're doing something wrong and you can't help it, then you might just have hypersexual disorder.

That's what mental health professionals are terming the condition as it's being considered for inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Health Disorders (DSM).

Read: Penis Size DOES Matter, Study Shows

In the new study, researchers said they found that mental health professionals can separate patients who have the disorder from those who don't by looking at the proposed symptoms.

The working definition of hypersexual disorder used in the study is "recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, and sexual behavior," not brought on by drug or alcohol use, and that has lasted for at least six months.

Of course, just because sexual addiction is a real condition doesn't mean you can use it as an excuse when you go out cheating on your wife or husband.

"Having a disorder didn't help them avoid consequences, such as divorce, but it is advantageous for them when they want to get help and change," said Rory Reid, an assistant professor and research psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Try telling that to David Duchovny.