A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Now that you have read about sex addiction, mainly the biological aspect of it, there are a few central points to recall.
When an individual experiences sexual pleasure, endorphins, as well as phenylethylamine (PEA) and adrenaline are released in the body. The chemicals released leave the individual in a state of well-being. This leaves the individual wanting to experience that same pleasure again, which is normal. However, PEA releases its strongest dose during the first experience, meaning that all the other times the individual tries to reach the “high” that they felt the first time will only lead to disappointment since not as much PEA will be released. This can lead to the individual trying new sexual activities, which could have negative consequences. Even though the individual is aware of the possible negative consequences, they continue to pursue riskier sexual activities without worry of the negative consequences; all they want to do is try and find same state of well-being. While Joe Kort’s article has only a small section on the biology of sex addiction, he discusses it in depth while making it simple enough for readers to understand.
When an individual experiences sexual pleasure, endorphins, as well as phenylethylamine (PEA) and adrenaline are released in the body. The chemicals released leave the individual in a state of well-being. This leaves the individual wanting to experience that same pleasure again, which is normal. However, PEA releases its strongest dose during the first experience, meaning that all the other times the individual tries to reach the “high” that they felt the first time will only lead to disappointment since not as much PEA will be released. This can lead to the individual trying new sexual activities, which could have negative consequences. Even though the individual is aware of the possible negative consequences, they continue to pursue riskier sexual activities without worry of the negative consequences; all they want to do is try and find same state of well-being. While Joe Kort’s article has only a small section on the biology of sex addiction, he discusses it in depth while making it simple enough for readers to understand.
While many people believe that all sex addicts experience the same lifestyle, they do not. Tara is a great example of this as she is not a typical sex addict for several reasons. While most sex addicts experience a “high” the first time they have sex, this was not the case for Tara, it was almost unpleasant for her. Because of this, the second time she had sex, she was not trying to reproduce the feeling she had the first time. Also, many sex addicts have sex for reasons of stress, yet Tara never relied on sex to be a stress reliever. Tara is aware that she is a sex addict but does not consider it a big enough issue to seek help to reduce the amount of times she has sex. In fact, she actually did the opposite by recently engaging in more sex than usual. There have also been cases where sex addicts cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is fantasy while masturbating. As of now, we know that Tara has not experienced this problem. Fortunately, being a sex addict has not been too much of a hindrance for Tara, which is why she plans to continue with her life in the same manner in which she has been for quite some time now. Tara’s situation demonstrates how there are different degrees of addiction which vary from one sex addict to another. However, Tara’s addiction is rather new which makes it hard to compare it to the information researched in articles.
The way that sex addiction can become more prominent in one’s life is by repeating sexual acts over and over. Because of this, the corresponding neuropathways found in the brain will strengthen. Eventually, one can become turned on by just thinking about sexual acts that can bring them pleasure.
The way that sex addiction can become more prominent in one’s life is by repeating sexual acts over and over. Because of this, the corresponding neuropathways found in the brain will strengthen. Eventually, one can become turned on by just thinking about sexual acts that can bring them pleasure.

While this website contains a significant amount of information on sex addiction and the biology of it, there are two questions in particular that stem from the information gathered in order to create this website. As seen in the “A Sex Addiction Study” section of this website, there is a questionnaire that can differentiate between the general population, sex addicts and sex offenders. Jeffery T. Mercer's article allows us to understand that there are people who are researching the topic of sex addiction but leaves us with very important unanswered questions. Because some sex addicts find themselves in serious trouble because of their actions, does this mean that being a sex addict predisposes you to becoming a sex offender? This leads one to question whether there is a biological cause that is common to both sex offenders and sex addicts. Further research will hopefully shed light on this intriguing topic.