Sex Addiction When a Partner Needs Extra Care

Sex addiction carries with it a myriad of destructive side effects, such as broken relationships and trouble in the workplace. Few realize that sex addiction can also be uniquely impactful and destructive on a partner or a spouse relationship – especially when one partner begins to need a higher level of care or attention, such as in the case of illness.

Many mental health professionals agree that sex addiction is often rooted in deeply-held intimacy problems, with the person turning to sex with multiple partners or internet sex to avoid these negative emotions. A recent Psych Central article points to the narcissistic thought patterns that may be present for a person with sex addiction, which can also be a result of a lifetime of using sex as a "survival" tool when it’s too painful to form a close bond with someone else.

The Impacts of Sex Addiction When a Partner Needs Extra Care are Complex:

• When a person with sex addiction is living with a partner who is unable to perform sexually due to an illness, or needs extra attention and care, the result may be that the person retreats or even seeks sex from another source. They may be unable to provide selfless care and may feel they need the outside sex to help them cope with the situation.
• At times, people with sex addiction may be unwilling to care for a partner who needs extra help because they have a past that involves abuse or neglect from someone in a caregiver role.
• Having sex with a new partner or getting involved in online sex may seem like a way to self-medicate in a difficult situation, and it may seem like a way to help themselves feel that they are still being cared for.
• The sense of familiarity and comfort they feel they have lost when their partner needs extra care may be sought after from other sources, like paid sex services or online sex sites.

Regardless of the complex factors that are involved in sex addiction, professional help is needed to understand the condition and to help a spouse work on their own recovery from the pain it causes.