Theraverse
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April 4, 2025
For something so natural, sexuality sure does come with a lot of hushed whispers. Many of us grow up receiving mixed messages about it from condom ads being skipped over to sex-education being limited to bad/good touch, but rarely discussed in a way that actually helps us understand our own relationship with desire and pleasure in India.
Sexuality is the way in which people experience and express the instincts and feelings that make up sexual attraction for others, now imagine this on a spectrum. Some people feel guilty for wanting too much, while others wonder if they want it enough. It is important to pause here and understand that quantitatively anywhere on the spectrum from experiencing no desire, known as asexuality (a lack of or very low sexual attraction to others, or a low interest in engaging in sexual activity) to frequent or high desire is completely normal.
Now that we have established that the amount of sexuality expressed is subjective, the conversation only shifts to hypersexuality when we talk about how it is expressed and how it affects a person’s day-to-day functioning. Hypersexuality feels compulsive, overwhelming, and sometimes even distressing. It’s less about pleasure and more about an urgent need to seek it, often at the cost of one’s own well-being.
Healthy sexuality
Healthy sexuality means having the knowledge and power to express sexuality in ways that enrich one’s life. It includes approaching sexual interactions and relationships from a perspective that is consensual, respectful, and informed. Healthy sexuality is free from coercion and violence. Although many cultural messages contribute to our understanding and experience of sexuality, many of us are at a loss for how to identify or define healthy sexuality. It is important to understand that sexuality is about much more than sex. Healthy sexuality is emotional, social, cultural, and physical. It is our values, attitudes, feelings, interactions, and behaviors.
Hypersexuality
Hypersexuality describes a person’s inability to control their sexual behavior, arousal, impulses, or urges to the point of causing distress in their personal, work, or school life. It may also synonymously be referred to as compulsive sexual behaviour disorder by clinicians. Hypersexuality is not recognised as an official diagnosis by APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5) but compulsive sexual behaviour disorder is considered a diagnosable condition by WHO’s International classification of diseases, 11th edition (ICD-11).
This lack of formal diagnosis for hypersexuality has beneficial forensic implications, particularly in legal contexts where individuals may attempt to use hypersexuality as a defense for problematic or criminal behavior, such as sexual offenses. But the absence of a formal diagnosis may affect access to treatment, as individuals who struggle with hypersexuality may find it harder to receive appropriate care or insurance coverage for treatment/therapy.
Talking about therapy most people might wonder what causes this behaviour in the first place. From all the information that I sifted through, we can best explain the reason behind hypersexual behaviour when we view it as a compulsion, addiction or a trauma response.
Understanding hypersexuality through the lens of compulsion, addiction and trauma:
- Compulsion – Hypersexuality can be viewed as a form of compulsion similar to the ones experienced in obsessive compulsive disorder. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that individuals feel driven to perform to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared outcome related to their obsessions. In hypersexuality the behaviours can manifest as masturbation, watching porn, sexting, having sex despite any sanitary or safety concerns to the point where it may cause distress to day-to-day functioning. The sexual thoughts that precede this behaviour, leading them to these compulsions can be considered the obsessions.
- Addiction – This is often considered the most accurate parallel. It indicates that a person living with hypersexuality exhibits symptoms of addiction related to sexual behaviors and can experience symptoms of withdrawal when deprived of the sexual behavior. Over time, a person may need more intense or frequent sexual experiences to feel satisfied, and despite experiencing harm, such as damaged relationships, job difficulties, or emotional distress, individuals with hypersexuality often continue their behaviors similar to how substance tolerance develops in addiction.
- Trauma response – For some individuals, hypersexuality develops as a response to past trauma, particularly sexual abuse or experiences of powerlessness. In these cases, compulsive sexual behavior can become a way to regain a sense of control over one’s body and desires. Engaging in frequent or intense sexual experiences may serve as an unconscious attempt to rewrite the past, turning something that once felt violating or powerless into something chosen and self-directed. Additionally, sex can act as a coping mechanism to numb painful emotions, distract from unresolved trauma, or create a temporary sense of connection and validation. However, while this strategy may offer short-term relief, it can also lead to distress, shame, and deeper emotional struggles. Healing from trauma involves recognizing these patterns with compassion and finding healthier ways to reclaim agency, ones that foster true empowerment rather than perpetuating cycles of emotional pain. Having said that, it is pertinent to understand that not everyone who experiences trauma will employ this coping but it is a common and natural occurrence.
Treatment options
- Psychotherapy – Therapy provided by clinical/counselling psychologists, sex therapists and those specifically trained in paraphilic and non-paraphilic sexual disorders can help. Cognitive behavioural therapy helps with restructuring the thought process and creating actionable change in maladaptive behaviour, psychodynamic psychotherapy, helps build insight about the root cause of the concerns.
- Hormone therapy – anti-androgens (male sex hormones) can sometimes be prescribed to reduce the sexual urges as studies show that more men exhibit behaviour than women
- Antidepressants and mood stabilisers may also be prescribed along with any treatment for comorbid or underlying factors such as bipolar, PTSD and OCD
While hypersexuality is very real for those who experience it, its complex nature, shaped by biological, psychological, and social factors makes defining it in strict medical terms challenging. Ongoing research is needed to balance scientific accuracy with compassionate and ethical treatment approaches, ensuring that those who struggle with compulsive sexual behavior receive the support they need without reinforcing stigma or legal loopholes.
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By,
Jensita Grace,
In-house psychologist, Theraverse
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Resources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/hypersexuality
https://integrativelifecenter.com/intimacy-disorders/hypersexuality-and-trauma/
https://www.vogue.in/content/hypersexuality-is-the-reaction-to-sexual-trauma-that-no-one-talks-about
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6085926/
