ABSTRACT
The case studies listed here illustrate a number of important facts. Sexual addiction often goes back into childhood and gathers momentum with adolescence. There is often a profound attachment disorder at the root of the problem. The behaviour escalates and grows in complexity. It becomes increasingly ‘out of control’. As with almost all addictions, the behaviour is a response to one or more negative feeling states. The behaviour is hidden because of shame and the greater the dangerous or negative feeling state, the more difficult it is to clear the slate. Marriage can be fraught with problems. Some of these can relate to sexual functioning while others normally emerge from inherent problems of incapacity for genuine intimacy. This is usually set up in the family of origin by difficulties connecting to caregivers, or by never actually seeing intimacy in the family of origin and therefore never internalising the components of intimacy. I write not to shock but to portray the unhappiness that can be visited upon men with these ‘out-of-control sexual behaviours’. These are composite cases; every effort has been made to protect the identity of any given person and any similarity is incidental. The confidentiality of patients has been respected at all times.
