In psychiatry, we have a personality disorder called "histrionin". I think many persons in this document suffer from this disorder rather that sex addiction.

Dr J, Tehran, Iran

I have read a lot recently about sexual addiction and sex drive. Not sure if I am addicted or not:
1. Though my sex drive is extreemly high, I am not promiscuous.
2. I have no other addictions other than occaisionally caffiene :)
3. Emotions do get high sometimes when told no.
4. I LOVE sex.

Fanci, schenectady, USA

sex addiction!!! sheer HELL ..my life was turned upside down by a sex addict who spent months getting to know me making me feel special...i went to see him in hawaii...what a fool i was...he's still blogging online bragging of his conquests...and wrecking others lives in the process......scary!!!

sheila, newcastle, UK

I am addicted to meeting new people. I wonder if there are others like me who need to meet new people all the time, have conversations, listen to other perspectives. It takes up enormous amounts of my time which could be devoted to work and making money. Is it self esteem? Can anyone help?

David P Hall, Bangkok , Thailand

Summer and Emma, spoken like true 16 and 17 year olds. This is a grown up issue.

Marsha, Cleveland,

i dnt think there is such thing as "sex addiction"! im 17 and i absultly love the buzz sex gives me. so wat if sme ppl like it mre than others! its individual prefrence, it dnt mean they hve a condition!..

summer, london, englang

I think everyone does that to some extent. I'm 16, and I've done that in nearly every relationship I've had.. It's human behavior. I think it must eventually come down to a 'survival' thing. We all want to pass on our genes, and the chase of it all IS showing that you are the one to pass on his.

Emma m, Exeter,

I agree. I am the same. I love the chase & getting the man into bewd. It is a power trip. Can I or can't I? Great fun

Sarah, London,

I don't agree with 'sex addiction'... how on Earth can you become addicted to that which makes all our future generations? Get over ourselves... it's only natural. Consent... then get on with it.

Age of consent is a different matter though! 21, 18, 16 etc. Age of consent removes abuse.

Mark, London, UK

Interesting article, and sadly something I can relate to. There seems to be no help, groups etc here in Northern ireland , and at the moment I can't afford expensive therapy that may or may not work for me. Anyone got any ideas here? Please

tracey, Belfast, N Ireland

Why don't you tell an alchoholic there is no such thing as being addicted to alchohol or tell an alchoholic they lack "self control". I am a sex addict and unless you are one you'll never understand what it's like and how real it is. http://www.sa.org

Damien, Alta Loma, USA

Addiction, low self esteem, victimhood - declarations of participation in the industry of weak will and irresponsibbility. Sexual energy is creative - learn a musical instrument or take up basket weaving. Or become a sex worker.

Geraldine Leale, Ascot, England

I do not think it is for intimacy or self esteem. It is a competiton -a power trip if you please. It is the woman's chance to control the man-the man who is usually the controller not only in sexual relationships but in most aspects of our live's. She can be the predator not the prey!

Laura, Saltville,

There is no such thing as "Sex-addiction".

Bernard SG, Asia,

Best place to find sex partners is in these recovery meetings.
Addiction is a faux name unless related to opiates. Just another useless activity because people lack self control.

Charles Conley, Greensboro, USA

Nonsense! It's not the cuddling and chatting that's the appeal - it's the thrill of the chase; the power surge; the knowing that you can get what you want. I've been known to boot a man out of bed straight after the act (feigning an urgent app'tment elsewhere) - unless I'm on for an action reply...

Sarah M, Nottingham, UK

They hang out at meetings

Geordie Kidston, London , UK

The premise is wrong - the Darwinian norm would be to have sex with as many partners as possible. Western Puritanical brainwashing causes people to feel guilty about their true instincts. Entities should maximize pleasure, especially when it exceeds pain. Pain is a "delayed-pleasure" to the wise.

Carl Young, South Bend, Indiana, USA

It has little to do with sex addiction (man or woman). It has everything to do with power over some one else's mind. And yes I have met a few of those in the City, who refuse to believe a man can actually think with his brain as well.

P, UK,

What's the problem? The more attractive female sex addicts, the better.

Howard, Manchester,

No one seems to be interested in the effect that this kind of thing has on existing relationships - I personally doubt whether anyone could be fulfilled by such a lifstyle but it's a personal choice - for the partners involved it isn't a choice and can involve a great deal of pain and heartache....

Neil, Ipswich, Suffolk

Sex can be nice but it isn't the be all & end all. Perhaps these girls should have a go at 'friendship' for a change, they might even find it more addictive. Sex for sex' sake is rarely rewarding or enriching.

sarah, France, France

"Humans are biologically not predisposed to a single partner, as statistics prove"

Statistics never prove anything: they concern themselves with probabilities. And they are too easy to bias or misrepresent, and too difficult to reproduce.

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

Isn't it funny that it is rich famous people that have this problem the most. fame + money = attention from the opposite sex and they will get offered a lot more than joe bloggs. The first poster is right it's just a lack of control, however i do think that some of the women above probaly had issues

matzi, reading,

Sex addiction in women is usually related to a damaged self image. During the attraction phase of the encounter, their self image is temporarily elevated. After the sex, they suffer from remorse which further damages the self image, so they find another partner. Treatment = adress image problem

Dr Hugh Phillips, Boucherville QC, Canada

Sex addiction, otherwise known as 'lack of self control'.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

Where do these women hang out?

Vince, USA,

This is sad, really sad--I'm talking about the responses, particularly from some of the men. I don't know who to feel more sorry for--perhaps the kids who are being reared in this highly sexualised society we live in. When the whole thing becomes to grotesque to sustain the pendulum will return...

Andrew Pierce, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim, Ireland

there's no such thing as sex addiction otherwise couples with strong libidos and a healthy sex life would need treatment too.The problem here is with the way these women change men like apparels which by the way is just a symptom of deeper problems ranging from low esteem to abuse earlier in life..

kunle, leicester, uk

Most high achievers hate themselves and have low self esteem. That's why they are high achievers, a continuous feeling that someone else is beating them at something. Every high achiever has a problem with alcohol, sex or gambling. But some of these women are just horny. Can't a girl just love sex!

Einstein, West Palm Beach, USA

I get very tired of the "low self esteem" story. There is a body of scientific evidence that supports a biological need for women with a committed partner to have procreative sex with other men. Humans are biologically not predisposed to a single partner, as statistics prove.

Menno Aartsen, Washington, D.C., USA

I know it only too well and painfully so. I almost married her. An articluate, intelligent, ravishing woman. Great career and education. She had little self worth and I found she did this regularly. Her excuse was she felt obliged and hated herself. It was so sad. Oedipal issues drove it

mw, sydney,

anyone know where these women who can't say no hang out so I can meet them? ;-). They're never in the pubs I go to....!

jh, stirling, scotland

The only depravity about sex addiction is those people who find it morally reprehensible for other people to actually enjoy having sex and probably having it more often than they do.

Perhaps their own lives are seriously tormented by the lack of natural and free "entertainment".

George B, Hinckley, Leics, UK

I'm sorry to have to say this, but whenever I see a features article of this nature written by a female journalist then I know exactly what's coming, as do all of your readership. Are features writers and editors 98% women? And, if so, why? Once in a while, could we (please) see a male writer?

bruce, Apt, France

Much as i would want to acknowledge that addiction for certain habits plague human mind, i must have to opine that greater contributor to this orgy of self destruction is the absence of diginity for our body. We must have to reconsider the role of the church in moral upbringing of our childred.

Obidike Onyedibe, London, England

we are close descendent s of chimpanzees;they fornicate as often as they can; so do we , wake up!

Attila Stersky, Ottawa, Canada

Sex is over rated. It'll never catch on.

Gareth Jones, Dusseldorf, Germany

At the root of this and most of todays social ills, is an obssesive devotion to self. I will get what I want when I want irrespective of the price I or others pay. Introspective narcissim at its worse.

Chris, Devon, uk

I don't think that I am the addicitve type, but I find this one strangely interesting.....

Nicholas Lee, Windsor, UK

How come I never meet any of these women?

Hervé, Kingston, UK

These women aren't describing sex addiction (the physical craving and need for sex) at all. They are describing their low self-esteem, self-centeredness and childish need for excess attention.

Christopher, London,

I believe there is a cure for this . .its called self-control.

couldn't agree more

Jessie, SH, China

There is no such thing as "sex addiction".

What such behaviour actually means in practice is the pursuit of self-esteem/self worth through sexual conquests ( through others), which of course can never be achieved because self-esteem has to be earned.

Seb Nash, London,

Of course....if you are a MALE "sex addict"...these same women would likely call you a pig! LOL!

Shane, Raleigh,NC, USA

Wow, Damien of Brighton, your knowledge of sex and rampant STD's in US retirement homes certainly trumps mine. I'll have to ask my 83 year old mother-in-law about this when I go visit her this afternoon at her retirement home.

alice, salado, tx/us

In my day they used to be known as Nymphomaniacs - still, time to move on.

Alan, Copenhagen, Denmark

Headline: Sex Addiction Not Just For Men.

Lol, and who on earth was daft enough to think it was??

Taz, Portsmouth, UK

Sex addiction on the rise here? Very common in America?

A bit like obesity, I wonder if there is a connection?

I'm sure Valerie is very attractive though! Good luck to the therapists charging these people fifty pounds an hour.

Marvin, London,

40 and a virgin.... is that being cold turkey or just plain turkey??

Shishir Baxi, Dubai, UAE

One of the greater problems in US retirement homes is the rampant increase in STDs and this probably springs from the need for instantaneous intimacy, self assurance, etc all mentioned in the article as they apply to much younger people. Retirement homes must in a way be surreal.

Damian, Brighton, UK

I believe there is a cure for this . .its called self-control. Why can't it simply be down to not being responsible for your actions? Why must it be that everything we do to this extent is an addiction?

Paul Moxon, Birmingham,

For all the men who claim to want to meet such women: the chances are you already have and she is/was your wife/girlfriend.

Jane, London, England

Whats all this fuss about sex anyway ?

graham, Swansea, UK

I met a stunning girl who was a sex addict. She told me she had suffered abuse as a child and was seeking confirmation of her worth. Her self-destruction was painful to watch, followed by her descent into drug addiction. If she had grown up in a normal home, her fate might not have been so sad.

Richard Sinclair-Todd, Oxford, UK

i'm thinking of starting a programe for people addicted to 12 step programmes.
mail me at
ripoff.com

adam, london, uk

another joke product from the mental health industry.
the designation of a symptom as a separate 'pathology'
the credit crunch will see off many of these mental health innovators as their products are seen for what they are - discretionary purchases for the depressed well-off

edward, london, uk

A man can always say no. However these women should be put up for knighthoods in my opinion, there are too many women out there that never explore their true sexuality and those that have make much better partners, There are also quite a lot of males that enjoy the idea of sharing their partner.

Chris Stuart, Carentan, France

I find it terrible that some men are treating this terrible problem so flippantly. These women need help and I for one am prepared to volunteer to help, so if you could form an orderly queue.

chris, streatham, england

Sex addicts! Oh, please spare me. This "victimhood" is the mantra of liberalism. ." It;s not my fault, it's not my responsibility, I should be able to do whatever I want and it's somebody else's fault. It's somebody else's responsibility I don't have to control myself". America is awash in this!

Tom, Boston, Ma. , U.S.A.

More collateral damage with sex addiction than with a drug or alcohol addiction? How many people overdose during intercourse? How many sex addicts end up in sex rehab? I'm sure the place does not exist. She really needs to provide solid evidence if she's to make sweeping claims like that.

Richard, Norwich, England

Full names ................... phone numbers.

Rupert Fotherington-Smythe, London, England

How come I never meet any of these women?

David L, York, UK

Fantastic. Where can I meet one of these women?

Maurice O'Brien, Sydney, Australia

Viagra for women. Now that has to be a winner.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan

Very sad and spot on with the analysis, in my opinion. All the women I know who do this seem very 2 dimensional due to their simultaneous attraction to and revulsion of 'normal' relationships. I hope anyone who recognises themselves in this article see it as the first step in breaking the cycle.

Julianna, Santa Cruz,