the Informer

Tiger Woods held a press conference last Friday morning to apologize to the world for the “irresponsible and selfish behavior [he] engaged in.” For 13.5 minutes, he told the world about how he was unfaithful, had affairs and cheated on his wife, Elin. And, after much public speculation, he revealed that he had been in inpatient treatment for 45 days to help him receive guidance for the issues he’s facing.

It has been assumed by the media and, well, most of the public that Tiger was receiving treatment for his alleged sex addiction.

I didn’t realize that sex addiction was even a real thing until I watched “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew” on VH1, but it’s real. And it happens to a lot more people than I thought. It’s not a universally accepted condition, but it’s been gaining recognition. People can’t seem to stop talking about it, especially with the whole Tiger scandal.

Experts refer to it as a sexual compulsivity. So, these people are compelled to have sex. But here’s where I’m confused: how do you differentiate someone who just really likes sex from someone who has a sex addiction?

There are a lot of people who just really like having sex. And, since they like it so much, they have it as often as they can. Because they want it so much, does that make them a sex addict?

It seems harmless enough, but I can’t tell if it could be something more. How do you tell when someone is addicted to sex? I’m having difficulty putting it together.

So, to help me figure this out, I did some research. Sex addicts have an obsession with sex. It’s all they can think about, and they have difficulty resisting acting on those thoughts. So while a non-addict could think about sex often but not deem it necessary to act on it, an addict would go out to immediately fulfill the satiating sensation.

And these sex addicts will continue to engage in this behavior, even when they’re in a committed relationship. They’ll even continue on with it even when it puts them in physical and emotional danger. This addiction can interfere with their work, and they won’t care.

In essence, sex addiction is like any addiction. It consumes your life.

Now, this doesn’t excuse what Tiger or anyone else suffering with the addiction does to their partners and families. But it does begin to shed some light as to why they do this.

According to multiple sources, a lot of sex addicts live in denial of their addiction. They don’t feel that it’s something worth addressing, or maybe they don’t feel that anything can be done to help them. But, as Dr. Drew has shown us, it’s possible to treat through inpatient treatment, and there are even support groups like Sex Addicts Anonymous.

I think that with the attention that Tiger has drawn to the condition, there will be more studies conducted to try the validity of it. And perhaps one day, Tiger will actually tell the world if he’s suffering from a sex addiction. I’ll be waiting in anticipation for it.