1536 – Hostage of his own - does sexual addiction have place in sexual disorders?

Abstract

Introduction In the last decades Sexual Addiction has received increased attention among mental health professionals; however, the phenomenon as a clinical syndrome is still controversial. The DSM-IV TR and CID-10 contain ambiguous categories to correspond with this. The American Psychiatric Association is now debating whether Sex Addiction should be added to DSM-V. Objectives Using a recent movie as background, the authors present the state of art, describing behavior and theories: a) compulsive behavior, b) impulsive behavior or c) addiction behavior. Methods Textbooks and studies published on Pubmed and Medlink. Analyses of Steven McQueen movie - “Shame”(2011). Results Like a train toy that it always going around, caught in the distressing anguish of this damn, the movie’s protagonist lives a circular controlled martyrdom. In this movie full of sexual scenes, there is no eroticism, only discomfort, coldness and oppression. The body is his tether, isolated from the world and self-enclosed. Guilt and shame are his permanent emotions. The debate is coming to a conclusion - a DSM-V diagnose “Hypersexual Disorder”, characterized by a repetitive and intense preoccupation with sexual fantasies, urges, and behaviors, leading to adverse consequences and clinically significant distress or impairment. Conclusions It’s a reasonable challenge getting a reliable classification to provide easier access and professional help to those who often suffer enormous pain and shame. There are still opinions against this, mainly because the limits of sexual normality aren’t clearly defined, the symptoms patterns aren’t distinct, moral judgments are involved and the label may be a misnomer.