.

Michael Fassbender plays a sex addict in Shame.

Dismiss sex addiction as an excuse for weak behaviour, and you’re ignoring an “explosive sexual health issue” heading our way, warns a leading sex addiction expert.

“Sex addiction may be used as an excuse by a man who has multiple sexual partners,” says JC Durbin, an addiction counsellor.

“It may also be seen as titillating. Yet there’s nothing titillating about a man who continuously has unprotected sex with prostitutes who may have sexually transmitted diseases, and then goes home and has sex with his wife.

“There’s nothing titillating about the compulsive masturbator, who masturbates up to 15 times a day, and whose life is spiralling out of control because of his compulsive behaviour.”

The subject of sex addiction is back in the news, thanks to the film Shame, which stars Michael Fassbender and tells the story of a thirtysomething sex addict whose life is run on his need for sexual encounters.

Sex addiction regularly crops up in the world of celebrities, with stars who have reportedly sought treatment for sex addiction including Michael Douglas, when he was married to his first wife Diandra, and Tiger Woods after he was caught out cheating on his then-wife, Elin Nordegren.

Comedian Russell Brand has written in his autobiography, My Booky Wook, about his excessive sexual appetite, while David Duchovny, star of The X-Files, is also said to have been treated for sex addiction problems.

Rather than seeing sex addiction as an excuse for cheats, Durbin believes we should be educating ourselves on how easy access to porn is putting young people at risk of sex addiction.

“Porn can be accessed on cellphones, meaning young people are exposed to sexual imagery at a very early age,” he says.

“Because young people’s first experience of sex is now often porn, and they are seeing sex presented in an excessive way, it may lead to problems with their modifying their sexual behaviour later and in real life.”

Durbin estimates that between 3 and 5 percent of people with addictive problems present with issues around sexual compulsivity.

“I haven’t seen the film Shame, but I’ve heard that the character derives no enjoyment from sex. That’s a defining aspect of any kind of addiction,” the addiction counsellor says.

“Heroin may feel enjoyable at first, but in the end all an addict is doing is using the drug to try to feel in any way normal.

“Sex addiction involves compulsive and risky behaviour that has destructive consequences for the sufferer.”

Liam Lally, a relationship counsellor, says not all people who view porn on the internet can be described as sex addicts.

“Sexual addiction is an intimacy disorder and the symptoms mostly consist of compulsive sexual thoughts and acts.

“Like all addictions, it interferes with the life, work and relationships, and as the disorder progresses the individual has to increase the behaviour to achieve a measure of satisfaction.”

Signs that a person may be at risk of sex addiction can show up in careless or illicit behaviour relating to their sex life.

“A young person may date a lot, but as we get older we tend to modify our behaviour. If instead a person’s behaviour becomes excessive and extreme in the search for sexual encounters, they may be at risk of sexual addiction,” Durbin says.

While sex addiction is most often seen as a male problem, women also run the risk of developing symptoms.

– Evening Herald