Relationships3 min(s) read
Published 13:40 13 Apr 2026 GMT
Compulsive sexual behavior - characterized by intense sexual feelings, thoughts, and actions combined with a high sex drive - can be called hypersexuality.
New research suggests a connection between hypersexuality and addiction, although it is not currently recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
It is estimated that around 2 per cent of people have symptoms of hypersexuality, although it is two to three times more common in men than women.
It also occurs more frequently among people with existing mental health conditions.
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Sometimes misunderstood as a high sex drive, strong sexual urges that feel difficult to redirect and intense or frequent sexual thoughts or fantasies are tell-tale symptoms of hypersexuality.
Spending a significant amount of time engaging with sexual content or explicit imagery and using masturbation or sexual activity repetitively are also signs that you may have the condition.
Feeling unable to reduce or pause certain sexual behaviors, even when they cause stress or interfere with your daily routine, is a common symptom.
Finally, engaging in incessant sexual activity with partners, online, or through services such as phone sex or strip clubs, in ways that may lead to personal, relational, or financial distress, is a major sign that you could be hypersexual.
While regular sexual activity may not seem like a negative thing, people with hypersexuality are so obsessed with it that it begins to negatively affect friendships, family relationships, intimate relationships, work, school, and finances.
Sexual thoughts constantly occupying your brain distract from the task at hand and make it incredibly difficult to concentrate on anything else.
People with hypersexual tendencies often feel intense feelings of guilt and shame, which can negatively impact their mental health.
The issues faced by people with hypersexuality are very similar to those with substance use disorders, such as the inability to complete daily tasks, the negative impact on their relationships and feelings of guilt and shame.
According to some psychiatrists, hypersexuality is similar to behavioral addiction, although more research is needed to understand the potential connection.
Currently, similar therapy combinations such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), relapse prevention therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy are used to treat both addiction and hypersexuality.
The condition itself is a common symptom of mania in bipolar disorder, and studies have found that people with hypersexuality have more obsessive personality types.
