Considering two models of excessive sexual behaviors: Addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder

This article examines the conceptual debate over whether excessive sexual behavior is best considered an addiction or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some criticisms that derive from considering excessive sexual behavior as an addiction are weighed and the nature of addictive and obsessive-compulsive experience are examined briefly. The logical and inferential problems associated with distinguishing behaviors caused by either addiction or obsessive-compulsive disorder are illustrated. The implications of considering both of these disorders as metaphors are discussed. Finally, the article concludes with a description of some important psycho-dynamic distinctions between addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.