'5% Americans addicted to sex'

Sex addiction affects 3% to 5% of allAmericans, according to the latest estimates. The disorder has come into thespotlight, thanks to celebrities like Russell Brand and David Duchovny, whochecked into rehabilitation centres in the US to get treated.Todaythere are more than eight clinics in the US offering specialist treatment tothose who suffer from the disorder. The Life Healing Centre (LHC) isin Santa Fe, New Mexico, and it offers two sex addiction programmes: one for menand the other for women. Addiction specialist Rob Weiss,who createdthe sex addiction programme at LHC, said: "Sex addicts are people who losecontrol over healthy sexual choices. They say things to themselves like, 'I'mnot going to go to that place for sex' or 'I'm not going to see that person forsex' but they continue to do it anyway. They show behaviours thatare common to all addicts and they show consequences and thinking that is commonto all addicts."Psychologist and author Patrick Carnes estimatesthree to 5% of Americans suffer from the disorder. Their behaviour can vary fromcompulsively watching porn online to visiting prostitutes at everyopportunity.Andy is 31 and is enrolled in the programme. He claimsto have been a sex addict for years. He said: "I was compulsive self-pleasuring,using pornography, going to prostitutes and having people sexually abuse andtorture me for my pleasure."His addiction got so out of control thathe was unable to walk for a month after a dominatrix severely sexually abusedhim at his request.