MovieChat Forums > Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew (2009) Discussion > Over-diagnosed?

Over-diagnosed?

posted 14 years ago by Blue_Jaunte
6 replies | jump to latest

Sex and food are the only desire EVERYONE shares. We're wired to want them, so that we can keep ourselves alive and make new people. They are enjoyable because we're SUPPOSED to have and pursue those desires. It's just natural selection.

Granted, I'm asking having watched one episode of this show, where most of the people seem to be D-list celebrities just trying to reignite their lost careers...in other words, not REAL addiction.

I know that there definitely ARE real cases of sexual addiction, because it can disrupt your life and there is a real biochemical component to it. But I suspect that most diagnoses are more about a reprimand for not conforming to the unrealistically repressive norms of a puritanical society. If you have any lifestyle other than Christian, marital monogamy, SOMEONE will consider you a deviant. It's more about shame than addiction.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Blue_Jaunte 14 years ago

Humans eat the foods we do BECAUSE we are rewarded for this behavior, in the form of an increase of dopamine in our synapses. This is how natural selection shaped our eating behavior. Just because you don't get what you would call high from drinking a milkshake, the dopamine release is still going on. It's all chemicals.

[–] damage9 14 years ago

I'll put my faith in Drew and Jill as to properly diagnose whether or not the patients have a REAL addiction. They have to be diagnosed just like addicts of any other kind and there's a screening process to determine whether they're a certified addict or just promiscuous.

Perhaps they are D-list celebrities, but personally if I were in that position I'd rather not reignite my career by being associated with sex addicts. I think it would more shameful to admit you're a sex addict than to admit you don't believe in monogamy.

In the beginning of the show Dr. Drew explains that Sex addiction is real and JUST as dangerous as any other. I couldn't understand how this could be dangerous at first until I saw Duncan explain on a talk show telling how he was pinned down in a park with a gun pointed to his head. I don't know the circumstances, perhaps he was soliciting a gay prostitute who turned out to be an undercover cop? Of course a police officer could easily kill you and I'm sure there's a degree of homophobia within police departments.

As far as being disruptful to your life Duncan also explained he would spend up to 8 hours looking at porn on the internet. (Christ, when does he have time for work?) I'm sure part of the diagnosis is about how much and how often. Just like "binging" for other types of addicts.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Blue_Jaunte 14 years ago

"At the beginning of every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, someone reads out loud..."They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way.""

Wow, I never realized the extent of the cult mentality of AA. That's a perfect example. Demonize the people who disagree with you. Us vs Them. Cult dogma 101. It has a parallel with pseudo-science, as well. AA makes the assertion that the system is infallible, and all contradictory data (people for whom the system does not work) is tossed out as an outlier.