I’m Eli Coleman, and I’m the director of the program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota Medical School. I was talking about impulsive and compulsive sexual behavior.

What are some of the main points of your presentation?
I think that there are some people that are concerned about their ability to control their sexual behavior, that somehow their sexual behavior is out of control. And there’s really nothing healthy if you’re not able to be in control or direct your sexual behavior towards a feeling of pleasure or connection with another individual. For some people, they don’t have that control, and I think it’s an enormous concern for a significant number of people, and for those people they really need to think about getting some assistance and some help so that they can feel better about themselves and have better relationships with others.

What are some of the indications of compulsive sexual behavior?
I think that compulsive sexual behavior is when people really lack control over their sexual behavior – that somehow they’re thinking about it all the time, that it’s interfering in their daily life and things that they should be doing, or want to be doing, and they are feeling compelled to engage in normal sexual activity, or maybe unusual sexual activity that they don’t feel quite good about. And so it’s not leading to – maybe there’s some momentary pleasure, but it’s really not leading to satisfaction and pleasure.

What would you suggest for someone who is demonstrating this kind of behavior?
If they are experiencing dissatisfaction and lack of pleasure because of their driven-ness about sexual activity, they might have to – it’s maybe good for them to look at maybe that they’re using sex to somehow medicate some of their mood states of anxiety or depression or not feeling good about themselves, and it’s really a good idea to seek professional help and try to find out what may be causing that behavior, and realize that there is help available for people with that kind of problem.

Is frequent sex or masturbation a sign of compulsive sexual behavior?
There is a wide range of what is “normal” in terms of frequency of sexual activity. Just because you’re having sex quite often, that is not an indication of compulsive sexual behavior. It’s really what is driving that. It’s not driven by natural, sexual drive – it’s usually driven by a feeling of ill at ease, or anxiety, feeling down or depressed or not feeling good about yourself. Somehow sex is sort of a fix, trying to feel better temporarily, but that usually wears off. And so no, it’s not the amount of sexual activity – it’s the reason, and how it feels before, during, and afterwards, that really is an indicator of the problem.