ADDICTION TO WOMEN: SYMPTOMS, CHARACTERISTICS, TREATMENTS - ARTE - 2024

The addiction to women constitutes a set of sensations, thoughts and behaviors that lead the person to require constant contact with women. It is a specific type of behavioral addiction that can develop in both men and women.

The addictive elements of this disorder are not so much the women themselves, but a series of behaviors that are carried out with them. These can include any type of action such as talking, chatting or having sex.

Likewise, it is important to differentiate this alteration from addiction to sex and dependence on the partner. Addiction to women is not just limited to sexual acts and activities. Likewise, it is a concept that differs remarkably from emotional dependence.

Characteristics of addiction to women

Addiction is a chronic and recurrent psychological disease characterized by the pathological search for reward and / or relief through the use of a substance or the performance of a behavior.

In the case of addiction to women, the alteration refers to the second addictive aspect. In other words, the element that the addicted person requires to perform lies in the execution of a series of behaviors.

These behaviors are characterized by contact with women. In other words, the person with an addiction to women needs to carry out activities with them constantly in order to alleviate the distressing feelings that not doing so causes them.

It is a rare type of behavioral addiction, since few people have this psychopathology in different regions of the world. However, this addiction can be as or even more harmful to the subject than addiction to substances or other types of behaviors.

At present, it is poorly defined what type of activities with women can be part of this type of addiction. In fact, it is postulated that any type of action carried out with women could be part of psychopathology.

Main elements of addiction to women

To be able to speak of addiction to women, the individual who suffers from it must present a series of main elements. These are very similar to the alterations that substance addiction can cause and are characterized mainly by the experimentation of an extreme need to carry out activities with women.

Although it is difficult to define which behaviors are addictive, for the detection of addiction in women, the main aspect that the activities of this alteration present are defined as being carried out with the company of a woman.

In this sense, the behaviors can be multiple. These can range from impulsively chatting to meeting up to read a book, go for a walk, or have coffee.

Thus, in the case of addiction to women, the conduct that is carried out is not so relevant but the element that provides gratification, which must be contact with a woman.

The main elements that make up addiction to women are: craving, loss of control, abstinence and tolerance.

Craving

Craving is the first manifestation that appears in addiction and is characterized by the experimentation of an urgent need to carry out activities with women.

The person who suffers from addiction to women has high desires to perform these types of activities. These desires appear in the form of impulse and motivate the implementation of a series of activities that allow satisfying internal desires.

Some of the observable behaviors on the craving of individuals with addiction to women can be:

1. Constant search for women on the internet.
2. Attempt to establish contact with unknown women.
3. Attempt to encourage contact and relationship with known women.
4. Go to places where there are many women to contact them.
5. Immersion in chats to talk with strangers.

All these behaviors differ from normal behavior through the reasons that lead to their performance.

While a person can carry out these activities with different objectives (to find a partner or establish a personal relationship), individuals with addiction to women perform them with the sole objective of being in contact with them and satisfying their internal needs to carry out such actions.

Lost of control

Another important element that allows defining the existence of addiction to women lies in the controllability of the behaviors that the person performs. In addictions, the activities carried out by the individual in relation to their addictive element are characterized by a low degree of control.

The cognitive processes that govern contact with women are governed by addiction, so these actions are not carried out in a rational, congruent and controlled way.

The individual with addiction to women feels an enormous need to perform actions together with a woman, so these activities are carried out in an uncontrolled way.

Likewise, little by little the person will lose their ability to control the actions they perform to satisfy their addictive demands, a fact that can lead them to carry out unwanted actions and behaviors.

Abstinence

The withdrawal syndrome is an alteration that appears frequently in drug addiction. In these cases, when individuals do not consume the substance, they experience a series of physical and psychological signs of discomfort.

The appearance of withdrawal symptoms refer to the dependence developed by the person. The individual becomes accustomed to functioning properly with the consumption of the drug, so when he does not do it he experiences discomfort.

However, this phenomenon is not exclusive to drug use, and it also appears in addiction to women. In these cases, the symptoms experienced are psychological (not physical) and is characterized mainly by providing high feelings of discomfort.

Agitation, impulsivity, irritability, anxious feelings or loss of interest in things are the most common manifestations.

The person with addiction to women requires carrying out activities with them above all else. So when she is not able to do so, she responds with an altered psychological state and unpleasant sensations.

Tolerance

Finally, the last element that appears in addiction to women is tolerance to them. That is, the development of a notable desensitization towards the desired stimulus.

This fact translates into an increase in the addictive needs of the person. That is to say, each time it requires a greater performance of its desired activities to experience pleasure with them.

This factor is closely linked to the loss of control, since the appearance of tolerance makes the behaviors carried out by the individual increasingly impulsive, recurrent and uncontrollable.

The tolerance developed in addiction to women is very similar to that produced by drugs. The drug addict requires more and more consumption of the substance in the same way that the addict requires more and more contact with women.

Difference between addiction to women and addiction to sex

Addiction to women is often associated and even confused with addiction to sex. In fact, the latter is a more well-known and more documented type of addiction than addiction to women.

Keep in mind that addiction to women is a psychopathology alien to sex addiction. Sexual activities do not have to play an important role in addiction to women and above all, the addictive element is not.

Although in some cases the behaviors desired by the individual addicted to women may include sexual activities, these are not the main ones.

Although sex may be a desired activity, it is never the only one. In The Addiction to Women, the element to which the individual is addicted are the women themselves, so the type of behavior they want to carry out with them takes a back seat.

In fact, in most cases any activity carried out with women serves equally to satisfy the internal and addictive needs of the subject. In this sense, sex is an aspect that can be desired in addiction to women, but in the same way that any other type of behavior can be desired.

Differences between addiction to women and dependency personality disorder

Addiction to women can also be confused with dependency-related personality traits. Dependent personality disorder is characterized by a general and excessive need to be cared for, leading to submissive and adherent behavior and separation fears.

This alteration refers to the character and way of being of the person and, often, can lead the individual to carry out behaviors of seeking contact with people due to the need to take care of him.

These behaviors may overlap, in part, with behaviors typical of addiction to women.

However, dependency personality disorder is characterized by the absence of addictive behaviors. Elements such as craving, loss of control, abstinence and tolerance do not appear in the socializing behaviors of subjects with dependency personality disorder.

In turn, the contacts that are sought in this type of personality disorder do not have to be related to a woman. In fact, they are usually perceived in both genders, so it is a markedly different alteration to addiction to women.

Warning signs

Often, addiction to women can be a difficult disorder to detect. In particular, this task can be difficult for third parties to perform.

On the other hand, as with other types of addictions, it is common for the subject who suffers from addiction to women to be reluctant to accept their pathology. And make efforts to interpret their behaviors as normal.

For all these reasons, a series of elements have been developed that may be helpful in detecting addiction to women. The most important are.

1. Drastic changes in lifestyle in order to have more time to engage in addictive behaviors.
2. Generalized decrease in physical activity.
3. Neglect of one's own health as a result of addictive activity.
4. Avoiding important activities in order to have more time to stay connected.
5. Deprivation or change in sleep patterns in order to have more time to engage in addictive behaviors.
6. Decreased sociability with people other than women, a fact that has as a consequence the loss of friendships.
7. Neglect towards family and friends.
8. Negligence regarding work and personal obligations.

Treatment

The therapeutic tool that has been shown to be most useful for intervening in addictive pathologies is the motivational interview. This psychological technique focuses on gradually eliminating all the resistances that the subject is establishing about her addiction to women.

In this sense, the therapist and the patient work together to increase motivation towards change, a fact that will allow to avoid the performance of addictive behavior.

Many studies have shown that the main element that allows you to overcome behavioral addictions lies in the suppression of addictive behavior.

Thus, with the motivational interview, it is possible to increase the commitment to avoid carrying out these activities and to replace them with others that are less harmful to the individual.

References

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3. Goodman, A. (1993), Diagnosis and treatment of sexual addiction. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 19, 225-251.
4. Lemos Hoyos, M; Londño Arredondo, MH. (2006). Construction and validation of the Emotional Dependence questionnaire in the Colombian population. Rev, Acta colombiana de psicologia, Vol 9, No. 002, pp. 127-140.
5. Miller, WR and Rollnick, S. (1999). The motivational interview: preparing for the change of addictive behaviors. Barcelona: Paidós.