Paxil Used to Treat Sex Addiction
While antidepressants are used to a treat a variety of conditions (including anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorders), it may surprise some people to know that it is also commonly being used to treat sexual addiction.
While sexual addiction is also treated with psychotherapy, SSRI medications like Paxil and Prozac are being used in conjunction with therapy. This SSRI treatment is viewed by many different psychiatrists as a condition that is dependent on the patient’s mood. This is why some of them are prescribing antidepressants like Paxil, which they believe can help treat the patient’s mood disorder as well as help to control their sexual urges or cravings. These doctors also believe that drugs like Paxil can help to control impulsiveness which can lead to addictive behaviors.
The SSRI medications like Paxil are said to work by causing chemical changes in the brain that stimulate sexual arousal. Sexual arousal actually occurs when the body releases a combination of adrenaline, serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. This chemical release is what the sexual addict is addicted to and it contributes to the addicts’ “high” which they feel before they even have sex. This state of mind in the sex addict is called the “erotic haze.” In fact, according to an article on southgrowth.com, “addicts try to stay in the 'erotic haze' as long as they can, putting off any actual sexual release. The 'erotic haze' is a somewhat euphoric state, not dissimilar to the inner state of an opiate user.”
Even if drugs like Paxil can help with some of the compulsiveness that sexual addicts display, the drug is also quite dangerous —especially when taken by pregnant women. SSRIs like Paxil have been proven to cause birth defects in babies whose mothers take the drugs while pregnant. Some of those birth defects include cleft palate, PPHN and neural tube defects. Paxil has also been linked to aggressive thoughts and behavior as well as suicidal thoughts and behavior.
If your doctor prescribes SSRI medications like Paxil to you as a treatment for sexual addiction, you may want to think twice before agreeing to it.
