Dad Sues Drug Firm for Sex Addiction

Patients report sudden onset of addictions

(NEWSER) - Drugs for Parkinson's disease can be enormously beneficial, relieving patients' tremors and rigid muscles. But some patients are now complaining of an unusual side effect—extreme compulsive behavior. One woman began taking Mirapex to combat symptoms and suddenly found herself with a $200-a-day scratch-off lottery ticket habit, reports the Chicago Tribune. More»

The epidemic afflicts millions of Americans

(NEWSER) - With the Tiger Woods scandal officially behind us, the Daily Beast looks into our nation's sex addiction epidemic—which now afflicts more than 9 million people and employs some 1,500 sex therapists. “Where it used to be 40- to 50-year-old men seeking treatment, now there are more females, adolescents, and senior citizens,” says one expert. Whether it's online porn or a wild merry-go-round of sexual partners, millions of Americans are pursuing sex to sugar-coat long-suppressed emotional needs. Aided by the Internet and high-tech GPS gadgets, they can satisfy their needs faster than ever before. More»

Dr. Drew Pinsky 'is not helping anyone'

(NEWSER) - With the death of Mike Starr, a former Celebrity Rehab participant, the time has come to talk about why the show needs to be shut down. No, not because of Starr’s death—“If every recovery center had to close down after a former patient relapsed and died, we'd have no facilities left,” notes Drew Grant on Salon —but because it’s become completely obvious that Dr. Drew Pinsky “is not helping anyone,” Grant writes. By mixing true addicts with people like Rachel Uchitel, who was supposedly addicted to love, the show is no longer about treatment. More»

The go-to excuse for adulterers is little more than pop psychology

(NEWSER) - It’s spawned a VH1 reality show, and it’s a great excuse for philanderers everywhere, but is sex addiction even real? Tracy Clark-Flory of Salon wasn’t convinced, so she consulted a variety of experts on the subject—many of whom aren't buying. One sex therapist calls it “flimsy pop psychology” that makes perfectly normal people believe they have a problem. Equating the hit of dopamine delivered during orgasm to drugs like crack, says sex columnist Dan Savage, is just "just ye olde sex negativity on display." More»

(NEWSER) - A New York judge is handing down treatment-oriented sentences to defendants whose crimes result from gambling addiction, on a model introduced to address drug and spousal abuse. Offenders willing to plead guilty can choose Justice Mark Farrell's suburban Buffalo courtroom and receive lighter sentences, along with counseling and status checks from the judge himself. More»