how would you compare addictive personality disorder with other disorders such as kleptomania and sexual obsession?

Submitted by psychstudent1 Mon 08/30/2010

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There is actually no official

Submitted by mwilliams on Tue, 09/07/2010 - 1:48pm.

There is actually no official diagnosis of additive personality disorder. However there are people who tend to use substances and processes to improve their mood, and so we might think of these people as "addiction prone."

Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder where the person feels an urge to steal things, and it is hard to resist that urge. They may not be stealing as a way to change their mood, which is the case with the addiction prone person. However, they may feel relief or some pleasure in successfully stealing things.

Sexual obsessions are not the same same as sexual addiction, also known as compulsive sexual behavior. Sexual obsession are a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and are unwanted and distressing. When people engage in compulsive sexual behaviors, they enjoy them, and so this can be like an addiction. People who engage in compulsive sexual behaviors are often using sex as a way to cope with negative feelings.

Best of luck,
Dr. Williams

—

Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist specializing in OCD
http://www.monnicawilliams.com

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