The segue from "Jeopardy" to "Dr. Phil" on UPN is always an interesting one. You go from watching awkward conversations courtesy of Alex Trebeck during the interview segment, to conversations where the guests try to act serious while trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of Dr. Phil. But the segue last week got a lot more interesting thanks to one man. Allow me to introduce you to Ben.
Ben was on Dr. Phil with his wife to confess to the legion of Dr. Phil fans around the world that he was a sex addict. Yeah, so what? Aren't we all sex addicts by nature? Weren't we designed to be a sexual creature by the Creator? Of course, a case study of my life wouldn't tell you that, but I digress.
But as it turns out, our friend Ben has one serious case of allowing his Mr. Johnson too much freedom.
He explained that he's addicted to online porn and regularly takes two hour lunch breaks to go on masturbation marathons. He even frequents the local strip clubs where he passed out pictures of his family to the local female entertainers.
Apparently, his wife wasn't too happy about the embarrassment and ruin Ben brought upon the family. But he holds his claim of having no self-control over his inner demons. In other words, he is a slave to sex.
An addiction to sex for men has to be the oldest addiction on Earth and will always be an addiction. So why can't Ben just learn to control himself and realize he's having the same natural impulses we all do?
I'm joining the common sense crowd on this issue. Ben is someone who is simply not the master of his own domain and does not deserve our sympathy. But I'm willing to bet, in this country full of people who mislabel not having the ability to control themselves as a mental disease brought upon by Satan, that there would be people in Ben's corner.
So, I took some time off from watching old WWE clips on YouTube.com and the Boston Bruins audition for a prime-time spot on the "Who Gives a Rats Ass" channel for the 2007-2008 season to launch a mini-investigation into the matter.
According to SexHelp.com, "self-addicts are unable to stop self-destructive behavior." Families are ruined, financial woes ensue, suicide obsession becomes apparent and abortions are just some of the fallouts from becoming a sex-addict.
The origin of sexual addiction was brought into the American conscious by Dr. Patrick Carnes' 1983 book, "Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction." Four years later in 1987, The National Council on Sexual Addiction came as a rescue for those inflicted with the urge to throw caution, and their pants, to the wind.
The news is troubling. Three to six percent of the population is inflicted with sexual addiction, but luckily there are over 750 sex-addict anonymous centers across this country. Despite that, one hasn't opened in the state of Massachusetts as of yet, I sense a new organization with a table coming to the Campus Center in the near future with fresh fliers to stuff in your pant pockets.
Should we put any credence into men who claim to be at the demanding will of their penis every time it wants to come out to get a breath of fresh air?
Are we to blame the plethora of porn sites available as the source for this sexual madness? Not until now has there ever been a time in human history when mankind could roll out of bed, turn on a machine and bear witness to millions of girls engaging in sex acts. I swear you wouldn't be able to cut the awkwardness in some of those films with an electric saw.
No, we need to draw the line and not acknowledge sexual addiction as a weak excuse for an addiction or illness. If we acquiesce, we're just opening the floodgates for everyone who acts on their impulses, and without any regard for how their behavior affects everyone around them, to hop aboard the rehab train.
Soon, we'll have students claiming an addiction to their beds before the sun positions itself directly overhead in the sky, or not being able to keep a pen or PRS clicker on a desk longer than 60 seconds. By the way, I won an award in the second grade for being the only kid able to keep his pencil on his desk the entire year. That's an award which should be adopted by UMass before I graduate.
Every time someone messes up or makes a big boo-boo in our society, you can always a make a safe bet (sorry to those with an addiction to gambling) an illness or addiction won't be too far behind. It's a simple message that there is a lack of people who don't take responsibility for their actions anymore. Before you know it, the good people at Jeopardy will have to debut a weekly category devoted to new addictions which spring up in our society. Maybe Dr. Phil can give the clues via video.
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