Help spot and treat sex addicts, doctors urged.
Call for urgent study of problem also made - M.Nirmala (KS guru)
Sex addicts are beginning to be seen in Singapore by sexual therapists who asked general practitioners at a medical convention to help spot and treat them. The three speakers - a psychiatrist, a pychologist and a therapist - yesterday told about 200 doctors and nurses that they were treating about 20 Singaporeans whose obsession with sex had ended in divorce of convictions for rape or molest.
Describing the problem as "the tip of the iceberg", the speakers also called for an urgent study of the problem "in order to arrest the snowballing of the sexual addiction problem in Singapore".
The three are Dr Lim Yun Chin, a psychiatrist, Dr Harold Robers, a psychologist and Mrs Gallimore, a marriage and family-life therapist. Dr Lim said work done on other addictions such as alcoholism and drug abuse in the past 20 years had thrown some light on this new problem. He defined sex addict as "a guy who has his genitals in his brain or his brain between his thighs".
Such addiction would be seen in behaviour such as excessive masturbation UP TO 10 times a day, voyeurism, frequent sex with prostitutes or an obsession with pornography. While society tolerated some of this behaviour, it punished those who commit rape and molest, which was sex addiction at it extreme, he said. According to Western studies, addicts are often secretive, abused themselves or their sexual partners and did not feel love or affection during sex.And doctors were well placed to spot them as addicts complain to doctors of problems such as vaginal or anal discomfort, inappropriate sexual behaviour, eating disorders, depression or repeated nightmares, which are often disguised cries for help.
Mrs Gallimore who has been helping counsel the 20-or-so Singaporeans for the past 2.5 years said the addiction could often be traced back to the family background. One boy sentenced for rape had repeatedly molested girls previously but his parents covered up his crimes. The family history also showed that his grandfathers and uncles had molested women.
She said that some parents were, in fact, complicating matters by allowing their young children to stay up with them to watch blue films, sleep with them and even bathe with them. This was not the way to bond, she said, adding that the child's sexual values could become warped by such behaviour. She said that to keep the problem at bay, Singapore should maintain its emphasis on traditional family values.
Spotting an addict was the first step in curing him, said Dr Lim, adding that group therapy was able help recovery. The presentation was part of a day-long series of talks on sex organised by the Singapore Medical Association in conjunction with its 25th national medical convention the Dynasty Ballroom. The convention was held to educate doctors and members of the public who, for too long. have been embarassed to talk about sex and its problems.
The afternoon session was attended by doctors. In the morning, about 400 members of the public listened to Dr Lim Su Min speak on adolescent sexual development, Fr V. Atputharajah on common sexual myths, Dr Lee Chuen Neng on sex after a heart attack, and Dr Yu Su Ling on gynaecological problems.[/b]
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