Internet, sex addictions go hand in hand

5-10-2009 National:

In more than 10 years of treating patients for serious sex and Internet addictions, Dr. David Greenfield said he has never seen a case like that of Greenwich investor Stephen Dent, who became a repeated victim of extortion after interacting with women he met online.

"I've seen people get into hot water legally and in relationships, but I have not seen this specific type of situation," said Greenfield, a nationally recognized addiction specialist who has a practice in West Hartford. "This is a new one."

Dent was a frequent visitor of the "sugar daddy dating site" SeekingArrangement.com, where he would meet younger women and engage them in online, and in some cases, face-to-face relationships. Those relationships led Dent to become the victim of at least three separate extortion plots, police said, but they didn't stop him from continuing to use the site until recently -- something that did not surprise Greenfield.

"It's very consistent with any addiction," said Greenfield. "One of the markers of an addiction is it has some consequence on your life, and in spite of that, there are still urges and cravings."

Becoming addicted to the Internet, in particular, is easy, Greenfield said, because it is an extremely accessible medium.

"Accessibility is one of the major highlights of Internet addiction," said Greenfield. "There is an ease of access and an immediate gratification in the form of whatever it is you are searching for."

Greenfield is one of a handful of specialists in the country who focus specifically on Internet addiction and is the director for the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, based in West Hartford. Greenfield is also an assistant clinical professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and has authored several books on addiction.

Although Dent's actions may have started as harmless Internet flirting, chatting with women online and swapping photos, it quickly landed him in dangerous territory, according to police reports. Dent reportedly spent more than $200,000 on women, in some instances for casual sex.

Greenfield said there is a very thin line between sex and Internet addiction, as is evident in Dent's case, because in today's society, the two often go hand in hand.

"We can't really talk about sex addiction today without talking about the Internet," said Greenfield. While there are major distinctions between different types of addictions whether they stem from drugs, alcohol, the Internet or sex, Greenfield said they all have one thing in common -- dopamine, a chemical in the brain that can be elevated by pleasurable activity.

"All addictions function very similar on a neurological level," said Greenfield. "They all elevate dopamine. Dopamine is really what the brain is addicted to. How it gets its drug of choice is what varies."

Greenfield said that studies his center has conducted often find it is the Internet that turns people toward sex addiction by activating a hidden predisposition to it. As a result, it is actually quite common for people who have no history of this compulsive behavior to become entranced by the virtual reality they experience online.

Greenfield noted that much of the sexual dysfunction seen in the country today has to do with the way society promotes and shames sex all at the same time -- a conflicting message that pushes many addicts into the shadows.

"There is a consequence when you sort of say it's OK to sell sex but if you want it outside of the normal or healthy way to do it, there is something wrong with you," said Greenfield. "I'm not excusing it. But our culture is absolutely ripe for producing this kind of behavior."

While Dent's lawyer said the Greenwich investor is moving forward with the support of his family, Greenfield said it takes a serious commitment to break the cycle of compulsion. In his experience, patients often require treatment from a therapist to help them understand addiction and, in some cases, even require medication. Since treating Internet addiction is a relatively new field, Greenfield said the science is constantly evolving.

"Addictions are more powerful than logic, so these events may be enough to break his denial, but it's not enough to cure the problem," Greenfield said. "He will still need some help."

And while many people view drug and alcohol addictions as having the most severe consequences on a person's life, Greenfield said this is a prime example of the devastating results of sex and Internet addictions.

"I can't tell you how many cases I've dealt with where there was a tremendous impact to their lives," said Greenfield. "They are completely turned upside down."


..News Source.. by Denra Friedman, STAFF WRITER