Sex Addiction or Good Acting?

Recently, actor David Duchovny, who plays a sex-addicted writer on the television show “Californication,” voluntarily went to rehab for sex addiction after years of denying he had a problem.

Sex addiction is a compulsive behavior that is often likened to alcoholism or gambling, but it's not recognized as a diagnosable disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. Although it’s not an officially recognized health diagnosis, it affects an estimated 3% to 5% of Americans.

Symptoms can include rampant promiscuity, spending hours viewing pornography and using sex as an escape mechanism from problems, such as stress or depression. Sex addicts are usually ashamed of their behavior and try to keep it secret. They also tend to have difficulties expressing their emotions and with emotional intimacy in relationships. Treatment for a sexual addiction can include anti-depressants, which can lower the libido as a side effect, psychotherapy and group therapy.

Duchovny was accused of being a sex addict in the 1990s before he married actress Tea Leoni, which he denied in a Playgirl magazine interview.

This got us wondering: Do you think that sex addition is a real condition, and could playing the role of a sex addict ignite the condition? If that's the case, could other jobs incite other unhealthy addictions or conditions? [Reuters]