Sex addiction IS a mental-health disorder, declare World Health Organization and treatment could be available on the NHS

The updated guidelines are scheduled to be presented to all WHO member states at their annual assembly in May 2019. It is aimed the new classifications will come into effect in 2022.

Sex addiction is seen as 'shameful'

According to Dr Valerie Voon, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, between two and four per cent of people in the UK suffer from sex addiction. Three-to-six per cent are thought to have the condition in the US.

She told The Sun: 'It is a behaviour that tends to be hidden as it's shameful and often sex addicts don't come forward.

'Adding this to the WHO list is an excellent step for patients as it allows them to recognise that they are suffering with a problem.

'It takes it out of the shadows and they are able to seek help for it.'

Dr Voon believes sex addiction may one day be treated on the NHS alongside conditions like depression and anxiety.

Gaming addictions tear families apart

This comes after Dr Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO's department for mental health, said the body listed gaming as an addiction based on scientific evidence, as well as 'the need and the demand for treatment in many parts of the world.'

WHAT CELEBRITIES HAVE SUFFERED FROM SEX ADDICTION?

Comedian Russell Brand has been to rehab for sex addiction saying being active between the sheets gives him 'a breathing space, when you're outside of yourself and your own head'.

Actor Michael Douglas, who is married to Catherine Zeta Jones, also sought treatment for the disorder after numerous affairs ended his first marriage to Diandra Luker in 1995.

As well as reported drug and alcohol problems, Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan has described herself as 'not a crazy [sex] addict' but adds she enjoys being in different relationships.

David Duchovny, star of The X-Files, sought treatment for sex addiction in 2008 after being unfaithful to his actress wife Téa Leoni.

After the release of a sex tape with his Playboy model ex Nicole Narain in 2003, actor Colin Farrell admitted to liking sex with prostitutes and suffering from an addiction.

Socialite Calum Best, whose footballer father George suffered from alcoholism, has said 'I'm a red-blooded male and I'm addicted to sex'.

WHAT IS SEX ADDICTION?

In July 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared sex addiction is a mental-health disorder.

Yet many experts disagree about whether this is an actual diagnosis.

According to the relationship counselling service Relate, sex addiction is any intimate activity that feels 'out of control'.

This could be sex with a partner, masturbation, pornography use, visiting prostitutes or using chat lines.

In some cases, people feel unable to control their urges, which affects their quality of life and those around them.

According to the WHO, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder is defined as an inability to control intense sexual urges leading to people neglecting their health despite often deriving no pleasure from being intimate.

Patients must suffer from the disorder for at least six months, and experience substantial distress as a result of their addiction, before being diagnosed, the WHO adds.

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