Chapter 4: Understanding and Identifying the Characteristics of Sexual
Addiction (pages 45-70)
1. List the characteristics of sexual addiction named in this chapter.
1
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2
9
3
10
4
11
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12
6
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7
2. Sex is a way of coping with _____________________.
3. Sex addicts don’t have a healthy sense of how to _______________ themselves or
how to give themselves ___________________________________.
4. A sense of ___________________________ gives sex addicts the belief that they are
_________________________ in their sexual behaviors.
5. ______________________ may be a sex addict’s way of
_______________________ God so He will ___________________________them.
6. _________________________ is the belief that the addictive behavior is not really
_____________________ or ___________________.
7. Sexual addiction is an ___________________ disorder.
8. The more severe the ____________________________________ experience, the
more likely it is that the sex addict will have ________________________________.
9. Addicts must first learn how to deal with ___________________________________
issues in healthy ways before they can deal with the ______________________ itself.
10. An educated spouse knows that no amount of ______________________________
or _____________________________ is enough to satisfy an active sex addict. The
ultimate consequence is ________________________________________.
The Carnes Sexual Addiction Cycle is a useful tool for illustrating to addicts how their
choices keep them spiraling in the same behavior. Fill in the blanks in the diagram
below, and briefly define each stage of the cycle.
_____________________
↓
_____________________
↓
_____________________
______________________
____________________
_______________________
Stage
Definition
PART 1: REVIEW AND APPLICATION
Before proceeding further, it is helpful to review and apply what you have learned up to
this point.
√ Review the workbook pages that you completed for Chapter 1-4.
√ Apply your knowledge by answering the following questions:
 The author asks the reader to wrestle with the question, “What is the purpose of
sexuality?” After reading the past four chapters, what are your thoughts about the
purpose of sexuality?
 These chapters have defined and described all the basic elements of sexual
addiction. What new things have you learned? Describe what has made the most
impact on your thinking so far.