No Really, It’s A REAL Disease This Time

There’s plenty of chatter online debating whether or not Tiger Woods has a sex addiction, and with it, everybody is parading their list of well-known actors who became known for their libido as much as their credits. (Think Billy Bob, Clinton, Duchovny, and Bill Murray?)

We know there is a lot of tension both in an and out of the addiction community about if the word addiction is an attempt to avoid responsibility for one’s actions. It’s the same discussion sometimes found in 12 Step groups about whether the addiction is a disease or not.

But while I was gobbling gossip pages, I mean, researching scientific articles on sex addiction, I found a juicy tidbit on Tom Sizemore, the troubled Saving Private Ryan star and former fiancée to famous madame Heidi Fleiss. Apparently, he actually has a medical excuse for his behavior and says he is battling a rare medical condition called priapism, which he says leaves him sexually insatiable.

I’m not quite sold – priapism is defined as a persistent, usually painful, erection that lasts for more than four hours and occurs without sexual stimulation. It doesn’t appear to be linked to sexual desire at all. Hey – you can’t blame a guy for trying. At least priapism sounds authentic.