Author and journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis writes about his sex addiction in the NYT in an excerpt adapted from his book America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life:

Americaanonymous “If you ask alcoholics about the first time they became drunk, many will say it was the moment they finally felt O.K. in the world. I never had that sensation while drunk or stoned, but I did feel it the first time I entered a gay men’s chat room, while in college. In a kind of hypnotic trance, I sent out photos of myself to rave reviews. But there were never enough reviews, never enough guys, never enough validation. Within three months, I had hooked up with 20 guys from online. Within six months, I was routinely skipping out on friends so I could spend nights in chat rooms. Within a year, I had essentially lost the ability to control the time I spent on the Internet. For the life of me, I couldn’t sign off. It took another five years before my life completely fell apart…”