While certain members of the psychology community disagree on the issue of porn addiction, it hasn’t stopped self-proclaimed experts from trying to cash in on this golden opportunity. There are several “clinics” and “gurus” out there who are willing to tell you pretty much anything to cure you from your dependency.

These can vary from a small monthly subscription fee to spending up to half a year in isolation away from your wife. There’s also scare tactics of course. One company offers computer software that automatically forwards all the porn you download to your spouse’s inbox.

You can find websites that offer self-diagnostics and recommend treatment. Naturally, these “cures” cost money since porn addiction is not listed as public health issue. One would have to seek help from the unregulated private sector, which preys on your ignorance and fears.

The problem is that porn and sex are grouped together under a terrifying umbrella of mental health issues. And sex addiction is as vague as porn addiction.

There are experts out there who will tell you that what you think is normal, and most likely it is, is in fact a narrow path which leads to therapy, treatment, maybe even rehab.

Patrick Carnes runs an established treatment center in Mississippi called Gentle Path. Allegedly, sex addicts like Tiger Woods have attended it, and to receive treatment costs thousands of dollars.

Luckily, you can take a self assessment test online to find out exactly how messed up you are in the head. Armed with questions like: “Have you been sexual with minors,” “Have you been paid for sex,” and “Are any of your sexual activities against the law,” the test aims to dissect your personality.

If you pass the test there’s more. Don’t think for a second that an online screening of your sexual thoughts, fantasies, and behavior is all Carnes got. Time to bring out the big guns and list a bunch of symptoms related to sexual addiction.

These could include some, any, or all of the following: compulsive masturbation, compulsive heterosexual and homosexual relationships, pornography, prostitution, exhibitionism, voyeurism, indecent phone calls, child molesting, incest, rape and violence.

You don’t have to be an expert to know that the last four on this list are plainly wrong and illegal. Granted, some of these “symptoms” are worrying, but they are also very diverse, perhaps too diverse to be grouped together? How is masturbation related to child molestation?

Soon there won’t be a single area of our lives that’s not governed by fear and insecurity. Time to grab a box of tissues and make a stand people!