If sex addicts have been abused in the past, they may do the same to others. If they have not been talked to, they won't talk to others. If they have been yelled or screamed at, they will yell and scream at others. If they have been preached to, they will preach to others. They will abuse others in ways they were abused. Victims of this abuse may believe this is acceptable behavior, or they may be too afraid or ashamed to confront it.

Sex addicts may also abuse themselves. Their personal habits and hygiene, their eating, smoking, and drinking may annoy everyone around them. They may engage in any activity or use any substance compulsively. I met one sex addict who chewed three packs of gum a day while exercising for three hours every day.

Many sex addicts tell intimate details about their lives, except the sexual details, to strangers. A Catholic bishop told me about one priest who had almost every member of his church thinking he or she was the priest's personal confident. When his sexual acting out was discovered, everyone was shocked by it and felt guilty that they hadn't known.