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Actor David Duchovny, best known for his role as Fox Mulder on the FOX TV series The X-Files and its related movies, checked himself into a rehab facility for sex addiction, according to news reports and a statement released by his lawyer yesterday.

Duchovny, 48, is married to actress Tea Leoni; they have two children. He is currently starring in the Showtime series Californication. In it, he plays a curmudgeonly writer named Hank Moody with self-destructive tendencies—among them a lecherous lifestyle.

In 2000, ScientificAmerican.com's own Ivan Oransky wrote a story about sex addiction—which is still not officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association—for Rx.magazine. In the piece, John Sealy, a Torrance, Calf.-based psychiatrist  calls the condition that has been said to plague 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women as "a pathological relationship with a mood-altering experience with associated denial of escalating adverse consequences and/or loss of control." (Well, that clears it up.)

So-called sex addicts often also suffer from depression and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder and may be hooked on alcohol, crystal meth or cocaine. According to the article, the best treatment for sex addiction is a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous combined with individual psychotherapy sessions.

The news may finally provide an answer to singer/songwriter Bree Sharp's 1999 cult-hit "David Duchovny," in which she asked the actor, "David Duchovny, why won't you love me?" (See poor-quality YouTube video below.)

14 Comments

1. 1. revenant83 04:19 PM 8/29/08

   Hmm.. I sort of expect ridicule about the lives of celebrities on TMZ and Access Hollywood, but SciAm? Really? Maybe that's why I canceled my subscription. Or maybe because it was like reading reprints of New Scientist, only 30 days later. But I guess if you can't stay relevant in the world of print, there's always the world wide web. Kudos on the latest celeb goss with only the slightest of nods, and a dismissive one at that, to any scientific content whatsoever.

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2. 2. Joe Rosenberg 04:55 PM 8/29/08

   Oh, come on. Aren't we all addicted to sex, biologically? If you want real funny sex addiction read this girl-boy-girl sex romance written by a Harvard Grad about his wife and real Romanian dancers "Caribbean Dreams: TRUE STORY of an Ivy League Couple who Bought a STRIP CLUB in the Caribbean" www.caribbeanstripclub.com. It's like being addicted to food or water, necessary for survival and how we evolved! Read a little Darwin!

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3. 3. Mystah Point 05:47 PM 8/29/08

   I like sex. Too often it is only with myself.

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4. 4. Not Tarded 06:29 PM 8/29/08

   Well this is the final straw.
   What, exactly, does this have to do with science? Even Sciam couldn't get their own writers previous article (cited as being written in 2000) acknowledged by a RESPECTED journal.
   
   I'm really getting tired of reading this kind of "article" on what is supposed to be the foremost SCIENTIFIC magazine. If I wanted to read this, I would have picked up the latest copy of "People Magazine". Or maybe the latest copy of "Weekly World News".
   
   SHAME ON YOU SCIAM! Stop reporting TRASH, or lose what little respect we still have for you...

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5. 5. Chuck Darwin 06:40 PM 8/29/08

   Good item. Highly amusing.

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6. 6. hotblack 08:32 PM 8/29/08

   Nice. If I were married to Tea Leoni, I'd be a sex addict too.
   
   But, where's the science?

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7. 7. dan s 11:57 PM 8/29/08

   I have been in recovery from sexual addiction and attending twelve step program meetings for it for twenty years now. I can attest to its nature as an illness. Sexaholics Anymous and Sex Addicts Anonymous are the two largest nationwide organizations for this addiction. I encourage anyone who thinks pornography or sex is harming them or those they love to look for these groups on the web. It is an illness. It can't be cured. But we can receive recovery and sanity by belonging to one of these fellowships.

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8. 8. dan s in reply to Not Tarded 12:16 AM 8/30/08

   This has to do with science because the AMA has yet to declare this addiction an illness (as it has with other obsessive compulsive disorders and with chemical addictions) thus denying people suffering from this addiction insurance coverage for treatment. The "Scientists" of the AMA need to look at the science on this mental illness.

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9. 9. doug 1 08:38 AM 8/30/08

   Hmmm...I jumped in thinking I'd join the chorus of complaints about the appropriateness of an implied celebrity sex scandal and discovered a pretty interesting discussion instead. Maybe this should be the platform from which SciAm approaches a clear rational perspective on sex and addiction, either together or seperately, since both are so steeped in the highly subjective nature of our instincts and perceptions.
   Oh, and Joe Rosenberg's recommendation to checkout www.carribeanstripclub.com is a very very good one. There are some very compelling stories there and experiencing them vicariously is probably the best if not only way. That blog is well written and compellingly interesting and the subject matter handled intelligently from the point of view of people who you will probably recognize as very much like good people you probably already know. Thanks for the tip, joe.
   Cheers, doug

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10. 10. Jonah Gruber 12:06 AM 8/31/08

    I agree with revenant83. The sentiments in this article are a strange fit for SciAm. It seems to becoming more of a scientific tabloid than a way to make science interesting to non-scientists such as myself.

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11. 11. Gary 03:59 AM 8/31/08

    Hmm this article along with the bigfoot article shows a disturbing trend torwards tabloid hollywood gossip reporting. I have been a loyal reader for years because sciam has consistantly published articles about cutting edge science in language a person without a doctorate degree can still understand. I have not decided to stop buying sciam yet, but I see that on the horizon

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12. 12. Quasimodo 10:00 AM 8/31/08

    I'm quite in agreement with those those who see Sci Am as going down the tubes, content wise. Might as well turn the publication over to a high school somewhere.

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13. 13. jinglefritz 04:19 PM 9/1/08

    I weep for what used to be a great publication. You should be ashamed of yourselves (sciam - not duchovny). I won't be renewing my subscription and took you out of my rss feed.

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14. 14. FlaGuy954 04:52 PM 9/9/08

    There is a difference between porn addiction and sex addiction and Duchovny's problem appears to be the former.

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