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Addiction to sex, according to a new study, is a disorder which is being considered for an inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

According to a proposed definition, a person suffering from the disorder may show symptoms like relentless sexual urges that feel out of their control, excessive sexual activities, frequent usage of sex to cope with stress, and interference of sexual activities in day to day life functioning. However, a person who has sex frequently does not qualify for the disorder, reports Mail Online.

Till recently, researchers have been struggling to define what hypersexual disorder actually is.

Researchers emphasize that they are not trying to label common behaviors such as having sex frequently or watching porn as a disorder. People with hyper sexual disorder report not being able to control their desires even it means they may face repercussions.

"They might consider the consequences momentarily, but somehow feel their need for sex is more important, and choose sex even in situations where such choices might cause significant problems or harm, such as job loss, relationship problems or financial difficulties," study researcher Rory Reid, an assistant professor and research psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told the website MyHealthNewsDaily.

For the study, where hypersexual disorder was defined as 'recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, and sexual behavior,' lasting at least six months, the researchers quizzed more than 200 people who had been referred to mental health centers without knowing the cause of it.

Apparently, 150 of them were believed to have sexual behavior problems; the others had problems such as substance abuse.

With regard to the proposed definition above, 134 of the patients referred for sexual problems were found to have hypersexual disorder.

The patients were asked as to what was the behavior that bothered them the most and interfered with their social and daily life among behaviors such as  masturbation, pornography viewing, sex with consenting adults, cybersex, telephone sex and frequenting strip clubs.

According to the report, it was found that the majority of people with the disorder said masturbation and pornography viewing to be problematic.

The study found that there were people who were refrained from their jobs due to lack of control on their habits.

Now, Dr Reid wants to find out how common this disorder is and to see if these people also have changes in their brain like those with other addictions.

The results of the study were published online in the Journal of Sexual Medicine and will be sent to the American Psychiatric Association.