The Rich Roll Podcast

Addiction is a common theme on this podcast. But this week we sail into previously unchartered waters to tackle a dark and difficult subject: Sex addiction. Few taboos remain in our hyper-extroverted, selfie-fueled modern culture. But I think it's safe to say this remains one of them. And yet 18 million – 24 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from this incredibly destructive affliction — that's 6-8% of the population. But because this particular topic is so taboo, most locked in the grip of this prurient form of addiction are too terrified to reach out for help and thus suffer in isolation, silence and profound shame. Joseph Naus was one of them. Raised in hardscrabble poverty by a young, single mom — a heroin addict turned shut-in depressive — Joseph was desperate to find a way out. On sheer determination he succeeds, graduating Pepperdine Law School to become a respected lawyer. However, at age 32, his American Dream became a nightmare when his secret life as a sex addict collided with his not so secre