Erich Fromm. The art of love (№ 418361)

The forms that the individual chooses in non-orgiastic culture are alcoholism and drug addiction. In contrast to those who engage in socially approved action, such individuals suffer from feelings of guilt and remorse. Although they try to escape separation by taking refuge in alcohol and drugs, they feel even more lonely after the orgiastic experience is over, and the need to return to their refuge as often and as intensely as possible increases. The sexual orgiastic solution to the problem is not much different from this refuge. In a sense, it is a natural and normal form of overcoming separation and a partial response to the problem of isolation. But for many individuals, whose separation cannot be overcome in other ways, the source of sexual satisfaction acquires a function that makes it not too distinguishable from alcoholism and drug addiction. It becomes a desperate attempt to escape the anxiety generated by separation and, as a result, leads to an even greater sense of separation, for a sexual act without love can never bridge the gap that separates two human beings. Except for a brief moment.