Sex / Pornography Addiction Support Group
Sexual addiction, also sometimes called sexual compulsion, is a form of psychological addiction to sexual intercourse and other sexual behavior.
want2trust
First off it is not easy for me to ask for help when I am the support for the addict. However while I feel he has made tremendous progress I feel that I cannot trust him. I was hoping this feeling would pass and soon. I find myself constantly wondering what he's doing when I'm at work, in the shower, or even when he's in the bathroom for long lengths of time with and without his phone. As time has gone on...less than a year I have been disrespected by finding him talking to other girls on dating sites. Says they are friends. The dating sights are gone now as far as I know but the other girls are on social media and have his phone number now. To finding a masturbation mess all wrapped up in a wash cloth laying on the desk where he knew I would be doing homework when I got home from work that morning. Then there's finding naked pics of girls in his contact list on a phone that I pay the bill. Once again says.....I haven't talked to her in years. As I said said before.....they are gone as far as I know. We have had to go through and delete all the pornography stars and nude models and just the "fun time" girls from social media. The Twitter and Instagram accounts were deleted due to his inability to behave himself. I have all passwords to all computers and Facebook accounts. However, I don't use them. Partially because I am afraid of what I will find. Simply because when I browse the friend list Russian roulette style I find another partially naked woman. When I entered this relationship I had no idea the depth of his addiction. As the secrets have been uncovered I feel like the other woman. He has made tremendous progress but I still feel like there is no trust. For months every time I turned around there was pornography, evidence of masturbation, nude women. All while I am willing to have all the sex he wants. I find that I am always the one asking for it. He tells me no rather often which leaves me feeling rejected and highly suspicious. I feel ugly that he chooses to look at other women over me. I've caught him Damn near drooling while in public. I have always had high self-esteem and now I feel undesirable, not good enough because I can't keep his attention, like his last resort. I want to have sex with him and only him.I don't look at other men because he is all that I want. So all the other women, make me feel inferior. Particularly when most of them are very unattractive. He had a quite lengthy black book that was recently deleated after I found nude photos in his contact list. Now being in a committed relationship I would have thought all of that would have been gone but it wasn't until I found it. So I find myself constantly asking what else is there????? What secrets are left to be unturned????? I love this man more than anything and want this to work. I can't help but feel these things when I feel like I've already been lied too, taken advantage of, made to look like a fool, among other things. I am rejected for sex sometimes once a day. So while he wants me to ask and tell him, I can't. I feel so belittled that he watches movies with naked women and that excites him and I don't. That he'd rather masturbate than have sex with me. So naturally when he says yes I feel like it's pity sex because he said no recently or he will just think of someone else while we have sex. This insecurity will likely ruin us if I can't feel like I can trust that I am what he wants not just what came along. I need serious help here.
Living with an active sex addict is like living in a war zone. You never know when a bomb is going to go off, what you will find or how much he will lie about it.
I also know how hard it is to ask for help and seek support for yourself, but you will need it moving forward, especially if he is unwilling to get help for himself.
This addiction is very traumatizing. I would urge you to find a support group, even here on Daily Strength or better still a face to face support group or therapist who can help you sort things out, help you create boundaries in your home and consequences that you can stick to.
The most important thing I can tell you is that this addiction has nothing to do with you. I know how painful this is so please go easy on yourself and know that you are not alone.
I think you may actually have more than a sex addict on your hands. I am heavily addicted but never once have I ever made my wife suffer like you man is making you suffer. His actions are very callous and nearly to the point of deliberately trying to hurt you. I don't know of any sex addict that would say no the advances of his partner.
I hate to say it but perhaps you should weigh up your options. I love my wife but if I could do it all again I would have called my relationship off early because of the damage it has done to me and the way it has changed my life.
If you are the addict, don't assume that you haven't caused your wife trauma. Addicts tend to minimize things in their addictive state and that is not what partners want or need. We need to be validated, but of course, addicts not in recovery are not in a position to do that.
If your wife was also an addict, then you would, of course, understand the trauma.
I do feel like I am in a constant war zone. Mostly it's when I blow up because the stress is to the point I cannot handle it. We communicate about this and yet I walk away feeling that things are unresolved. Waiting for the next box to be opened. We have clear defined rules. However it seems that they bend. That loop holes are discovered. He does seek help. He attends weekly group meetings. However I feel that he has not been fully honest with them on the extent of his problem. Thank you very much for you support. I have been saying for a short while that I need to talk to someone because I need support to be able to help him get through this. As we all know this is something that will never just go away.
I am not sure what I will do about the way I feel.I know I don't want to feel this way. I hope that over time I won't feel this way. As far as your second question. Is he necessary in my life. No. No one is necessary. I am used to being and living alone. However I am divorced for about 10 years. After my divorce I dated a lot all while never feeling like I wanted a serious commitment. I was always upfront with my boyfriend's about that. With him it is different. We connect on so many levels. I feel that he is the piece of me that I have been missing. Despite everything I want him and I know that we can get through this.
Yes, there are improvements. For example viewing pornography is off the table. However, It is just several rooms away and he won't get rid of it. This is a red flag and I know it. Because maybe not today but I n a time of weakness and low self control it is there. Yes I want it gone and feel it needs to be he just won't. Another improvement is that he is not masturbating 4 to 6 times a day. To be honest I was not aware it was even happening until I found the evidence. After all I am willing multiple times a day. I'm just tired of being rejected and him not being the one to verbalize he wants it. I am getting to the point that if I have to chase it....I am not sure I want it. I want to feel desired and wanted not rejected and like I'm getting pity sex a couple times a week. If that even on occasion.
I do feel myself becoming someone I'm not. I am a very strong woman. Yet I'm crying all the time it seems. Before this relationship I cried maybe a handful of time..ever. I also feel jealous. Jealous of all the other girls. I hear sex stories of the past, places and other information that I really don't want to hear. Maybe it's because as he talks about these times all I hear is the rejection that I get. Why tell me this. With the addiction he has to be able to talk about it. It just makes me feel that much more undesirable. I was even told once that I am the only one he's ever been with that has a problem with his pornography consumption. Well I doubt that and I'm sure I'm just more vocal and not going to tolerate it. I also dislike feeling suspicious of everything. As I said I'm.my original post. Past fun time girls or anyone he's ever had inappropriate actions with does not need to be in our lives. As well as anyone he ever considered having any kind of sex with. Including those he's fantisized about. They just don't belong in our life. Our life is us and our children. That should not include all the past flings.
You are correct. As a matter of fact tonight I have decided that I cannot continue to harbor these negative emotions. It is ruining this relationship. I thought long and hard about my decision. Taking into consideration that he has made tremendous progress despite the set backs. I have to let this go. I have to just trust that I mean more to him than other womens pictures, porn, and wanting them. This comes alter a lengthy conversation. I made this decision based on the opertunities that have been missed by these negative feelings. It is difficult to work on something when you can't find the positive in it. This is not saying that I have forgotten. It is saying that we need to love forward and I need to stop holding the negative over his head. While I know these things will remain in the shadows forever. Until I am given another reason to validate these feelings. I have to trust that he values himself enough to set the good positive example for our girls. That he values me enough to not violate the rules that have been set. I needed to do this so I can attempt to feel like myself again and not this emotional mess of a zombie. I know that it is not going to be a easy road but we have agreed to continue to communicate and be honest.
Please remember that you are not being rejected because of you, you are being rejected because of the addiction.
I went through this too. It is heart breaking.
My hope is that you (and he), get professional help for this addiction with a trained therapist.
There, you will continue to work on unbendable boundaries with consequences you can stick to and he will learn how to open up to you in complete honesty because real recovery requires transparency.
You do not need to know every sordid detail, but you have the right to know enough in order to make an informed decision about your marriage and your future.
Please stay connected here.
Yes sobriety is very possible. I have the up most faith they he will accomplish that. It is getting there that I was doubting my strength. This is difficult but I know that together we can do it. Communication is the key. While the rejection is difficult. I wonder if that is my problem. Meaning something I need help on. If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not self gratifying instead of being with me it would make it so much easier to accept. But I have made the decision to move past it unless I am told or worse discover differently.
I am not going anywhere and think this group is a great support tool as we all have real experiences and varying backgrounds.