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.
I have been struggling with porn and sexual issues since I was eleven. Over the years, Ive gone in and out of periods where I had real problems, and time where I was sober. It was not until about two years ago that I realized I really had an addiction. But it wasn\'t until about one year ago that I really started to even feel guilty about my habit because I entered a beautiful, intimate relationship. My girlfriend is an angel, and my love for her has no bounds. She is the most kind and understanding person in the world, but I know my problem hurts her a lot. It causes me so much pain to think that dirty images on a computer screen can excite me more than her in some ways
I know if I dont solve my problem now while I am still young, it will only get worse as I get older. I want to do good in this world, not hurt others with my addiction. My ultimate goal in life is to be a part of great social change. I want to make the world a better place. There are so many problems in this world, and so few people who are willing to address them. It is our duty as human being to put an end to the worlds pain and suffering, lest everything becomes consumed by it. But how can I change the world, when I cant even make this change in myself!????
Please, I need help I have to be rid of this affliction. I have to do it for the world, for my girlfriend, and for meIm reaching out to anyone. Please.
I know if I dont solve my problem now while I am still young, it will only get worse as I get older. I want to do good in this world, not hurt others with my addiction. My ultimate goal in life is to be a part of great social change. I want to make the world a better place. There are so many problems in this world, and so few people who are willing to address them. It is our duty as human being to put an end to the worlds pain and suffering, lest everything becomes consumed by it. But how can I change the world, when I cant even make this change in myself!????
Please, I need help I have to be rid of this affliction. I have to do it for the world, for my girlfriend, and for meIm reaching out to anyone. Please.
Welcome to DailyStrength (DS) and to our little group/panel/community. I hope you find the understanding, acceptance, and support here that you are looking for. There are a great bunch of folks who are members of this group, and I think you'll find that they will be more than willing to help you in any way possible, if you just reach out, like you did today, and ask for help.
Starting you recovery program for sexual addiction can be very scary and confusing. You know that what you have been doing, the porn and masturbation, isn't working, but you have no idea what to do, or which way to turn in order to change. Maybe I can offer you some direction and guidance.
When it comes right down to it, the recovery process is all about becoming aware or conscious of your old beliefs, thought patterns, buried memories, feelings, and/or emotions, and the behaviors to result from all of these things. You have to be aware of a problem before you can address or change the situation. For that reason, the place where most addicts begin recovery is to learn something about this disorder. And the easiest way I know of to learn about sexual addiction is to read about it. So, I'm going to suggest you pick up a book and learn something about this problem you're going to try and address.
The book is titled "Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction", by Patrick J. Carnes, Ph.D. This is a basic primer on this disorder, and will give you a good, basic outline of what sexual addiction is all about. You might be able to find the book in your local library, or the neighborhood bookstore, or you can order it directly from AMAZON.COM, or from the publishing and distribution arm of Hazelden (www.recoverysuperstore.com). The book costs about $15.00.
Next, I would suggest you check out the various Twelve Step groups that exist specifically for sex addicts. There are five (5) main national groups:
Sexaholics Anonymous (S.A.)
www.sa.org/
Sex Addicts Anonymous (S.A.A.)
www.sexaa.org
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (S.L.A.A.)
www.slaafws.org/
Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (S.C.A.)
www.sca-recovery.org/
Sexual Recovery Anonymous (S.R.A.)
info@recovery.org
On each group's website, you'll find a listing of all of their weekly meetings, indexed by state. Included on that listing will be their telephone groups, and online meetings. See if you can find one or two group meetings that are convenient for you, and get to six (6) or eight (8) of the meetings to see what you think about the groups. You can't recovery from this disorder without plenty of support. And while you can find support here at DS, the support and fellowship you'll find at weekly group meetings will be much stronger than anything you'll find here. Add to that the fact that the support will be local, right in your own community.
Just as an aside, there are sister groups to those I listed above for the partners and family members of sex addicts. If your girlfriend would be interested, you might want to ask about such groups when you go to your Twelve Step meetings. There are also several Christian based Twelve Step groups for sex addicts, their partners, and their families. If such groups would be of any interest to you, let me know and I can give you their web addresses so you can check them out as well.
Next, you need to get yourself into some kind of therapy. You will not be able to get better without some counseling. If you need some ideas of where to start your search for counselors/therapists, I would suggest two different websites. Each has a listing of qualified and/or certified therapists, along with a lot of other very helpful information. The websites are as follows:
Sex Help
www.sexhelp.com/
Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health
(S.A.S.H.)
www.sash.net/
If you can't find a therapist in your area on either of those two lists, you might try checking out the membership listing of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (A.A.S.E.C.T.). Their web address is: www.aasect.org/.
There is one other helpful website you might want to check out. This site is maintained by the Sexual Recovery Institute, and the web addresses are as follows:
www.sexualrecovery.com/reso...
www.sexualrecovery.com/reso...#forpartner
One web address will give you referrals for the addict, the other for the addict's partner and family.
Well, that gives you some places to start your recovery journey. I hope something here is of some help to you. If you have any questions, or if I may be of any further assistance, let me know. I'll be happy to help in any way I can. Take care of yourself, and keep in touch so I know how things are going with you. Best of luck. I'll be chatting with you a bit later.
Much Peace.