[puzzclar]

I'll say it. I'm a sex addict. And right now I am trying to study after a hard emotional blow.... and so far it's not working to study... I have two chapters to get through, and little desire to study, I just want to act out.

Background story, I have been addicted for 6 months, okay, going on 7. Is it wrong to love sex?! But the thing is, its impacting my studies I can't focus.... Then again I had a rough blow with my job, I'm most likely going to be losing my job due to government cuts..... I don't know what to do... I need to study but things are hard right now, and all I want to do is use... any tips out there for studying when studying seems impossible?

[DesigningWoman]

No judgment on your addiction. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, you acknowledge it is negatively affecting your life and impairing your ability to accomplish your goals.

It's really a two part problem, your addiction and your school.

For the first problem, have you gotten any help, therapy or support groups? My town has a sex and love addiction anonymous organization. It works like AA with a different focus. They would be a resource to find a therapist who deals with sex addiction in a frank, non-judgmental way. My therapist does quite a bit of counseling for sexual issues including addiction. In the limited number of sessions I have discussed sex. I found her to be just that, frank and not judgmental.

Ok part two, the school issue... It is going to take switching your focus from addiction to studying. I have a lot of trouble focusing myself. I can procrastinate way too much. I tell myself the assignment isn't that big and I can do it in an afternoon. Cut to midnight it's due at 12:01. I am tired and still working on the assignment.
My best advice for this is to be incredibly honest with yourself. I know working on a research paper I will get bored, a lot. So I try and figure out. I will take x number of breaks, I will probably get distracted by Facebook for about x number of times.
But be realistic. Then work with those realistic estimations. For instance, I am bored researching widget production so I take a break knowing I can and I have two more left. I may even set an alarm, when it dings break is over, back to work.

I hope this helps.

[Walking Man]

Sorry. I also act out especially when I'm upset about something. Beyond trying to remove temptation, like getting away from the computer or whatever it is, it's difficult. Can you spend more time with other people in a healthy way, even talking on the phone? Exercise? Anything to get you out and your mind off of it. Study at the coffee shop or library. Even get a safe TV show to distract you, especially if you aren't getting any studying done anyhow. I'm not sure if this is the best thing, but sometimes it seems to help to just M and get it over with rather than indulging in P or whatever. It can backfire, but if you are going to do it anyhow, doing it quick helps avoid doing the other stuff and wasting time. I don't want to do it at all, but focusing on limiting it, or doing less helps. My T suggests trying to limit rather than stop all at once. You could also talk to someone about the job situation, since that's what you are upset about, like friend or family member.

[coldwut]

I try to break down my studying into sections and then take breaks after each section. It's a bit helpful for whenever I have a hard time concentrating.

You can also take notes to help yourself get into what you're supposed to study.

Also, going to a library is always an option since there is little distraction.