[geez]

Has anyone reading this ever 'recovered' from sex addiction? I'm just starting to process this for myself and I'm finding it scary.

[serenity4559]

hey geez,
I just joined this website about two weeks ago, and i can honestly say, it has helped me a great deal. I don't know if you would say that I am recovering from sex addiction, it is more like relationship addiction, or a love addict if you will. I have been clean and sober for over a year now, but we have a saying that recovery is like peeling back the layers of an onion, you deal with one issue, recover from it, say drugs and alcohol, and find out you are a raging love addict! I went to some Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings last year trying to detach from an unhealthy relationship, and it was helpful and educational. I met some guys (I am a girl) who had 2 to 8 years fully recovered from sex addiction, and they were the real deal: porn addiction, cruising, etc. They worked a very good, thorough, honest program. I think if you go to meetings, join a home group, read the literature, you can definitely recover from Sex Addiction.
The good news is that in SAA, there are zones, or boundaries, for various behaviors that you decide with your sponsor together what are safe for you. Alot of us get triggered, or start "grooming" or flirting somebody up big time. That is usually in the gray zone, and then you had better get to a meeting or call your sponsor, because that is a warning flag! Other guys if it is porn or internet addiction have to remove the computers from their house, or they have to have somebody put a password on it, etc. I know it is scary, and I think the reason why is that with alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc. you can physically remove yourself from it. Leave the casino, walk out of the bar, etc. But what do you do with sex addiction when you get cravings? This is why a support group like SAA and regular meetings is so important. Just remember it is not about the sex. It is about your mind's need to distract itself, to use sex as a way to make itself feel better. So, yes I think it is possible to recover from sex addiction, and go onto to have a normal healthy relationship where you are not using the other person to relieve your own misery, fear, cravings etc. But rather are involved in a healthy loving give and take relationship in which sex is just the icing on the cake. I know your post is a month old, so if you read this, good luck and get to a meeting!