Sexual addiction is defined as any sexually-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment.
Sexual addiction has been called sexual dependency and sexual compulsivity. By any name, it is a compulsive behavior that completely dominates the addict's life. Sexual addicts make sex a priority more important than family, friends, and work. Sex becomes the organizing principle of addict's lives. They are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their unhealthy behavior.
No single behavior pattern defines sexual addiction. These behaviors, when they have taken control of addicts' lives and become unmanageable, include: compulsive masturbation, compulsive heterosexual and homosexual relationships, pornography, prostitution, exhibitionism, voyeurism, indecent phone calls, child molesting, incest, rape and violence. Even the healthiest forms of human sexual expression can turn into self-defeating behaviors.
Source: SexHelp.com
Recovery begins with a phone call and learning to put boundaries around the addictive behavior, and obtain sobriety, the starting point. To get sober, then recovery, the addict will get better only if he/she does certain things:
- Attend weekly therapy sessions.
- Be assessed by a psychiatrist for co-existing problems like anxiety, depression, OCD.
- Attend 12 step meetings or other support groups at least 3 times a week.
- Attend a therapist led group for recovering sex addicts.
- Complete the Recovery Star Kit for the first 130 days of sobriety.
- Begin to understand healthy sexuality and healthy self-soothing behaviors.
- Complete the 30 task model, beginning with Facing The Shadow.
Healing from sexual addiction, or any addiction, requires the same task model and committment to recovery.
As a very wise person said a long time ago, "Half Measures Avail Us Nothing". The process of recovery, as addiction is a deadly brain disease, takes on average three years of committment. The addict and partner will move through predictable stages, although not always at the same time. These stages are similar to the stages of grief in many ways.
Therapists at Life Works Recovery do not take insurance, however, we will give you an accounting to file for reimbursement. Many clients receive a portion of their cost from their primary insurance.
Give Life Works a call for a free phone consultation.
"If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources."
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