Sex Addicts Anonymous

Hi -

I want to give a quick pitch for anyone who might not be aware that A LOT of porn addicts go to SAA meetings.

"Sex Addict" is a misnomer in the phrase "Sex Addicts Anonymous" in the same way that A LOT of anorexics go to Overeaters Anonymous meetings. One is an eating disorder and ours is an intimacy disorder. A lot of sex addicts are sexually anorexic and watch porn as a way to deal with that.

I mean, I used porn so much that I didn't want to be intimate with my wife and when I began to identify as a sex addict (or really someone with an intimacy disorder) at first she was completely confused and would say things like "you are the only sex addict who doesn't want to have sex". But the reality was that my P addiction was preventing me from having a HEALTHY sex life.

The main point of this thread is to just mention that there is a lot to be said for the support of a community of people who share similar hopes and fears.

I've been in this particular 12 Step Program for four years and it's a miracle I found it. I can't say that I have perfect abstinence, but just like the NoFap community, there's so much support and a shared goal of trying to get this monkey off our back. :}

So if you are struggling and want to add another ingredient, I highly recommend SAA. If you are not familiar with 12 Step Programs and worry about the "God" thing, it might seem odd, but there's a zillion atheists in these programs. It's no big deal. It's hard to look on the outside and hear people talking about a higher power, etc and not think it's religious...but it's more about having the WILLINGNESS to not do it alone and recognizing that doing it alone doesn't work. Thus, anyone or anything you are WILLING to have help you...is your higher power (and since AA was created in the 1920s in America...they called it God in the original book).

But if you really really struggle and need extra help...it's worth a look.

Jeff