We’re glad you found us! You are not alone. If you identify with us, we would like to share our solution with you.
Sex addiction often operates in secret, behind closed doors: pornography, masturbation, fantasy, dependency relationships, and elicit sex, as well as varied other forms of sexual stimulation, such as voyeurism, exhibitionism and fetishes. Many of us lived a double-life: we displayed who we wanted to be on the outside; but, inside, we knew the secrets we were hiding. Many sex addicts think they are the only ones struggling with this problem, or that they have a unique problem, worse than anyone else.
Attending Your First Meeting
Attending one’s first Sexaholics Anonymous meeting is always intimidating. When we first entered SA, we had preconceived notions about what to expect there: “low-lifes”, “prudes” or religious fanatics. Sometimes, we were convinced that we weren’t “that bad” and could stay stopped if we gave it a really good effort this time. We found ourselves repeating this cycle again and again. To our relief, we realized that, in SA, there were many people just like us who had tried, in futility, the same things we had. But, now, they had found a practical solution to live sexually sober.
We know the shame, shock and discomfort that comes from bringing this topic to the light with others. We suggest attending at least 6 meetings to get a feel for whether SA is for you. What you can expect at an SA meeting: you’re anonymity will be preserved; you won’t be forced to share or say anything; you won’t be given advice; and you won’t be asked to do anything other than participate as you see fit. SA has no dues or fees for membership, no pledges to sign, no oathes to take. The ONLY requirement for membership in SA and attending meetings is the desire to stop lusting and become sexually sober.
Reading the Literature
Many of us felt safe to start our recovery journey by reading some of the available SA literature. The SA International Central Office provides excellent resources to learn about SA as a fellowship, and our Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Reading the literature gave us a sense that we were not alone, that others understood and could relate to our problem. We felt a sense of hope that there could be a solution for us too. The following are a good place to start:
Sexaholics Anonymous – the basic text of SA, called “The White Book”
SA To The Newcomer – pamphlet
Why Stop Lusting? – pamphlet
Do you have a problem with pornography or lust on the Internet? – pamphlet
Sexaholics Anonymous is based on the principles and traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. All Alcoholics Anonymous Literature is approved for use in SA meetings and most of us have found it highly illuminating for our own addiction. We encourage members to read the seminal text for 12-Step recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as the supplemental AA text, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.
The 12 Steps of Sexaholics Anonymous
Countless sexaholics have found sustained freedom from the tyranny of sexaholism, by working the 12 Steps of SA with an SA sponsor.
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- We admitted that we were powerless over lust—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves..
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs..
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character..
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings..
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all..
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others..
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it..
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out..
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to other sexaholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
There is no right or wrong way to work the Steps. SA does not impose uniformity; and every member is free to pursue his or her recovery as they are led. One thing that we agree upon, however, is that, for us, working the 12 Steps of SA does work. By seeking help and asking a sponsor to help guide us through the 12 Steps, we let our Higher Power free us from entrapment in our addiction.
The Twelve Steps and Traditions are adapted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (“AAWS”). Permission to adapt and reprint the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions does not mean that AAWS has approved the contents of this publication, nor that AAWS agrees with the views expressed herein. AA is a program of recovery from alcoholism only. Use of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in connection with programs which are patterned after AA, but which address other problems, or in any other non-AA context, does not imply otherwise.
SA adaptation © 1982, 1984, 1989, 2001 SA Literature. Reprinted with permission of SA Literature.
It Works If We Work It
SA works for us, when we invest time and energy into our program of recovery. The SA program consists of coming to meetings, working the steps, having a sponsor, sharing our thoughts and feelings honestly, and being of service to our fellow sexaholic.
