Josh grew up in a highly dysfunctional home. His father drank and raged (mostly at his mother, but also at him and his older brother). His mother enabled the drinking and tolerated the verbal and physical abuse mostly without complaint, seemingly blaming herself for her husband’s alcoholism and temper. When things got really bad, Josh …
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There is nothing like getting an award to make you pay attention to the group that is giving it. This was my experience when I was told I was receiving the Emerald Spirits Award from Sober St. Patrick’s Day. Sober St Patrick’s Day? I had vaguely heard of the group, but now I needed to learn …
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Celia, a 32-year-old businesswoman, 11 months sober from sex and love addiction, has decided that she is ready to start dating again. However, she is worried about relapsing, especially because she has tried to establish lasting sex and relationship sobriety several times in the past without much luck. This time, however, she plans to do …
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After more than a decade of active drug addiction paired with compulsive sexual activity, Marcus, a single 31-year-old delivery driver, entered treatment for both disorders. Initially, he was highly motivated and happy to be sober. Then, after about a year of almost total focus on his recovery, he started to wonder if he would ever …
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Sadly, some counselors and therapists have not learned current clinical understanding, best practices, and the latest research regarding the assessment and understanding of human sexual arousal. Nor have they learned to leave their highly personalized moral, religious, and ethical judgments at the door when they walk into the therapy space. Sadly, these men and women …
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For most recovering sex addicts who are not already in a long-term relationship, healthy dating and sexuality is an important goal of recovery. However, because they’ve spent so much of their lives chasing sexual intensity rather than any sort of true intimate connection, they often approach this task with trepidation. Generally speaking, their three primary …
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Austin Geidt credits her road to sobriety with her success in developing Uber. But that’s not the whole story. Let’s understand what she is saying in terms of how this journey also helped her re-define herself as a woman. Her road to recovery had her going back to basics, dropping out of college, and getting …
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Active sex and porn addicts rarely view their escapist sexual fantasies and behaviors as a root cause of their unhappiness and life challenges. Even when they are neck deep in negative consequences, sex addicts somehow don’t let themselves think about their sexual acting out as a contributing factor to their misery. In fact, they typically …
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Guest Blog from Dr. Stefanie Carnes Over the years I have developed a tremendous amount of respect for Dr. Stefanie Carnes and her work as both a clinician and a trainer of clinicians. Currently, she serves as President of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals and as a National Clinical Consultant for Elements …
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