Addiction and Separation – Gender and Relationships

Danger lurks when we try to divide ourselves with phrases like “my private life.”

Sex addicts and porn addicts share certain characteristics. One of the common denominators is that sex is compartmentalized in our lives rather than integrated as a healthy element. For most of us, addictive sex is one thing, the rest of our lives is another, and the two never meet. This is part of our denial. We lock addictive sexual behaviors (and our shame around them) in a hidden part of our psyche so that we don’t have to think about what we’re doing and the impact it may have on ourselves and others around us. We live a double life: we have our addiction, and then we have everything else. Because we’ve done so well to keep the truth about addiction locked away in a dark corner that even we can’t see, we’re often a little shocked when our world eventually and inevitably comes crashing down.

today’s task
Find the compartment in your mind where your addiction resides and open it. Bring your addiction into the light.