How To Overcome Sex Addiction

Part four

1.Replace addictive sex with healthy energy outlets.
When you stop doing addictive sexual activities, you
might have excess energy. Try healthy activities like
exercising or other forms of recreation. If one activity
is not stimulating enough, try something else. Keep
searching for ways to keep yourself occupied. Here are a
few ideas:
Write daily in your journal.
Take music lessons or join a choir or band.
Take an art class or draw, paint, or sculpt at home.
Take up a new hobby that requires physical exertion,
such as woodworking.
Try stress reduction activities like yoga or tai chi.
Do activities that get your heart racing like caving or
parachuting.
2.Rely on your strongest relationships. As you
disengage from addictive behaviors, reengage with
loved ones. Your partner, best friends, children, parents,
and siblings can support you. Focus on repairing
relationships that need to be fixed and nurturing those
that have faltered. The more you invest in people around
you, the less you will need sex as an escape mechanism.
3.Work toward a healthy relationship with sex.
Overcoming sexual addiction doesn't mean you must
stop having sex forever. Instead, it means that you don't
allow compulsive behaviors to control you. You feel in
charge of your sexual behaviors, and happy and fulfilled
by them instead of guilty or ashamed.
Your therapist can help you work toward this. You may
even find that a therapist with specific training in sexual
health issues can be useful in teaching you ways to
develop a healthy attitude toward sex.
Explore what you like about sex. When you're addicted
to sex, you may do things that you don't even really
enjoy doing because they feed your compulsion. Take
some time to explore what you actually enjoy about
sex. What makes you feel valued as a sexual partner?
What feelings do you enjoy inspiring in others?
Try to consider sex as a part of a healthy life, rather
than its own "forbidden fruit" or something to hide or
be ashamed of. Someone with a problem overeating
won't simply stop eating food; similarly, you do not
have to simply stop having sex. You just want to learn a
healthier way of integrating it into your overall life.
4.Stay focused on your goal. Recovery will take time.
You probably will experience cravings for addictive
sex. It is fine to have sex with an intimate partner, but
having a one-night stand or watching porn could return
your addiction. Be open with your therapist and family
about your struggles. Keep your mission statement in
mind and remember you can repair damaged
relationships and fix financial problems. If you
relapse, reflect on what went wrong. Try to avoid the
triggers that caused the relapse. Overall, do not give up.
Keep pushing forward.
If you relapse, review your journal. Read your mission
statement and remind yourself why you want to
recover. Stay fully engaged in therapy and your support
group.
5.Celebrate your accomplishments. After you
accomplish some of your goals, take time to celebrate
how far you have come. If you go a month without
exhibiting addictive behavior, acknowledge your
achievement with a treat. For example, visit a favorite
restaurant, tour a museum, or purchase a new clothing
item. Celebrate how far you have come. Set a new goal to
work towards