When I was still in the addiction and looking for a way to stop, I came across SA. I had approached SA before, a year earlier, but had done so only half-willingly, and at that time I never made it to a meeting. Needless to say, things got worse.

“Slowly but surely, some wisdom and humility began to creep in. I became more teachable.
I found God working all around me where previously I was sure I had been alone. When I opened my eyes enough to see the miracle, it was right in front of my face. I was growing in God’s love” (AA 430).

Aussies and Kiwis are very committed to recovery. Over a decade ago, in a place called Mount Tambourine in Queensland, an English fellow ran a 12-Step workshop where a dream was born. The English man, an Irish man, and a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis got together with the vision of forming a region.

Can you help? SA’s Board of Trustees is served by a number of committees who assist it in administering the policies and decisions of the General Delegate Assembly. One of these is the Legal Committee whose mission is “to advise the Trustees on legal matters affecting the Fellowship.” (SA Service Manual, Ch. 13, p.2)

What a wonderful fellowship we have! Whenever someone reaches out, SA is there. Through a dedication to service by members like you, we have an effective international organization to keep us available to the next newcomer—and to all of you.

In this month’s issue, members share the miracles of their recovery, enjoying freedom from the toxic power of lust by the humble working of this program. A Ukrainian lady shares how sobriety helped her to overcome crippling defects of character.

One of my most important recovery guidelines is from Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 132: “We absolutely insist on enjoying life.” Roy’s version of this is his notion that if we don’t find in recovery what we were looking for in lust, recovery wouldn’t work (SA, p. 164). Joy that comes from self-acceptance and group-acceptance is one thing my lust was looking for.

Are you experiencing freedom from the slavery of “having to have sex”? Have you found progressive victory over lust and an ongoing spiritual recovery? Have you become rigorously honest?

My name is Raphael. I’m a grateful, recovering sexaholic. I’ve been sober by the grace of G-d and the help of all of you in this program of SA since April 7th, 2019.

In the June issue, read about the tools and tricks fellows from around the world practice while traveling during the holidays.

I came to SA in 2008. Up until that point, my life had been a succession of compulsive masturbation, pornography, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and countless stealthy contacts or one-night-stands with other men. The only experience of connection was a 20+ year abusive relationship with an alcoholic man.

Hi everyone, my name is Pat and I am a sexaholic. I am very grateful today for my ongoing recovery from lust. It’s been a long haul. I came into the program in a town in the mid-north island of New Zealand in November of 2016 after becoming increasingly aware that I was losing control and lust was taking over my life. During an all-night binge on a Saturday with alcohol fuelling my lust, I got online and was chatting to women. I wanted to act out so badly but was so drunk I couldn’t figure out how to get to meet someone. A blessing in disguise.

On March 21, 2011, just 48 hours before I came into this fellowship, I was sober two weeks. On that particular day I was feeling supremely confident that I would never give in to my addiction again. Only problem was, I had had that supreme confidence a thousand times before over almost half a century.

At first I thought that the term, “sobriety,” didn’t fit with what I thought a sexaholic was because I had no experience with alcoholism. But when I came into these rooms eight years ago I learned that sobriety was difficult to obtain because it was about my state of mind and what I might do with it if I didn’t get spiritually fit.

I did not quit, I surrendered. I began my journey in this program when a friend from Al-Anon told me I was a sexaholic. To prove her wrong, I agreed to go to six SA meetings. During those six meetings I slowly came to admit that I was a sexaholic. At the beginning I made no eye contact with other members and I did not share. There were six other SA women at my first home group meeting. We went to two meetings a week as a group, which helped me to connect with the program and then I started to share.

My life in recovery is full of miracles today—the biggest of them is that I am recovering from this disease, this enslavement to lust, for which there is no cure. And another huge miracle is that I am grateful today; I used to be never grateful.

Na początku w SA byłem sam, nie miałem pracy, samochodu, pieniędzy – miałem dużo czasu. Był rok 2009, a z powodu kryzysu gospodarczego byłem bezrobotny. Uczestniczyłem w trzech-czterech mitingach tygodniowo, codziennie dzwoniłem do sponsora, codziennie pisałem prace na programie i w ciągu roku przetłumaczyłem całą Białą Księgę, Wielką Księgę i Zdrowienie Postępuje na mój język ojczysty.

Moja praca nie ma nic wspólnego z projektowaniem graficznym, reklamą, czy ilustrowaniem czasopism. Lata temu w moich początkach SA połączyłem projektowanie biuletynu mojej parafii z sesjami czatu i porno.

W czynnym uzależnieniu moim hasłem było „Bycie samemu w niebie jest trudniejsze niż bycie z dziewczyną w piekle”. We wczesnym dzieciństwie nie wyobrażałem sobie świata bez dziewczyn.

Mam na imię Mike i jestem seksoholikiem. Moja data trzeźwości to 7 sierpnia 2005 rok. Wspólnota SA dała mi drugą szansę życia i była kluczowa dla zdrowienia, ale inne rzeczy też mi pomogły.