One night, at our home group meeting we discussed the SA group’s Primary Purpose—to carry its message to the sexaholic who still suffers (Tradition 5). Someone commented how helpful it would be to have a visual explanation of the Steps to share with newcomers. Below is what we created, and it has helped many newcomers ever since.

This summer I attended the SA International convention in Denver. While there I went to a baseball game. While there I talked with a man sitting beside me. After some baseball talk we got to what convention brought us to Denver.

I suffer from a sort of hypervigilance. Something in me wants to identify and define every object, every person, every angle and surface in my physical environment. My ears are open; my eyes are taking in the very texture of things around me.

What have been seasonal sobriety or Fellowship challenges for you or your groups?

This is a letter of concern. As I travel internationally to SA groups and have international sponsees, I am becoming more and more aware that we are an international organization. As Bill S. said recently, “We will soon have more members outside of North American than inside.” Since this is true, we must become more intentional in our efforts to include participation at all levels of all members.

Dear Essay readers:
When we arrive at our first SA meeting, the motivation is almost always a mix of fear and of pain. That’s what it takes to get our attention, it seems. When we sit in an SA meeting and identify with the shares of one another, the realization dawns that we can find freedom from the pain and the fears.

This year, from small beginnings, SA in Ireland is celebrating 20 years of Irish Conventions since its first convention in October 1996. This follows the sobriety of our longest serving member, Robert L. We now have three all-Ireland conventions per year, in spring (Esker), summer (Dublin) and in fall (Ballyvaloo).

My name is Tom M. I have been in recovery and sober since December 2007. Recently I had a phase when many things bothered me. I was mad at people at work, my wife’s requests didn’t make sense to me, things at church annoyed me, and the list went on and on.

By the time I was five I already had a developed capacity for sexual fantasy. I imagined having sex with the biology skeleton in the kindergarten classroom.

When I first started attending SA, it was a breath of fresh air. After coming to meetings and listening others share, I was able to admit my weaknesses and faults. Before I could not admit I was a “sex, pornography and lust addict.” When I finally did, a great feeling of relief came over me.

I like that SA is a mixed group. However, sometimes as a woman I feel there are double standards in SA around how to dress in meetings, especially as the weather gets warmer.

Hey, this is ___. I am calling because I am disturbed right now. I just left a message with my sponsor and he did not answer. I am calling until I get somebody live. No matter what, I need to talk about it. I am on campus while my girlfriend is in class. There was an angry street preacher here today and, of course, there were crowds yelling back and forth with him. I wanted to watch, but really I was just using this situation to lust.

One of the ways I continued in my addiction and acting out was by going to Sexaholics Anonymous meetings. (No, that is not a typo!) That was because going to meetings was all I wanted to have to do to stop acting out. I wanted an “easier, softer way.” I wanted to design my own program, and that meant just going to meetings. But, going to meetings didn’t keep me sober.

The contract starts by saying “God, I’m checking in.” Then I say the Serenity Prayer and the first three Steps. Next, comes the Third Step prayer. I repeat a line from that prayer until I really mean it — “Relieve me from the bondage of self” still loosens my chest every morning.

After I had about a year of sobriety, a friend of mine in the program asked me for a favor: Would I go with him to the local internet customer service center to be sure he would follow through with his decision to have his internet service disconnected?

My name is Brad and I am a sexaholic. When I say “I am a sexaholic,” I am admitting that I belong to a class of people for whom lust has become an addiction. I have finally accepted the truth that whenever my behavior is driven by an attitude of lust, there will almost certainly be consequences, pain, and humiliation. There is no exception to this reality.

A member Ian L. of SA in Galway, Ireland, went missing on the 9th of March 2016. He left a note. It was feared that he had drowned himself in the sea. After eleven days his body was recovered at Aughinish, on Galway Bay. The news shocked members in the Galway Group, in Europe, in the UK and the USA.

We mourn the passing of Mike P., who left a legacy of service on the SA Correctional Facilities Committee. Mike joined the SACFC in the early years, when it was a challenge to recruit workers. At that time, he was recently out of prison himself, and for the remainder of his life he corresponded with many prisoners.

One of the co-founders of SA in my city Melbourne, Australia, died in May, 2015. John, along with myself and another member started SA here in December 1992. Our first meeting was us three with a White Book in a public park.

The preliminary financial results of fiscal 2015 were all good news. The budget began with a possible shortfall of $26,000. With good year-end results, this became a $17,000 surplus instead, in spite of many computer repairs and necessary updates to SAICO office equipment. This surplus goes directly into the Prudent Reserve for future projects.