I was just reading an article or two from ESSAY and I was moved to write about an experience that I had a few weeks ago. An experience and healing that would not have taken place without being a member of SA.

Read how two Dutch fellows have fellowship and fun in making recovery music, and share their joy with others.

The Slogans

Keep Coming Back, is what they tell me every week;
You might think they tell me this mostly tongue in cheek.

„Jestem odpowiedzialny. Gdy ktokolwiek, gdziekolwiek, potrzebuje pomocy – chcę, aby napotkał wyciągniętą ku niemu pomocną dłoń SA. I za to: Jestem odpowiedzialny.”

Podręcznik służb SA – ostatnia strona

I was born in New York City in 1942, and now live in Atlanta, Georgia. I have been a sexaholic for as long as I can remember. I joined SA on July 20, 2012, and have been sexually sober from then to now.

(How) Do I use the Slogans in my daily life?

I’ve read the letters of many imprisoned females seeking help for our addiction. I have had the privilege of sponsoring someone in prison, and it has been a gift and a blessing to my recovery.

The Slogans are snippets of wisdom designed to be short and memorable enough to lodge in our forgetful and stubborn minds as we trudge the road of recovery.

When I returned from a local SA convention yesterday, I felt reasonably happy, connected and peaceful—though not fully. The presence of one fellow had disturbed my serenity to such an extent that I had been struggling with obsessing about him and his behavior throughout the whole weekend.

This is one of the program slogans that stuck in my mind after I attended my first SA virtual meeting here in the Philippines. I was afraid and hesitant to attend an SA meeting because I was in denial and doubtful that I am a sex addict, but still forced myself to join that meeting as I was afraid to lose my wife and kids

My sponsor and members from my English-speaking home group suggested to me to list the things I am grateful for in my SA sobriety. They probably couldn’t bear my complaining any longer, which might be why they suggested it—in an intention to shut me up a bit.

Before coming into SA, I didn’t believe that lust was a big deal for me. I had masturbated all my life, sometimes using pornography. When my addiction was in full swing, I was acting out with other men four to six times a month. I was living what I thought was a successful double life—on one hand a successful educator, father, husband, and church leader, and on the other a committed sex addict.

I love slogans. For my addled brain with the memory of a goldfish, they are pithy, easy to remember and when I receive the willingness, actionable. There are so many that readily come to mind, such as “One Day At A Time,” “Good Orderly Direction,” “Let Go and Let God,” and “Go Easy On Yourself.”

I have a fond history with the slogans—you might say that they have saved my life. In early AA recovery, my home group was “old school,” no sharing in meetings until you had 1 year of sobriety. (We could ask questions.)

طٌلب مني مؤخرًا كتابةُ مقال لمجلة “المقالة” عن الرصانة العاطفية. في البداية كان رد فعلي هو قول “لا”. لقد أردت أن أقول لا لأنني شعرت ، في أعماقي ، أن معظم الناس في م.ج.م. يجدون صعوبة في الوصول إلى الرصانة العاطفية، لأنهم بالكاد يستطيعون الوصول إلى “الرصانة من الشهوة”.

متذكرًا حياتي في عالم الشهوة ، ما زلت أشعر بالرعب واليأس – المشاعر التي كنت أعيشها كل يوم – قبل المجيء إلى البرنامج. لسنوات عديدة ، كان الإدمان على السلوكيات والأفكار الجنسية القهرية أكبر وأسوأ مشكلة في حياتي. حقيقةً لقد جعلت حياتي كارثة حقيقية.

هنگامی که زندگی ام در دنیای شهوت را به یاد می آورم، هنوز احساس وحشت و ناامیدی می کنم – احساساتی که هر روز قبل از آمدن به برنامه با آن زندگی می کردم. برای سالیان متمادی، اعتیاد به رفتارها و افکار جنسی اجباری، بزرگترین و بدترین مشکل زندگی من بود.

من سمر جی از مصر هستم. من یک معتاد جنسی هستم. اعتیاد فعال من سابقه ای طولانی دارد. من خیلی چیزها را در زندگی ام امتحان کردم. رنج من از دوران خردسالی ام شروع شد. مورد آزار یکی از بستگانم قرار گرفتم. من کلاس ۳ یا ۴ بودم. نمی دانستم او چه کار می کند.

اخیراً از من خواسته شد که مقاله ای در مورد هوشیاری عاطفی برای ایسی بنویسم. در ابتدا واکنش من به این موضوع نه بود. قبول نکردم زیرا از اعماق وجودم حس می کردم که اکثر افراد در SA به سختی به هوشیاری عاطفی دست می یابند چون به سختی میتوانند به هوشیاری از شهوت برسند بعد متوجه شدم که به جای اینکه نه بگویم

زندگی یک معتاد جنسی می تواند بسیار سخت و پر استرس باشد علی الخصوص وقتی که یک جنگ تمام عیار در کشورت در جریانت باشد. حفظ هوشیاری جنسی و عاطفی بسیار مشکل است. اما ممکن است. بنابراین من چند تا قاعده ساده را بر مبنای اصول روحانی برنامه 12 قدمی برای خودم ایجاد کردم.