Sobriety is critical for me in my recovery, and even though I attend some other 12-Step groups that deal with sex addiction, I find that without a bottom line definition of sobriety, it doesn't work for me. It seems to promote a progressive denial of the addiction.
In October the Baltimore/Washington SA Intergroup held its 8th Annual SA/S-Anon Marathon. The location alternates each year between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and this year’s Marathon was held in the Washington area. The theme this year was “Came to Believe.”
Our conference committee worked together as a team, with all of us considering that our meetings were as vital a part of our recovery as our regular weekly meetings. Over the past year the Vancouver group has grown considerably, to the point where in May and June we had seven birthday cakes for our members, four members with over two years sobriety, and very soon there may be two members with over three years sobriety.
Our New Beginners Meeting averages 45 each Monday night with five newcomers weekly. We are grateful to be part of this ever increasing fellowship which has given each of us “a new pair of glasses” to work through our share of problems by being rigorously honest.
I am so very, very grateful for SA. This program has changed my life for the better like no other psychology, therapy, or self-help ideas ever could. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with these things, they just don’t work like SA does.
July 1993 Conference (July 9–11, 1993) will be held in Nashville, TN.
[The following suggested guidelines are used by SA members returning calls to inquirers in a large U.S. metropolitan area. These guidelines reflect over six years’ experience in dealing with SA calls in this area. Your comments and/or experience is invited. Does your intergroup support a hot-line? How do you deal with inquirers? Reprinting these guidelines here does not constitute endorsement by the Essay or the Central Office.]
I wish to say thanks for the referrals SA has sent my way from callers to the Central Office. I have contacted them and we just interviewed one yesterday. He will be coming to his first meeting either tomorrow or on Monday. He lives about 50 minutes from Rochester and has children so he will have to plan his time to come here.
Distorted reality, that’s one of my main problems when it comes to dealing with my sexual addiction and life in general. My mind is full of unreality, thus causing me to view the things going on around me in a distorted manner. I then respond in an inappropriate manner since my whole basis is out of line.
I served as treasurer/literature person for my home group for 17 months — too long.
