Prejudices & Challenges in SA Recovery
Some of my earliest childhood memories are of obsession and preoccupation with touching the private parts of other children. Raised in a religious home, weekly attendance of church services was expected. Instead of healthy discussion there were punishments and threats of hellfire and eternal damnation.
The writer of “A Second Chance Is What I Asked God For” describes very vividly how he got arrested 7 years ago and was on the verge of losing everything that was dear to him.
Reading the August Essay confronted me with several of my shortcomings. The article “Every Moment Is A ‘Given Moment’” was especially powerful. The author related his recovery to a lake: “Recovery is like a lake that needs an inflow and an outflow.” It showed me that my lake of recovery has grown shallow and stagnant.
Dear Essay readers, The theme of this issue is about the prejudices and challenges we all encounter sooner or later on the path of recovery.
The Essay recently had a chance to interview Laura, the new Office Manager of SAICO. The article provides a brief insight into what SAICO does on behalf of the world-wide fellowship.
The SA Public Information Committee has exciting news! The three first Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos it has made can now be translated into more languages around the world!
As a sexaholic, I am a refugee from the land of “Trying-and-failing-miserably-at-running-my-own-life.”
Recovery has been a process that moves me ever closer to God. Through selfishness, self-centeredness, resentment, fear, and harms done to others, I built obstacles I could not get over, under or around. I moved farther and farther away from Him.
Before joining the Program, my life was spiritual vagueness, white knuckling, and shame, a darkness inside me where I was lost. I was afraid all the time - of myself, the future, and other people.
My name is Brian. I am a recovering sexaholic. On a Thursday afternoon seven years ago, I was arrested in a police internet sting. Step One reads - “We admitted that we were powerless over lust - that our lives had become unmanageable.” Being arrested and publicly shamed illustrates in the most obvious way that my life had become unmanageable.
