Participation in conventions is one of the strongest recovery tools, which I was able to experience again last weekend, together with almost 50 fellows from seven countries. Beginning of January has become a priority in my diary since I first went to the Exeter winter convention last year.
My experience of joy in service through making SA a better place for women includes how one individual, then a homegroup, then intergroup, and finally the SA international community made themselves better places by taking measures to more comfortably accommodate me, a woman.
A few years before I came to SA, I saw several therapists. I didn't realize it then, but I was looking for a “higher power” that would save me from myself, that would carry me. Being saved and carried was exactly what I tried to find in lust.
If I had to choose one word to describe how I felt for most of my life, I would choose "disconnected." I had a hard time making friends in both kindergarten and school. There were many engaging ways to escape reality—creating stories in my head, adventure books, and video games.
A few days ago one of my dearest friends came up to me with good news. “I have a boyfriend!” she said. I was so happy for her. She really deserves it. I was always asking myself why someone as beautiful, kind and smart as she is wasn’t in a relationship. I even thought that maybe she had some kind of problem, like my sexaholism. Then it struck me that now I was (and still I am) the only single girl amongst my various groups of friends.
Loneliness, rejection, and fear have acted as a soundtrack in my head for as long as I can remember. They form rhythm and melodies filled with dissonance. Each track is made complete with a verse, chorus, and bridge:
I joined SA in pandemic times, two years ago, which was a good thing in one way, as there were very many daily Zoom meetings available. This was crucial to safeguarding my physical sobriety, countless times. I got something of a reputation as a strange Brit, who showed up at all hours of the night in USA meetings, for this reason. I saw it as going to any lengths.
Before joining SA, I did activities with a hidden agenda- to spot or be spotted by a “potential husband”. I cringe when I think about these crazy motives. As I was doing Step Four, my sponsor asked me if I would accept life if I never got married.
This is Kathie S., sexaholic, about the Scottish convention, which I attended last weekend for the first time. I appreciated receiving the schedule well in advance, which helped me to feel less afraid of the unknown, indicating many old timers speaking, with much helpful experience.
I have to admit it. I spent a lot of my life searching for a solution. I used to think that I am drowning in a well, and I must find a solution in that well. But that all has changed now. After joining SA, I came to learn that I was looking for a solution in the mud of the problem! I am grateful to God that after I have joined the program, I simply did not leave and run away! I had a feeling, which I wasn’t sure about, but it said “stay in the program”.
