Tuesday, April 1st
Today, I face the challenge of how to integrate healthy sex into my life.
Abstention from harmful sexually compulsive behaviors is a choice and a matter of discernment. We may find that total abstention from certain behaviors is possible or that partial abstention is more practical and preferable. Whichever the case, it is an action we can choose, not a punishment to endure.
Many of us used the tool of abstinence to help break our cycle of sexually compulsive behavior. Some of us who had been actively engaging in compulsive sex might have found ourselves “shutting down” our sex lives in early recovery. At first, we may have felt a sense of relief that we had at least temporarily stopped acting out. But this relief might have soon faded, and a sense of emptiness eventually took over.
In recovery, we may find that working the Steps and using other recovery tools can provide some spiritual insight. We gradually learn to fill our emptiness with new, affirming activities that help us let go of old, harmful behaviors. Our shutting down may evolve into opening up.
With the help of our Higher Power, we begin to experiment with authentic sexual expression, embracing healthy sexuality and loving ourselves.