r/SexAddiction • • Jul 27 '25

Looking for Moderators

6 Upvotes

<Edit> Added new application below

Hi everybody,

We've been short-handed for a long time. My experience in groups for many years has taught me that groups benefit from rotating service and people bringing ideas to the group. If you are looking for an service opportunity, please consider joining the moderation team. Here are qualities we seek in a in a moderator:

  • Someone who has experience in recovery.
  • Someone who is level-headed.
  • Has the ability to communicate via mod mail
  • Is able to handle pornographic content without spiraling to relapse

The team functions best when we have larger group of moderators who just check on things when they visit Reddit versus reliance on one or two people to be constantly present. If you're interested, here's the form to apply! https://www.reddit.com/r/SexAddiction/application/


r/SexAddiction • • May 24 '26

New Resource Center is Live!

Thumbnail reddit.com
3 Upvotes

Hi r/sexaddiction,

I created a resource center to aid people in their search for help for sexual addiction. This list is presented without bias based on posts/comments people have left over the years. You can find this guide in our Community Guide, our Community Bookmarks, and of course in this pinned post. Hopefully this list will continue to grow and adapt over time.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SexAddiction/wiki/recovery_resources/

We welcome feedback on it via moderator mail.


r/SexAddiction • • 5h ago

Fighting temptation

3 Upvotes

I am a single guy in my 40s. Visiting Hong Kong. I last lapsed in my home city about 2 months ago.

Trying not to contact anyone before I fly home in 2 days. I don’t really speak with others so this is a way for me to express my thought process.

I could easily afford to partake, and here it is quasi legal, but I know I’d feel sordid if I got involved here.


r/SexAddiction • • 21h ago

Seeking support; open to feedback Trying to conquer this

8 Upvotes

I am in my 30s and have battled with lust for a very long time. I have niche interests in the bedroom which I would also like to overcome, but all the science says it’s impossible to get rid of kinks.

I think about sex a lot and I haven’t been as active in my relationship since the birth of our child a year ago and it’s affected me more than I care to admit.

I really want to move on and not think about sex and kink so much. It is a miserable way to live and I am ready to take the steps needed in changing.


r/SexAddiction • • 19h ago

Progress is good, but in a weird place (flatlining?)

6 Upvotes

Hey all, first time posting, long time lurking.

I'm an adult male in my 40's, been struggling with sexting and porn addiction since basically my teens when AOL chat rooms sparked a connection between my first porn exposure and chatting sexually with strangers. It's always been the most potent kick, far beyond simply looking at porn.

Since early September, I've managed to be free of sexting relapses. So roughly over a month now. Which, honestly, is massive for me because I couldn't go more than a couple days for the last few years. I might get a week tops, but then go right back to it. Chatting anonymously, edging myself, doing this during work hours. It felt deeply compulsive, and the urges would often feel impossible to ignore. The rush was truly high, but the lows that followed were just awful.

The last time I sexted, I had spent most of the day catfishing an older gentleman into believing I was a *very famous and obvious* female celebrity. I didn't use the celeb's name of course, just her pictures that have been widely circulated. He seemed to buy it without question (either that, or he was getting off on the fantasy regardless). It became almost a game for me, like how far can I push this guy before he goes, "Wait, aren't these pictures of [insert celebrity name]?"

After I was done, I was so ashamed and disgusted with myself for wasting my own time on such a foolish endeavor. I had felt shame before, massive shame at times, for sexting and chatting. But something about this particular session just sent me and I HAD to stop.

So I installed the Brick app on my phone and blocked all access to porn, apps/sites for sexting, and even social media. I even set the app to be un-deletable from the device alone, so when I was in the bathroom or certainly out of the house, I had zero ability to bypass the blocker.

I won't lie, I felt triggered during that first week. I'd sit in the bathroom, scrolling my phone without any sexual content whatsoever. It was so boring, like reading the back of shampoo bottles again (IYKYK).

But... I felt good. At least I wasn't acting out.

I'd feel almost proud of myself, for showing up and honoring a promise to myself when I'd normally break my own promises without question.

Each week, those urges became less and less. Now I don't always even have the Brick app active, and have even come tangentially close to the apps I used to use to act out.

But yet I feel... nothing.

I almost force myself to masturbate to porn sometimes, just to scratch that distant itch we all get for release now and then. But I have zero desire to chat while doing it.

Porn itself is almost boring. I've seen more naked bodies than legions of our ancestors combined at this point. It's very hard to get 'excited' by porn. Which, I guess, is good.

But it leaves me in this weird gray zone. Sometimes I feel that gap.. there are certain hours of the day (I work from home) where acting out was almost guaranteed. When those hours come, I don't feel the urge to act out, but I do feel... something. A longing, or an itch that I can't quite scratch.

I don't know what to make of it, but from my reading this is called flatlining? My sexual appetite is present, but it's not active in the same way that it was.

Sometimes I'll do the deed to very SFW images of celebrities or something. Very, very tame, not even partially naked. And somehow that becomes enough - and then I feel oddly proud, like my mind is adjusting to 'normal' content and behaviors again.

I don't know what I'm seeking here in this post. I guess I'm writing just to express that it DOES get better. The urges can subside. But you have to be honest with yourself about how YOU need help. You need to create distance between yourself and your acting out, first, before deeper recovery can begin.

I'm wondering what comes next for me.

I think therapy is the best option, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to share this part of myself with a counselor just yet. That feeling of saying it out loud making it fully real in my mind.

I still throw my phone on restricted mode when I'm not even feeling tempted most days, just as a fail safe. I hope one day I won't need to at all. But it's been over a month since I've acted out and that feels like so much. I'm proud to have honored that for myself.


r/SexAddiction • • 14h ago

No light at the end of the tunnel

2 Upvotes

I created this account almost 5 years ago solely for the purpose of quitting porn and sexting. Eventually I realised sexting is a much bigger problem for me, but I still avoid porn, because one feeds the other. I already had a full-blown addiction back then and was in therapy, but here I am, still struggling. Even though I'm still relatively young, when I think all the time I wasted, it fills me with a profound sense of hopelessness.

I have serious mental health problems which are holding me back from reaching my full potential, and sexting is one of my coping mechanisms. I almost relapsed today after 3 weeks, managed to stop myself in time due to work-related responsibilities, but still feel like it's inevitable, cause the cravings are strong. Been feeling pretty anxious lately and rarely able to get a good night's sleep (insomnia), so that's also been a factor that's been fueling my cravings and hindering my impulse control. Mostly just venting, thanks for reading.

Please don't suggest any 12 step groups, cause while I recognize they work for others, I fundamentally disagree with their core principles, namely, higher power, making amends with the people who aren't in your life anymore, etc. Also, working the steps in general seems like a magic bullet which I just don't buy. And these principles are not even science-based, they were just invented by some guy who thought it made sense, but it's not like he did any research first.

Regarding support groups in general, my options are pretty limited cause I live in a small country. Either way, I've done some pretty despicable things that I wouldn't want to share with strangers to protect my reputation just in case, so it's just my therapist for now.


r/SexAddiction • • 1d ago

Ive been in Sex Addicts Anonymous for 13 months and done nothing. Cant get a sponsor or complete my first step share. Completely demoralized and indifferent now even though I LOVE my group and the people involved.

11 Upvotes

Has the title says. My D-Day was sometime in September of last year. Two or three times I've made it a couple weeks clean but other than that I can't make it more than a few days.

I have a couple dear friends that I speak with daily and we hold each other accountable and reach out to each other. I'm so blessed for those two guys and count them as true friends now.

The SAA group I'm in is incredible and I love everybody in it and the way it is run and everything about it. I struck a home run with it. Is a VERY active online nightly Zoom group which is a blessing because I am a dump truck driver with extremely random hours and making in-person meetings is just not doable.

They are like my family.

BUT, due to a combination of extreme stress and non-stop burnout, extreme constant sleep deprivation, and health problems that have lasted years, I've gotten nowhere and done nothing.

I have had the tools handed to me on a silver platter and I just refused to pick up the fork and start eating.

I need to climb Mount Everest and get to the top to press a button to stop a nuclear bomb from going off, but I'm down at base camp too exhausted to even stand up and put my shoes on...

I have been unable to get a sponsor, basically. I got a sponsor briefly right away and that fizzled out due to my own fault as a result of me going through extreme burnout and the other things I mentioned. I just ended up slowly I ended up slowly ending it after about a month because I was just getting nowhere and making promises to him that I could not keep.

Then I went a few months not being able to find anybody again and basically giving up. Back in July I found somebody at last and I thought we clicked immediately. It was a blessing and it finally felt incredible that I would be able to start working the steps truly. Then after a week of barely being able to get a hold of them, they had to back out....

I tried to write my first step lead a couple times early on and gave up. My story goes from early childhood (im 31) and is RIDICULOUSLY varied and messed up. It's not a matter of just including the important things - there is WAY too much that is literally important and NEEDS to be in it. No, seriously.

Many people have very "straightforward" stories. Mine is all over the place like a abstract piece of art or something. A bit of this a bit of that a helping of that... And it was all important. Because one thing lead to another lead to another lead to another directly.

I wrote a couple drafts and it wound up being 15 pages in Microsoft word and that was unfinished. At that point I gave up because I just couldn't take doing it anymore.

Technically you can say I've done a couple of steps, but those are the default ones if you will because I am a lifelong Christian with very serious faith so several of them have been basically done automatically.

But all of the others I just haven't even tried or done because of a combination of laziness and depression and burnout and all the things I mentioned before.

I'm too lazy to do service work in the group, I hate talking on the phone with people, even my friends, I cannot reach out to strangers...

I. Just. Dont. Have. It.

I have been in trauma therapy for CPTSD for the last year with an incredible therapist and making progress there. The two things are intertwined (the group and my therapy) kinda. But I have some kind of - this point I'm legitimately thinking it's neurological or something - mental problem where my brain lacks the actual literal ability to make myself DO anything it in any way shape or form does not want to do.

It does not matter how important. I cannot do it.

If my mom was getting beat up in the street and it was hot out I wouldn't go out and save her because my brain would be going "it's hot out it's too much effort you'll be too tired"

Basically.

Not being defeated it's an actual thing that has screwed me up my entire life and caused me to get in almost a decade long predicaments because I seemingly lacked the ability to change anything

So all this to say I don't know what to do at this point because I'm getting nowhere and I can't make myself do anything about it it seems. In my past I did a legal things many times, I cheated on my partner many times, acted out at work many times, paid for sex workers.... Literally if you can think of something related to it that I have done, other than being a predator, I have done it.

And it doesn't matter how much I get in trouble I just don't care. I just continue to act out and no matter how much support and tools I have to prevent it it always wins.

I just feel helpless and a complete failure and have gone through multiple periods of just straight up giving up completely because it was way easier and less stressful even though it was harming me very literally health-wise (when I say extreme regular sleep deprivation I'm talking many days of two or three hours, 4 days and days of very broken sleep etc)

I don't know what the hell to do anymore and I'm losing my mind. I'm just wasting my time and everybody else's. I'm not throwing a pity party I genuinely am at my wits end here.

Telling me to go Shia Lebouff and "JUST DO IT!" Result in absolutely nothing and just makes me shut down. I swear I'm not making up an excuse it's like I fully lack that ability to force myself to do anything. I'm sure it is trauma related in some kind of messed up defense thing my brain installed years ago from years and years of abuse.

I'm rambling now but thank you for coming to my TED Talk...


r/SexAddiction • • 23h ago

12 Step Programs Only Ever Hurt Me

5 Upvotes

I am curious if anyone else ever felt the same and abandoned 12 steps completely. The idea is silly. I can’t control myself and so I need a higher power to stop. It is said that it doesn’t need to be god. For some it is the group. I’ve heard stories of imaginary friends or even a pet being the higher power. We accept the idea that the higher power is believing in something greater than ourselves but why is it not a choice to just believe in yourself? To understand that you are and always were the one in control. The higher power? Made up. When we use the higher power the only one there is you. It’s always you all along.

Yet we cling to the thing that makes us feel better. The idea that we are not in control of our own actions.

I’ve come to the belief that I’m not special. I never felt things beyond what others did. I just couldn’t control myself. Slight discomfort was overwhelming to me and all I needed to do was tell myself no.

I have sobriety without a program. I don’t have urges because they were never uncontrollable urges. It was something I wanted and I didn’t want to tell myself no. I don’t want those things as I’ve take on that responsibility.

I know a lot of people hang onto the 12 step concepts as a lifeline. I think they kept me stagnant and causing harm to my wife for a lot longer than I wish they did.


r/SexAddiction • • 1d ago

I hate needing sex

9 Upvotes

Whenever I get stressed or sad I get unbelievably horny. I need to have sex or masturbate. I get in the mood at random times as well and I go hours and days where I cannot think about anything else. For now I use my ex boyfriend because I am scared of trying it with a new person in case of STI or a bad reputation. I need a way to release this energy without having sex with someone I used to be in love with. I also don’t want this energy at all but I can’t help it.


r/SexAddiction • • 1d ago

Seeking support; open to feedback Doing worse from last post

2 Upvotes

I have posted here previously and want to update.

I am F20. A few weeks ago me and my fiancé separated and its because of myself. I told him I couldn’t stay with him due to my urges as I cannot with my morale cheat on him.

Now, I am trying to recruit myself into porn. I found a local recruiter and he wants to meet this Friday but does not have a location yet. We plan on shooting some videos of me. I guess I have a “manager” of sorts.. I am worried about something bad happening to me with meeting up but cannot stop myself due to the high it’s giving me.

After I had met him the emptiness has gone away. My BPD is making me develop an attachment to him making him encompass my thoughts and it’s been starting to cause up and downs in my mood.

I am trying to get into meetings but I’m worried of my work finding out as I work in drug rehabilitation. I don’t want to lose my job because they find out I had a sex addiction. In general I’ve noticed work being more effected by my addiction.. I‘m often emailing my recruiter and I worry about it effecting my productivity. i am starting to feel guilt about my addiction.

Part of attending these meetings is because I am worried of hitting rock bottom because I am going back into SW and that will get me fired.


r/SexAddiction • • 1d ago

1st post; wants feedback Ending a long term relationship

5 Upvotes

I’m ending my relationship of 3 years tomorrow (for countless reasons). I’ve been really abusing sex as this relationship has fallen apart. I lean on it, it’s one of the things that has kept me here for so long but it’s time to let go.

I’m worried I will spiral out and sleep with anyone I meet and just overall engage in reckless behavior. I honestly already have a hook up lined up for the day after I break up. I don’t know what to do.


r/SexAddiction • • 1d ago

First post I am trying hard to resists

3 Upvotes

It’s been hard to accept, but I’m a sex addict. I’ve spent too much time seeking sexual experiences every way possible. I’ve paid women to sleep with me, not actual sex workers, but yea, and several times I’ve been left with economic problems due to that and yet I can’t stop. Lately it hit me, and I’ve been trying hard not to seek out anyone to have sex with, and my brain really makes it hard to do, making up excuses and reasons I should be able to have sex and so on and still refusing to do so. I’ve hurt people too because of this, honest and good people that were my partners and I feel such an awful person for all the things I’ve done


r/SexAddiction • • 2d ago

First post When did you realize it was an addiction and what did you do to get help ?

2 Upvotes

.


r/SexAddiction • • 2d ago

Seeking support; men only, please My wife feels forced into having sex with me and I’m trying to not make her feel that way

3 Upvotes

If you want a TLDR, it’s at the bottom of my post:

So hey I’m a 21 year old Guy and it all started when I was 14-15 when I first got addicted to Pornography. I tried to quit multiple times since then by just willpowering my way out and that didn’t work. Then I admitted my addiction to my best friend at the time and we agreed to hold each other accountable. However I could never face the shame of telling him that I kept breaking and just lied to him over and over again that I was still holding strong because I thought even though I broke I don’t want to be the reason he breaks. Then at 19 I went to college and it got even worse as now I had no parents supervising me so I could masturbate anytime I wanted to and I did. I probably did it twice a day during my days in college. I was still a virgin at this time because I had no self confidence in myself when it came to talking to girls and it only made me want to consume more pornographic content. I met my wife right after my 20th birthday and eventually lost my v during our relationship and I was absolutely addicted to having sex with her. Every weekend we hung out I wanted to have sex 1-2 times a day. I eventually told her about my porn addiction and she gracefully accepted it and we eventually got engaged and married. However now we have sex once a week and my body is telling me it’s not enough and I’m trying my best not to force her into doing it more with me. She says it’s her birth control that’s altering her body and I do believe her and we aren’t ready to have kids yet so I absolutely will not tell her to get off it until she’s ready. Does anyone have any good advice on how to beat this addiction? I’m desperate and open to trying almost anything to keep my marriage intact

TLDR: I’ve been addicted to porn since 14 and now it’s led me to be addicted to sex at 21. My wife doesn’t want to have as much sex as I do and I don’t want to force her into it. Any advice on what to do to help myself out?


r/SexAddiction • • 2d ago

Update

10 Upvotes

After a couple days I can say I am climbing out of the mud. I downloaded an app to block access to p sites. Ive limited my phone usage and am about to downgrade to a text and phone only plan. Ill only use my computer for internet where I have the blocker as well.

I also have had a great amount of people reach out. Alot have been very helpful and supportive. Some have been condescending and flat out annoying.

I am on my journey but I am thankful for these hard lessons to grow and beat this once and for all.


r/SexAddiction • • 3d ago

Out of control sex binge. Relapsed.

13 Upvotes

I feel numb and a sense of resigned indifference towards my behaviour. After making some progress I’ve had a relapse and I’m currently on a 12 day (and counting) sex binge. It’s been the most intense bender I’ve ever experienced and it’s never been this bad before. Most days I’m having sex multiple times with a combination of fwbs, escorts and going to massage parlours. One of the particularly intense days I had a massage mid morning, and then saw an escort around 10 in the evening, and then had a girl over at midnight and we had sex all night with a few breaks. My sexual urges are driving me crazy and completely overwhelming, I’m afraid there’s no signs that these urges are even slowing down.

I’ve been also increasingly wanting more intense, violent and degrading sex. One of the girls I’m with opened up about having rape fantasies and we’ve been acting those out. I enjoy degrading the women I’m with, being violent with them in bed (consensual) but it’s not my usual nature. I’m normally soft and gentle. I feel uneasy about the violent sex but to my surprise it really gets me off. But I’m worried because I can feel my desires and my brain being rewired as I do more of this. I feel like I am just a sex crazed mess.

Is there any hope at all for someone like me I wonder.. is this how it’ll always be.


r/SexAddiction • • 2d ago

Seeking support; Addicts only please Is the right thing to do to leave him? (New Account)

1 Upvotes

Hey y'all. I forgot my other username was triggering when I made the last post. I wasn't trying to promote anything. I just want help. The username was just a silly way I identify bc of my sex addiction. I am so sorry if it triggered anyone. Anyways, here's the post again.

I (F 29) love my husband (M 28). We've been through so much. He stuck by me through my trauma, my bipolar episodes, my 2 visits to rehab, my struggle to finish college, my poor financial choices, my sex and love addiction, and multiple infidelities and many he doesn't even know about.

I am on my last strike with him. There has only been one time I had an affair turn to intercourse. He knows about that, and that was while we were dating. After that affair, I got sober in SLAA. I was sober for 5 years. Then in Dec. 2025 I had a slip. I was in a manic episode and knew I had let my sex and love addiction get the best of me and had a virtual affair. I went to a rehab where my therapist advised me to tell my husband about both the virtua affair and the physical one. I had kept the physical one a secret for 5 years bc my SLAA sponsor told me not to SLAA Step 9 reads, "Take action to repair harm, unless it would cause further injury." She determined that telling him would cause more harm. She told me 1 make my amends by being the best partner and person I could be everyday. I tried so hard until Dec. 2025. Our marriage was in a rocky place and I was certain I was going to divorce him. Then I went to rehab and came clean about the affairs and changed my mind.

After rehab, we continued to have problems in our marriage. We tried couples therapy multiple times, but it never felt like he was putting in enough effort. He never applied what we learned. At one point, I looked into something I had kinda tried once an was super interested in which is being a sugar At first, it was just doing research and collecting

Join the conversatiorAt first, it was just doing research and collecting information. I made a post in a forum just trying to see if I would even have a shot. A few potential SDs reached out and we began messaging. After counsel from family, loved ones, and a couple church officials. I decided to talk to a divorce attorney.

We ended up not going through with it and our marriage improved greatly in some areas. This decision happened on Sept. 2, 2026. Since then we've been a lot better it's almost like a whole new marriage in some areas, but I still find myself obsessed with the idea of sugaring. I feel like I gave up this sugaring fantasy 1 imagined when I decided to stay married and in some ways the marriage hasn't improved almost at all. I talk to SDs here and there and some other guys as well. I can't stop. I am talking to men in an inappropriate manner. I'm not regularly sending explicit photos, but I did once since the recommitment to our marriage. My husband would not be ok with me talking to these men especially like this.

I have a hard time even saying I love my husband bc love would not do this to someone. How can I say T love him when I can't even stop myself from my addiction? I know I need to get sober. I need to work the steps of SLAA like last time but honestly? I don't even know if I have the energy to do it. am also in the process of working through childhood trauma with my therapist as well as carrying a majority of the mental load in our marriage. I am so emotionally and mentally exhausted. Idk if 1 have it in me to battle this addiction and get clean. I feel so hopeless. I am 100% open to any feedback.


r/SexAddiction • • 2d ago

About the 12 steps programs and "true rock bottom".

0 Upvotes

So this is gonna be like two questions/topics post, first:

In my country, out of all S programs, only Sexaholics Anonymous is presented, others are only available online with no in person meetings, no sponsors speaking my native language, without translated literature. But the problem with SA is that how they define sobriety and that I'm a gay male. I tried going into recovery in full online mode through SAA, but TBH, the language barrier still sometimes pops out and I crave the in-person meetings.

Second,

I had a relapse two days ago, cheated again on my boyfriend. What's frighten me, is that I have HIV already because of my addiction… and it doesn't stop me. Is getting freakin' HIV is not rock bottom for me?…


r/SexAddiction • • 3d ago

Day 1… again

6 Upvotes

Today I finally started seeing a therapist. Hopefully this is the last day 1.


r/SexAddiction • • 3d ago

Seeking support; open to feedback M22 can someone please help me stop my sx addiction here’s why ??

2 Upvotes

Two days ago I was getting off and finished and that night I had ball pain and yesterday to it’s better today I think it’s where I’m over doing it daily if someone please wants to help I’d appreciate it the pain from over doing it was bad it’s not worth counting on with my sx addiction I want to get better a recover because of my health and the pain lately yes this is real not fake or made up I was in serious pain can someone please help me stop this and recover to be completely sx free please


r/SexAddiction • • 3d ago

Reaching out

6 Upvotes

46 years old. Bottom line is I have struggled for over 33+ years. I was able to stop drinking and smoking weed but I cant stop pornography and masturbation. Ive tried everything from blockers, nofap (previously), religion, self accountability, and briefly therapy. NOTHING HAS WORKED. I keep spending money on cam sites and my wife doesnt know. HELP. I dont know where else to turn. I am a God fearing man and try to trust God's plan but when I fail to my sin and addiction I lose faith in myself. I joined a different reddit but my post was removed because they do not believe in no masturbation just no pornography. This left me feeling hurt and confused. I only want to find people that are trying to stop both like me or have and can assist me on my journey. Sorry if this isn't allowed.


r/SexAddiction • • 4d ago

I dont know what to do anymore.

13 Upvotes

Since ive been 13 years old, porn/sex has dictated my life. I am now 30 (male) and finally coming to accept this. Every relationship ive had has been based strictly on lust and sex appeal. Ive just recently got out of a 5 year relationship. For those last 5 years I felt like I was finally normal. No cheating, no chasing meaningless sex with strangers like I used to. But I was still watching porn daily and obviously my partner started to notice. She was very understanding for the most part and we had various talks about working through it, and she was really a wonderful person who did her best to satisfy my unreasonable urges. But it got to a point where I think im beyond fixing. I have never cheated on her as far as having sex with someone else, however there have been many times where I was walking right on the line. For some context, im a decent looking guy and im a professional tattoo artist, so with my line of work I automatically get a lot of attention from the opposite sex. During my last relationship ive practiced some immense self control where I did not have sex with anybody other than my significant other. Our relationship ended on unrelated matters. but ever since, my self control has gone completely out the window. I have been having sex with random women regularly. A lot of them being my clients, and I hate how that reflects on me as a professional, as I am very passionate about my career and I dont want my personal issues to ever cloud how serious I take my career or reflect negatively on my professionalism. Ive been having a really hard time dealing with this break up and it's led to me losing a lot of weight, which ironically has put me in the best shape of my life, and that has led to me getting a lot of attention from women. Unfortunately this is all happening at the worst possible moment in my life where im really trying to be a better person and control my urges. I feel like im constantly being tested. And im failing constantly. The craziest part of it all is, this is the life 13 year old me used to dream of living, but now that I'm here, it feels so empty. This is definitely not what I want. Im 30 years old. I want to find a good woman and settle down. Fall in love. Start a family. Im disgusted with myself.


r/SexAddiction • • 4d ago

Seeking support; open to feedback Not sure how to start?

4 Upvotes

My first exposure to sex was through a BDSM video I watched when I was 8. By the time I was 12, I started to watch porn and masturbate compulsively, usually multiple times every day. At some point, because of the type of porn I was watching, the forums I would browse, and dealing with bullying at school made me develop ridiculous ideas about myself and others. I was genuinely convinced that something about me -- my appearance, the fact that I was an addict -- made me fundamentally inferior to other people and that I would stay an addict for the rest of my life.

I got over those insecurities, but I'm still struggling with compulsively masturbating and watching porn. It takes up hours of my day; it gets in the way of everything good I try to do in my life (career plans, physical health, sleep, relationships with others, integrity). I used to think that I would be able to still have the "appearance" of a normal person, but I've realized just how impossible that is while still struggling with addiction. I don't think it's possible for me to develop a healthy relationship with sex (something which I've never had) like this. I've developed such ridiculous thoughts about myself, about others, about the opposite sex; I don't think this is something I can keep up. Recently, I realized just how disconnected I am from other addicts and recovering addicts, which is why I'm writing this post. Currently, I'm not in a position to attend meetings, but I'll be glad to if I have the opportunity in the future.


r/SexAddiction • • 4d ago

Trigger warning I am my own worst enemy and I can't change that fast enough

6 Upvotes

I'm a cheater, I'm a porn addict, I'm a bad boyfriend, I've done things so disloyal that I must live in ambiguity about them forever.

This started so young, the porn and the curiosity, it wasn't my fault, but now it's taking over everything. Nothing is quite as exhilarating as a dopemine rush of thrill to a young mind. But it's nothing anymore. Everything is nothing. It's like I'm drowning in an ocean and every single lifeboat is surrounded by guard sharks.

Help is so far away and exists within constraints. Will insurance cover sex therapy at the same time as two other kinds? Would hypnosis therapy be the best option? How can I stop tommorow? Not a week from now or a year but tommorow. Even if I stopped what I did today and yesterday, it won't ever wash off. I'm dirty, I'm dirty from dishonesty and disloyalty, I'm dirty from broken promises to myself and others.

I don't see a way out and I'm too deeply suicidal. If I strip myself of the ambiguity and apologize to my partner it will just make him leave. I've already spun myself in a web of lies. Of half truths and missing details. I don't want to keep going. But I don't know how to stop. And it feels too deeply shameful to tell a therapist or other professional.

And the worst part is my despair over my actions is part of what pushes me to do them again. Anything to drown out the bad thoughts, anything to stop the perseverance. I'm so lost and I don't know what to do and it's killing me.

After an argument with my boyfriend he distanced himself and rather than wait for him I went elsewhere. I don't know how to fix it, how to fix anything. I need help, I pray to God every day, I pray for freedom from these chains. I wonder why God is not with me in the moments when my libidos up and my mind is down. I wonder what I did to deserve this torture.

I'm not in control at all. And I'm trying desperately crawling. I can't lose the love of my life without dying. And I can't confess without losing him. But I also can't live with what I've done anymore. I just want to stop. I want to stop everything. Stop the messages, stop the dubious porn consumption, stop the lust. But most of all I want to stop the emptiness.

I'm seeking help, DBT for my borderline, and sexual assault survivor counseling, but those won't make it so I wake up Tommorow different. And my crisis dosent wait, my problems are destroying my life today, and if something doesn't change they will do the same tomorrow.

People say work out but my disabilities trap me in the bed. The same bed drenched in sweat where I rot away. They say get a hobby but I have them they cannot fill every hour.

I don't know how to get up off the kitchen floor at all.


r/SexAddiction • • 5d ago

First post 34 m trying to come to terms with my addiction

5 Upvotes

34m. As I’m writing this I’m sat in my working staff room with a porn tab open.
I started as soon as I hit puberty, porn and Master b .
I have ruined healthy relationships just because I wanted to get laid and cheated, watch porn and play.
My best mates and I are in a group chat only to swap porn and chat about sex we just had.
I’m watching 2+ hours of porn each day and master b 1-3 times a day.
Some days I say to my self I’m doing to stop or slow down and try to rebuild what I have lost…
Then other days I call in sick at work just to jerk off or cheat!
My ex thinks I’m addicted to sex
My mates think I’m addicted to wanking
All I know is that I cannot live without sex!
I’m not sure If I want help or someone to talk with who understands what I’m going through!
Just want to tell me story/ stories