Once you have acknowledged your sex addiction, and made the
decision to get help, you need to prepare yourself for a period of
withdrawal. Going through withdrawal should be as expected in sex
addiction as it is in other addictions like drugs or alcohol. If you are
going to become abstinent from the behaviors that make up your sex
addiction, there will be physiological and psychological cravings and
urgings that accompany your abstinence.
There is no clear-cut answer to the question of what to expect during withdrawal. Just as everyone's sex addiction is different, so is everyone's experience with withdrawal. You may become depressed or have sudden bouts of anxiety. You may experience mental and physical exhaustion, have sharp mood swings, or find yourself thinking irrationally; you may have unexplainable physical pains. You may feel sick, lousy, depressed or totally fatigued.
Once you have begun to abstain from the behaviors that you engaged in because of your sex addiction, you might find yourself drawn to new ways of acting out, or to behaviors that never appealed to you prior to your abstinence.
The mental and emotional components of withdrawal can be intense in the beginning of your abstinence, making acting out in your behaviors difficult to resist. It is important to remember in these times of overwhelming temptation that what you are feeling is temporary. Without successfully resisting these extreme temptations, you will not be able to withdraw from your sex addiction.
Boredom often becomes a problem for many addicts who are attempting to withdraw from a sex addiction. Addictions are over-stimulating by nature. The idea of facing life without them is initially boring to an addict who is used to over-stimulation. It will be important during your period of withdrawal to be able to tolerate inactivity long enough to move past boredom and begin to experience peacefulness. This will not happen overnight.
As you progress in your withdrawal you may find that some things become easier, while others become more difficult. Once you are past the immediate cravings and urges, and past the initial intensity, you will find that the original feelings, memories, or fears that you were using your sex addiction to self-medicate are still present. In your addiction, you unconsciously used sexual behaviors and activities to mask and medicate feelings that you did not want to face.
One of the essential steps in withdrawal is being able to face those very emotions without returning to the behaviors developed during your addiction. It may be beneficial for you to seek professional help during this stage of withdrawal. You should view this step in your recovery as more than just a victory over sex addiction, it is a step toward personal wholeness and well-being. You will also want to keep in touch with many others in recovery to help get you over the challenges of withdrawal.
Very few addicts are able to go through the process of withdrawal alone. There are many tools available to help you in getting through this stage of recovery. Attend the meetings of a local twelve-step group and reach out to other members as needed. Develop a support team around you and make phone calls to keep yourself focused on your recovery. Pay special attention to self-care to help lessen some of the stress associated with withdrawal.
While withdrawal from sex addiction is challenging, it is important to remember that every time you give in to your addiction you are interrupting the process of recovery, and you start back at square one. It is the willingness to live through withdrawal that is the foundation upon which you can build the rest of your recovery.
There is no clear-cut answer to the question of what to expect during withdrawal. Just as everyone's sex addiction is different, so is everyone's experience with withdrawal. You may become depressed or have sudden bouts of anxiety. You may experience mental and physical exhaustion, have sharp mood swings, or find yourself thinking irrationally; you may have unexplainable physical pains. You may feel sick, lousy, depressed or totally fatigued.
Once you have begun to abstain from the behaviors that you engaged in because of your sex addiction, you might find yourself drawn to new ways of acting out, or to behaviors that never appealed to you prior to your abstinence.
The mental and emotional components of withdrawal can be intense in the beginning of your abstinence, making acting out in your behaviors difficult to resist. It is important to remember in these times of overwhelming temptation that what you are feeling is temporary. Without successfully resisting these extreme temptations, you will not be able to withdraw from your sex addiction.
Boredom often becomes a problem for many addicts who are attempting to withdraw from a sex addiction. Addictions are over-stimulating by nature. The idea of facing life without them is initially boring to an addict who is used to over-stimulation. It will be important during your period of withdrawal to be able to tolerate inactivity long enough to move past boredom and begin to experience peacefulness. This will not happen overnight.
As you progress in your withdrawal you may find that some things become easier, while others become more difficult. Once you are past the immediate cravings and urges, and past the initial intensity, you will find that the original feelings, memories, or fears that you were using your sex addiction to self-medicate are still present. In your addiction, you unconsciously used sexual behaviors and activities to mask and medicate feelings that you did not want to face.
One of the essential steps in withdrawal is being able to face those very emotions without returning to the behaviors developed during your addiction. It may be beneficial for you to seek professional help during this stage of withdrawal. You should view this step in your recovery as more than just a victory over sex addiction, it is a step toward personal wholeness and well-being. You will also want to keep in touch with many others in recovery to help get you over the challenges of withdrawal.
Very few addicts are able to go through the process of withdrawal alone. There are many tools available to help you in getting through this stage of recovery. Attend the meetings of a local twelve-step group and reach out to other members as needed. Develop a support team around you and make phone calls to keep yourself focused on your recovery. Pay special attention to self-care to help lessen some of the stress associated with withdrawal.
While withdrawal from sex addiction is challenging, it is important to remember that every time you give in to your addiction you are interrupting the process of recovery, and you start back at square one. It is the willingness to live through withdrawal that is the foundation upon which you can build the rest of your recovery.
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