 Developing
Healthy Approaches to Sexual Relationships and Intimacy
Sex addiction can involve a wide variety of practices. Sometimes an addict
has trouble with just one unwanted behavior, sometimes with many.
A large number of sex addicts say their unhealthy use of sex has been
a progressive process. It may have started with an addiction to masturbation,
pornography (either printed or electronic), or a relationship, but over
the years progressed to increasingly dangerous behaviors.
At the Center For Personal Development, our trained therapists can offer
constructive counseling to help you determine the cause of your sexual
addiction and to put a plan in place to help you move past the addiction
in a positive way. Through motivation and healing, one can move past sexual
addiction to enjoy life more fully.
The Addiction
The essence of all addiction is the addicts' experience of powerlessness
over a compulsive behavior, resulting in their lives becoming unmanageable.
The addict is out of control and experiences tremendous shame, pain and
self-loathing. The addict may wish to stop --- yet repeatedly fails to
do so. The unmanageable of addicts' lives can be seen in the consequences
they suffer: losing relationships, difficulties with work, arrests, financial
troubles, a loss of interest in things not sexual, low self-esteem and
despair.
Sexual preoccupation takes up tremendous amounts of energy. As this increases
for the sex addict, a pattern of behavior (or rituals) follows, which
usually leads to acting out (for some it is flirting, searching the net
for pornography, or driving to the park.) When the acting out happens,
there is a denial of feelings usually followed by despair and shame or
a feeling of hopelessness and confusion.
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Center For Personal Development
444 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1820 | Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: 312.755.7000 | Fax: 312.755.7001
Web: www.chicagotherapist.com
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