Recovery From Sexual Addiction-

For years, I tried doing recovery on my own.  I felt like I was the only person who struggled with sexual addiction.  After all, RECOVERY is just for people with substance abuse problems, right?  I felt like I was living a double life for about five and a half years.  Off and on I would struggle with internet pornography.  I tried to battle my addiction with my own methods.  I had heard John 8:36 so many times,  “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”  I believed in that scripture for everyone else and their problems.  So badly I wanted that scripture to apply to me.

I had been randomly attending Celebrate Recovery meetings at various locations.  I finally realized that just attending wasn’t enough for me.  I needed to actually work the program.  I chose a sponsor and began working the steps in the Step Study materials.  Choosing my sponsor was like removing a huge weight off my shoulders.  It was such a relief to know that someone else was aware of my struggles.  I didn’t have to feel like I was hiding something all the time.  I began to feel at peace with myself.

James 5:16 states, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”  I was finally able to receive healing.  I no longer had to continue on with my life in guilt and shame.  I finally learned first hand what it meant to be “free indeed.”  To me, Celebrate Recovery has become the judgement free community I needed where I could continually find encouragement, acceptance, and healing.

Carmen M.