Since my husband admitted his sexual addiction to me four years ago, I have found friends confiding in me about their own problems in sexual relationships and asking for advice. I try to be, especially now that I'm in recovery, more of a listener than an advice-giver, although (progress not perfection) I don't always succeed.However, today Aunt Babz, who runs the advice column Ask Aunt B asked me to do a little consulting for her. She received a very poignant letter from a reader whose husband was using pornography to the extent that it was seriously hurting her and harming with their relationship. Unfortunately, this is an area in which I can say I now have some expertise. The letter touched me greatly and reminded me so much of some of my own pain and struggles. So, I threw caution to the winds, went ahead and made my armchair therapist diagnosis and even gave a little (gulp!) advice.
You can read the letter and my guest columnist answer at Ask Aunt B.
If you know the pain of sex addiction, you'll feel for the woman who wrote this letter too. If you don't know what sex addiction looks like, take a look; if you've dealt with addiction in your own life, it will look familiar enough to break your heart. (You can even try substituting the words "alcohol" or "drugs" for "porn," if that helps.)
I have to say, after my gig today as guest columnist, my hat is off to Babz more so than ever. It's a lot of pressure to have another person reaching out to you for help and trusting you to be there for them and point them in the right direction.
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