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Thursday, April 01, 2010
lifestyle balance

:: 0 Comments :: Article Rating :: sex, relationships, recovery, addiction
 

Lifestyle balance means having real interests other than planning and engaging in sexual behavior. It means spending energy, time, and money on other meaningful aspects of life. These might include social activities, fostering friendships and romantic relationships, creating an interesting job situation or career, and getting involved in pleasant activities such as mountain biking, or useful activities such as volunteering. Balancing your life will provide enjoyable and meaningful alternatives to sexual activities. Believe it or not, there are great joys in life that have nothing to do with sex.


These concepts will be explained in several different ways and you will be challenged to figure out how they apply to your life and your specific problems. Then you will be able to practice using these suggestions in your life.


Relapse prevention is a scientifically proven treatment that reduces the odds for some people that they will continue the sexual behavior that’s causing them problems.

  • Relapse prevention requires that you do the following:

    (1) Recognize problem areas and the thoughts, feelings, and scenarios that lead up to the problems

    (2) Learn many new ways to avoid the problem or to handle it more effectively when it is unavoidable

    (3) Practice new skills

    (4) Balance your life so that sex is not more important than all of the other parts

    (5) Get additional help when you need it

  • To do relapse prevention effectively, you must make a commitment to the four Cs of treatment. They are as follows:

    (1) Challenge your old thoughts.

    (2) Cope with your strong feelings.

    (3) Change your environment.

    (4) Create the balanced life you want.


excerpt from The Sex Addiction Workbook: Proven Strategies to Help You Regain Control of Your Life by William T. O'Donohue Ph.D., and Tamara Penix Sbraga Ph.D.

Posted By / 9:00 AM / Thursday, April 01, 2010
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