Naperville Freedom Group Blog

We admitted we were powerless over our sex addiction, and that our lives had become unmanageable.

We
Some of the most powerful words used in step 1 are that of “we” and “our”.  It means we are not alone as we might have once thought.  There are others who have gone before us, with us, and will even go after us in this journey of recovery. 
  
Admitted we were powerless over our sex addiction
We wouldn’t step into the ring with the most prized fighter in the world.  Why?  Because we know that we wouldn’t stand a chance at winning the fight and that we would become seriously injured at best.  So what do we do to keep ourselves from becoming seriously injured?  We set a boundary and we don’t step into the ring…and we admit to ourselves that we are powerless.

And that our lives had become unmanageable
In our attempt at thinking we have a handle on our addiction and acting out behaviors, our lives had become unmanageable.  Maybe it was work that had become unmanageable, our relationship with our wife, our relationship with our children, our physical or mental health, our sleep habits, etc.  Whatever it is, while we were digging deeper into our addiction we thought we could handle these issues.  We now admit to ourselves that our addictions and this junk that we carry with us has become unmanageable because of our addictive actions.

Many desiring freedom from sexually compulsive behaviors have applied the 12 Steps to aid them in their recovery.  The first 3 steps are paramount to maintaining sobriety and read as follows:

1. Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our sex addiction, and that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.

 In short these 3 steps can be thought of as:

1. I Can’t;
2. You Can;
3. Please Do.