Re: Sex Addiction (article to follow)

[Guest guest]

This is an AMAZING document. I will post it immediately

after this.

Why I think it amazing is what it *deosnt* say as well as

it does. It must of course, grovel to AA at the beginning,

even though it doesnt address alcoholism or AA - such is

the omnipotence of the AA God.

There is another reason, however. If you go through,

substituting " alcoholism " for " sex addiction " then the

arguments for why a disease concept, powerlessness, etc,

and the negative consequences these beliefs are creating,

are almost *all* true for beliefs abt alcoholism. there is

only one exception - sexuality is a biological drive, and

there is no biological drive to drink alcohol. other than

that, the parallel is almost perfect. The parallel with

eating disorders as addictive diseases is virtually perfect

with no qualification (the author doesnt mention " sexual

anorexia " which is also bandied abt " the rooms " ).

If you were to roll the clock back, the objections that the

author puts to the notion are exactly like those that the

disease modellers had to fight and overcame to get

alcoholism accepted as a disease and the 12SP accepted for

its amelioration. I very much expect that unless someone

drives a stake thru the DM's heart then this paper will

look as laughable to the disease modellers' eyes in the

future as the old sceptical response to the disease model

of alcoholism does to them today.

This is one feature od the DM that doesnt get mentioned

much: the discord between its own members. While in rehab,

I saw what could be dubbed a DM promotional video, urging

us that using a drug that one was not addicted to (such as

a heroin addict continuing to drink alcohol) was like

" changing seats on the titanic " and eventually all the

seats would be under water, and any drug risked addiction.

At this point a sylph like bulimic girl piped up: " What abt

eating disorders you great fat slob? " That designation was

rather harsh, but he was chubby. however, overeating wasnt

in this guy's glossary of addictions, so it didnt come into

the picture.

Lefever of PROMIS lists a lot of stuff that wouldnt cut

much ice with some DMers: overeating, starving, sex,

workaholism (including cult activity ironically),

relationships, shopping.

In an addiction newsletter I saw a comment from one rehab

professional who said " The disease model is very effective

but we risk exposing it to ridicule by extending it to such

things as sexuality and shopping. "

Apart from it showing the clear discord amongst a group who

believe they have a firm basis for their views, there is

another interesting thing abt that comment. The writer

didnt say " I dont think it applies to sexuality and

shopping " and give his reasons why. he just said " We risk

exposing it to ridicule ... " In other words, he was

concerned with the PR aspect of the inclusion, not the

truth of it.

Having already outed myself as a sexual abuse survivor,

formerly self-proclaimed alcoholic, i might as well go on

to out myself as a formerly self-proclaimed sex addict too,

but that is the stuff of another post.

P.

----------------------

Pumpkin Eater

" Facts are stubborn things "

-- Judge Zobel, from Alain Rene Lesage

[no, I didnt know who he was either]

PERSONALITY-DISORDERS LIST:

http://rdz.stjohns.edu/athenaeum/lists.phtml?personality-disorders

_____________________

" At the Master's table,

They gather for the Feast;

They stab It with their steely knives

But they just cant kill The Beast. "

-- The Eagles

--- End Forwarded Message ---

P.

----------------------

Pumpkin Eater

" Facts are stubborn things "

-- Judge Zobel, from Alain Rene Lesage

[no, I didnt know who he was either]

PERSONALITY-DISORDERS LIST:

http://rdz.stjohns.edu/athenaeum/lists.phtml?personality-disorders

_____________________

" At the Master's table,

They gather for the Feast;

They stab It with their steely knives

But they just cant kill The Beast. "

-- The Eagles

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