It is not about YOU. Are you taking things too personally?
Do you find that you have a habit of taking things personally? Do you feel like people's anger, frustration, concerns are a direct result of you or something you did? Do you often feel like you are walking on eggshells with someone you love, your co-workers, even strangers or passers-by?
There is a reason for everything. All things are divine.
Last Monday, I received a call from my mom's nursing home. They informed me that they were taking her to the emergency room due to a serious infection. I received phone call after phone call from different medical professionals explaining various things to me from the reasons why she was going to the hospital, to me consenting to her being treated.
American culture has a lot of anger implicit in it's sexuality; often, sex and anger get confused. Many male and female sex addicts often score high on at least one of the 4 scales of Eroticized Rage on the Sexual Dependency Inventory-4 (SDI-4). When I bring this to their attention, many are surprised. Most say, "But I am not angry." What is often misunderstood about the word eroticized rage is that it doesn't necessarily show up as someone violently acting out sexually on another person (for some individuals, those that are sex offenders, this may actually be the case, however). On the contrary, it is often more subtle.
As a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT), I have had the honor and privilege of training with Dr. Patrick Carnes, the pioneer of sex addiction treatment in the country, as well as: Dr. Stefanie Carnes, Rob Weiss (leading expert on cybersex in the country), Dr. Ken Adams (Author of Silently Seduced), Debra Kaplan (expert on trauma). All of these amazing experts are CSATs and CSAT-Supervisors. The approach to treatment that Dr. Carnes has created supports one of lasting and longterm recovery. As a recovering sex addict himself with 40 years in recovery, he has taken his own personal experience of recovery from this brain disease as well as extensive research to create an effective task based approach.
In today's world, youth have access to everything, including all types of pornography. The dangers are real and the statistics are both startling and disturbing. Here are just a few: American children begin consuming hardcore pornography at an average age of 11; four out of five 16 year olds regularly access pornography on-line.
