Today I'd like to talk with you about WITHDRAWAL. The Experience of Withdrawal comes as a result of your abstinence from sexual behavior, and is very important for you to understand. The symptoms of withdrawal can be used by your enemy, the Devil, to undermine you and trip you up.
Abstinence from acting out opens you up to the vulnerability you have desperately sought to avoid. It opens you up to you Inner Self or Real Self; the person you have been protecting and guarding; the person who feels most weak and inadequate and afraid. This vulnerability is experienced differently by each person. The resulting withdrawal is sometimes recognized first by its symptoms:
a craving to act out
inexplicable aches and pains
physical illness or exhaustion
switch to a new addiction(s)
changes in eating or sleeping patterns
general self doubt
desperation and fear
suicidal thoughts
desire to isolate
obsessive thinking
sadness, depression, or despair
dreams of acting out
emotional highs and lows
irritability, anger, or rage
preoccupation with fantasy
confusion or trouble concentrating
questioning of our your commitment to the I-40 Program
If we aren't acting out, then what are we to do?
Sometimes, we just breathe. It may be all we can do, for the moment. Saying the Lord's Prayer slowly, deliberately and reflectively slows you down and calms you. A phone call to an accountability person can help.
Turn over any questions, doubts and fears to God.
ACTION
1.Are you experiencing withdrawal symptoms? Which ones? Describe them!
2. Can you identify any common elements of withdrawal in your own life story?When you look over your whole sexual life experience, can you identify common themes like: early exposure to sexual stimulation, a first powerful sexual experience, compulsive masturbation, preoccupation and obsession with things sexual, loneliness, secrecy, fears and anxieties, despair and suicidal thinking, tolerance: (which means that over time there is an escalation of more and more sexual behavior, or more exotic and bizare and risky behavior is required to produce the desired effect); withdrawal, (which means that an individual has a very painful physical and/or emotional reaction when the behavior is stopped). He feels very empty and shallow and lost.
Write about it very briefly! Maybe this is the time to share some of those shameful sexual experiences you have never revealed to anyone!
Read Steve Arterburn's story and see the great resources here: HERE