Readiness Indicators for Relationship in Recovery Through the process of recovery, addicts begin developing greater self-awareness, deeper empathy and understanding for themselves and others, greater honesty and integrity and a desire to be accountable. They begin healing their intimacy disorder by coming to understand their own worthiness a sense of self-worth and confidence that allows them to risk feeling vulnerable with others, the key to true intimacy and communication. Fantasy has a powerful grip on the mind, which does not respond to commands to "stop." The more effort made to stop fantasizing, the stronger the fantasy gets. So how does a sex addict stop fantasizing? First, by understanding that the fantasies are created for a reason: they provide emotional escape and reduce stress. Understanding the Neuroscience of Pornography and Sex Addiction By: Gordon S. Bruin M.A., L.P.C Edited by Tony Rhoton One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie. J.R.R. Tolkien Pornographers are keenly aware of the content I will share with you. If these issues stem from early trauma, confronting this painful past can be grueling and take many months. Sometimes, medications such as mood stabilizers can help people with sex addiction to address co-morbid conditions like depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. Twelve-step programs or other community support groups help many people to overcome the shame they feel about their compulsive sexual behaviors and to separate those behaviors from their sense of overall self-worth. They include Sexaholics Anonymous (SA), Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA), Sexual Recovery Anonymous (SRA), Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA), or Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (SCA). They have face-to-face meetings at many locations in the U.S. and internationally as well as online and telephone meetings. He examined the steps these patients took in recovery and treatment and was able to outline the general stages and how long they lasted. Each person is unique, but he found that, in general, patients moved through these stages before being in recovery. The developing stage. This first stage can take up to two years.