Addiction affects dopamine levels in the brain making it difficult to maintain that same intense high. Consequently, an addict needs more and more of the behavior to achieve the same high. Sex addicts often report feelings of guilt, shame and remorse associated with their sexual experiences. Addicts may feel hopeless and powerless in their situation, believing they have no control over their sexual thoughts and actions. Constructively compassionate is defined as allowing oneself to be fully present with the experience of oneself, while fostering a mutual acceptance of suffering, to bring a kinder reaction to distressing emotionality. This is intimacy with the self. That intimacy then ripples out into every other aspect of the partner s life. Our addict, who longed for acknowledgement and help, had been angry about being ignored and shut out, and had found sex as a means for attention and validation. We each took this opportunity to say, "Thanks for helping us survive, we see you, we will listen now, we will take care of you. We can work together without shame. What Will Fall Away As you progress through the 12 steps and your continued therapy, the feelings of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. You will stop seeking things for your own self-satisfaction and begin to think of ways to help others. You will stop seeing your past behavior as something regrettable or that you have to close the door on it forever. Other studies have shown similar negative effects on sex drive and interest when pornographic material was viewed by men who had started watching it early in life. Sexual compulsivity, including behaviors like pornography addiction, are always rooted in sexual pleasure. The rush from pornography addiction or other types of sexual compulsivity is the way some users counteract feelings of inadequacy or emotional torment they may have experienced as a child or young teen. Furthermore, we were set apart to proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. This tells us that watching porn has no part in the Christian s life. Watching porn is sin, and it s part of the darkness we re called away from. Although many Christians struggle with this, it goes against the grain of who they are in Jesus.