Sunday, April 19, 2015

A Losing Battle

I guess there are things I must get used to as an addict. I guess I simply must give up hope for elimination of the stigma. It seems that men with a pornography addiction are branded by many people, without exception, as evil/monsters/hopeless/adulterers/vengeful, etc., and that women with a pornography addiction are scarcely even on the radar, and when we are, we are still branded by many as freaks of nature and not at all feminine. I thought I could change the stigma by being open. It's laughable, really, the power I thought I had. I thought I could show people that "addict" is not synonymous with "monster." I have attended PASG meetings with dozens of amazing, humble, righteous, strong LDS men, men who are addicted to pornography, yet men who are striving for continual improvement and for the survival of their marriages and for maintained temple worthiness more than most other men I know. I have attended PASG meetings with LDS women, women who are addicted to pornography, who are just like all other women, just as feminine, just as tender, and who are striving for healing and righteousness more than many other women I know. They are humble and willing to work, and beautiful. I thought that by being open, I could help others understand that addicts aren't crappy human beings, and if they are, it's not because they're addicted, but they are our brothers and sisters who need help and light and support, and who can give help and light and support. I actually thought, I think, that little ol' me had the power to change the general non-addict's perception of addicts among us. I have worked to bring it out of obscurity as a women's addiction, and I have worked to show that it's a human struggle, and that the struggle is as heavy and burdensome and maddening as any.

I stand corrected. I slump discouraged. I now see that the task I have volunteered for is a task far too great for one person. I now see that perceptions of others are, apart from being none of my business, impossible for me to influence by a few honest words, or a few blog posts. And I have to be okay with that, because I have made crappy choices. If I'm going to be open with this, then I have to accept the consequences of people around me never hearing my message. And, not because they don't like me, and not always even because they judge me, but many times it's because their real, personal experiences do not match up with what I'm saying about the addicts I know. And that's what we all go by, right? Our experience.

While I now have a better understanding that many (most, probably) LDS members' hardwired harsh and negative perception of sexual addictions will not be easily changed, I will still fight my own battle. I will still march to and through recovery. I will even still speak my truths, my perceptions, and the experiences I have with the wonderful, inspiring recovering addicts I know, love, and deeply admire. Perhaps I am seen as intentionally donning a red S, but I speak for more people than only myself, and I will wear that scarlet letter for myself and for them, and I will wear it so others who are seeking to be free from their own addictions, especially women, will see someone who is doing it, and do you know why? Because it was years before I even ever considered that I might not be the only one, and as long as isolation and fear were my companions, recovery was impossible.

That isolation, that feeling of being all alone in a damning, joy-killing addiction, is hell. I can't imagine Hell being much worse, actually.

In Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch says, "Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through." Maybe I didn't understand that I was licked before I began. I understand it now. I'm definitely licked. I'm fighting an increasingly bloody, losing battle. But, I intend to see it through.

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for having courage. The addicts and spouses of addicts I know (either in person or through blogs like these) are amazing individuals, fighting daily battles that others can't even imagine. They are warriors and like all human beings, sometimes they fall. But the ones who get up each time and keep on fighting deserve the greatest respect and honour we can give them.

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    1. thank you for your beautiful comment and your cherished understanding!

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  2. You are very courageous. And maybe you will only touch a few lives, but the difference you have, will and are making will be important to Heavenly Father. Just keep pressing forward.

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  3. Just remember that these journeys are long. You can probably only play a small part in each person you meets journey. Just because you can't simply change their mind in the moment doesn't mean you haven't maybe sparked difference of thought in their brain. That matters! It seems to me, since I started wanting to be a little more open about being a WoPA, that people are scared of both of us. Guilty by association I guess? People want to avoid the subject at all costs. They don't get it. Mostly people just preach forgiveness. Do it as fast as possible, with as little talking about it as possible. Oh man keep talking about it lady. Knowledge is power. Silence really is hell.

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    1. Fontanna, I love your perspective. Keep fighting, lady!

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  4. The world gets more evil and wicked every day. Seems like the Cause of Righteousness is a losing battle, eh? But we know how it will end. Don't be discouraged. You and people like you will change things a little at a time. I appreciate your compassion for people who judge because, ultimately, their biggest problem is that they don't understand the atonement. Keep standing as an example and teaching with love and perhaps someday more people will understand.

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    1. You're right, Sandi, as per usual; failure to understand the Atonement makes it very easy to judge others. I am so grateful for YOUR compassion and understanding.

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  5. Very well written, Stephanie. After I went public with my addiction recovery, I got a lot of support from friends and family. But I also heard of other people I knew who were criticizing and saying, "I don't understand how he could do that." One of them was a bishop, which makes me fear for members of his ward who are addicted...

    Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that most of the time, we can only influence a small sphere around us--the people we love and love us back. While that doesn't sound very exciting, it can cause a ripple effect that can help others come closer to Christ.

    The struggle is real. It's ours to have. But one day we will be free and that's what matters most :)

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    1. Thank you, Ben. I have a ton of respect for you as an addict in recovery and as a writer, so I love to hear from you. :) Thank you for your encouragement.

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