Well this is a fresh new point. And its a good one! id love to respond. In general, most people share your viewpoint. That there are 2 types of guys, 1- addicted, 12 steps, etc 2- guys with normal healthy albeit challenging desires. And then there is also a 3rd group, that is really part of group 1, those who are on on their way to recovery, and realize, they have an underlying trauma, abuse/ other emotional factors that needs healing.
This is the whole premise I'm coming to disrupt. There are no 3 groups. There is 1 group. All of us act because of underlying reasons. All diagnosis's are caused from underlying reasons. All addictions that send people to 12 steps programs are caused by underlying reasons.
The underlying reasons are feelings. Feelings cause guys to act in ways that are addicting. Feelings cause the symptoms that are then diagnosed as "mental illness". And feelings are what cause us to act on our normal sexual desire, even when our cognitive mind doesn't want to. For some, the underlying feelings are stronger. Like a huge feeling of shame, loneliness, disconnection and fear. For others its feelings that are less strong, like worry, stress and tiredness. For others its the feelings that are the overwhelming and sad results of trauma, abuse and neglect. For others its our day to day negative feelings. Addiction isn't the cause of addictions. Nobody downed his first bottle of whiskey because he was addicted to whiskey. Nobody smoked up for the first time because he was addicted to smoking up. So even those in the 12 step programs that are now chemically addicted, the cause of their addiction isn't the addiction. And this is why we are all in the same group. Because anyone who went through trauma abuse or neglect, have the same cause of their resulting behavioral challenges. Its thier feelings.
And then the main point of this article.
Desires cause some behavior, yet desire can be controlled. If there is a reason that someone can't control his desires, then we need to look to the underlying reasons that are making him unable to control his desires. -Feelings. In summary, all of us have the same struggle. Some of us have another struggle too, a chemical addiction too. -that is why there are the 12 steps. Some of us have stronger feelings caused by abuse neglect and trauma, making it harder for us to overcome the struggle, because the cause of the struggle is bigger, so the struggle itself is bigger. .....................and some of us don't have a bigger cause or a bigger struggle, but never the less its the same causes -our feelings- and the same struggle -to guardoureyes. Yes. Some of us have a chemical addiction as well. That doesn't take away the root struggle we all have. It just adds another struggle.