MAZEL TOV! Go for another 90!

Amazing to see, well done!

Wow 
May you continue inspiring the oilam!

180!!!
Baruch Hashem! I never could have imagined making it this far.
A HUGE shout out to the following: Hashem Help Me, JoeTYH, AAB, Vekham, and Sleepy for inspiring, encouraging, advising, and supporting me.
I must also grant the most thanks in the most public setting it's possible for with this sort of Parsha to my Rebbi, who was considerate, understanding, and helpful in making the experience of opening up not nearly as hard, painful, or shameful as I thought it would be. To my therapist, for helping me see the struggle and life in general with more clarity, and for giving me the tools to help me grow both as a Yid and as a human. For all those who would either reply or like to reply because I accidentally left them out..

Wow! You are amazing! It’s amazing to see another bachur who accomplished so much. Keep up the good work and keep inspiring us!!!

Great article in Mishpacha this past week called Letters to my Inner Addict. Relatable for me personally in many ways. Clinical Addict or not.

Long Megilah Alert (Sorry if this reads like a bunk letter)
Wow! 1 Year! I never imagined making it this far. I must thank Hashem for constantly giving me strength and good to serve him though I never deserved it.

I must thank the following:
פותחין בכבוד אכסניה: GYE has helped me with guidance, companionship, and advice through the forums, librarys, and support options. So, to ChaimMod, YaakovGYE, DovidGYE, MenachemGYE: I was never sure if you're 1 guy, 4 guys, or 2 guys with 2 heads each, but: No words suffice to thank you for what you've done. May Hashem bless you with long happy, healthy lives to continue your great work.

My therapist has been instrumental in changing my life in so many ways, helping me reexamine, analyze, and work on many areas to make me into a better person, friend, sibling, and son.

My Rebbi, who has beeen supportive of me with Hadracha and caring throughout it all.

The Relief orginization gave me a great refferal to the therapist who was right for me B"H
The Amudim orginization has helped me greatly in my journey.

To my friends on the forum:
The Chizzuk, encouragement, and inspiration I take from your corageous posts can't be overstated. Each of you has helped me inestimably. I can't than you enough for all you've done for me. The acceptance and feeling of camraderie is something special and I don't think it exsts in many other places on Earth.

There are a few people I'd like to thank in no particular order: ( I hope I don't forget anyone and I don't mean it if I do)
Dov was amazing in being there for me in the beginning of my journey, giving me truthful advice in his no-nonsense yet-palpatable way. I also take much inspiration from his posts.

HashemHelpMe has been invaluable for me this year from start to finish with advice, prespective and tips. Always available to help me grow. #mechanchimwhomatter (coming soon as your kid's schools next rayzeit campaign)

Humanbeing. My friend and sparring partner. Keep up the great work! Always great to have a conversation with someone so caring who is well- versed in so many things.

I have gained much prespective and seen innumerable ideas put down so well by the great Vehkam. An inspiration to us all. Keep Inspiring!

Cordnoy does his job so well! He pulls off the tough balancin' act between being a thought- provokin', common sense spittin' mainstay of the forum and postin' approximately 1 post every 253 and a half years explicitly a as a moderator to perfection.

Eerie: A new voice, but already on your way to becoming one of the lights of the forum. Great getting to know you my friend! #mechanchimwithbeards (your local barbershops next campaign?)

[i]The following shoutouts are for guys who for different reasons aren't forum regulars, but whom I feel deserve public recognition as the great guys they are :[Yes, [/i]WHOM] 
AAB and GP: The group was great. I learned much from your inspiring work and insights.
MD:Great talking with you. Hatzlacha Rabbah with your Parsha
Joetyh: I gained so much from our conversations and meetings. Keep Shteiging!

It's been a wonderful year. I couldn't have done it without your help. Thanks to each and every one of you for all that you've done. I intend to stick around consistently on the forum, but not to log on as often. May we all be Zoche to many years of happy, healthy, clean life with Moshiach here in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh! L'Chaim!

jackthejew wrote on 27 Dec 2022 19:15:

1 year is amazing! So proud for you! Hopefully I will be there in roughly 297 days :-). Don’t leave us!! Some of us need you here. 

Teshuvahguy wrote on 27 Dec 2022 19:35:

I'll Be'h still be around. Just not logging on every day

WOW! A year! I just got to know you, but you've inspired me already! You always have a real thought to share, and I for one truly appreciate your input. Keep trucking, my friend! p.s. how do you know the size of my beard? Who told you I even have a beard?
Keep inspiring us until 150 years with gezunt

jackthejew wrote on 27 Dec 2022 19:15:

Congratulations on your celebration of "one full year of sobriety"! In the name of all team members (yes, we are separate people) I would like to wish you many many more clean days, and Hashem should constantly give you more strength and everything good to serve him!

I also must thank my friends who know me in person from my "public life". If you can see this, and you think you know who I am, that's OK. PLEASE feel free to come over and talk it out. There's help to be had.
Thanks to MR, MS, DR, and the others who've helped me to bring the 2 halves of my life together.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Mazel Tov!  Kein yirbu!  Keep inspiring....

I see all it takes is for me to step out for 1 day and B"H the forum is buzzin'!

This is in regards to a conversation playing out across other threads, but I've decided to place it here. I have been thinking into how to phrase this for a long time. It's still not great but here's how I'll try to set it out.
Normalization and non-judgement of a person are applied to the person. If your view of the person is that he doesn't extend past this issue and he's defined by it, you're judging him based on one issue. However, in order to be accepting, the desire doesn't really have to be viewed as normal. We just have to not judge someone as a whole by one facet of his being. That desire, attitude, or outlook may not be normal per se, but there is much more to the person than that. Obsessing over justification, minimilization, and how the world sees it is putting aside the rest of the human being just as much as rejecting him in my opinion. A gay person isn't only gay, a trans person isn't just trans, and an abuser isn't just an abuser. Although the gay person may not be able to go to Mikvah, the trans man can't go into the ladies room, and the serial abuser shouldn't be employed as a babysitter. They are still more than the sum of their particular issue. Any issues that I have, I don't want the world judging me only based on that (Like the depression caused to people who've gone viral on social media doing 1 dumb thing) but the response to not wanting to be judged can either be harping on the thing I'm worried about or looking inwards to know there's so much more to me than that, although that thing must be dealt with to the extent possible in order to help me grow moving forward. Now, someone in the thick of such an issue may be entirely consumed with it, so an allowance may be made to not necessarily dump everything in his face, and it's often important not to say things that will be taken as a judgement on the person. But the answer to the question of "Are these desires normal?" remains No.