The Bridge to Recovery helps individuals dealing with sex and intimacy issues in our therapy workshops.
At The Bridge to Recovery, we help individuals dealing with sex addiction, love addiction, and other intimacy issues through our unique therapy workshop.
We have become desensitized to sex, love, intimacy and everything that comes with it. Our society is filled with sexuality: some good, some very unhealthy. Sex-positive movements are gaining ground, but we still find ourselves surrounded by unhealthy sex in society.
While sex is everywhere, so is the stigma that comes with sexual dysfunction.
A recent study found that 50% of the female participants have sexual related personal distress, and 1 in 5 women experienced some sort of sexual dysfunction. (fertstert.org)
Studies and research suggests that up to 10% of men struggle with Sex Addiction.
Sex is a natural force in nature. It serves biological, emotional, and physical purposes.
What Sex Should Be
What Sex Should Not Be
Unfortunately, when we carry around pain in our lives from unresolved trauma, our sexual behavior is often impacted, including our ability to be intimate (or "connect") with our partner. Whether it be sex with self, sex with others, sex exploration, or any other variation of sexual behavior, we can find ourselves unable to enjoy healthy sex.
Unresolved trauma can lead to unhealthy sexual behaviors, such as:
While unhealthy sexual behavior most certainly impacts our relationship with ourselves, it also impacts our relationship with others. And, because of the stigma attached, sexual dysfunction is often one of the most blanketed mental health struggles that exists.
Being intimate, sexual, and loving with ourselves and others relies on healthy levels of feeling safe.
It only makes sense that our ability to do so is threatened when we have unresolved trauma – of any kind.
It is important to understand what sex and intimacy are so we can better explain how at The Bridge to Recovery, we help individuals heal and overcome sex and intimacy struggles.
sex·u·al·i·ty
/sekSHo͞oˈalədē/
noun
capacity for sexual feelings
These feelings can include:
And much more.
in·ti·ma·cy
/in(t)əməsē/
noun
close familiarity or friendship; closeness
Types of intimacy can include (but certainly not limited to):
Because sex carries with it a lot of shame in our society, when we experience sexual trauma or our trauma creates sex and intimacy struggles, we carry an overwhelming amount of shame.
Whereas anxiety, depression, and some other mental health issues are gaining momentum in ridding societal stigma, sex is certainly not. It is the one that is left in the shadows of shame, unrelenting, full of embarrassing feelings and closeted behavior.
At The Bridge to Recovery, we help our clients heal from their unresolved trauma, understand and let go of their shame, and their unwanted and unhealthy behaviors so that they may move forward to enjoy happy and healthy sexual and intimate relationships.
Some of the sex and intimacy issues our clients identify as causing problems in their lives:
This list is certainly not comprehensive, but is some of the most common ones self-reported to us. These are all symptoms of trauma, which is the common denominator amongst all of our clients – the pain they carry from their unresolved trauma.
At The Bridge to Recovery, we help people grappling with intimacy issues and sex addiction through our unique therapy model. In order to heal the behavior and emotional response system, we must heal the trauma.
In short, we need the opportunity to
This is what we do at The Bridge to Recovery, and by doing so, we are able to further address the unhealthy and unhelpful behavior patterns we have used to survive.
Clients struggling with sex addiction and intimacy issues begin to reclaim their sexual identity by:
When safety is taken from us because of our trauma, it must be reestablished before we can regain our sexual self. Once safety is reestablished, we can begin to move from survival mode to healthy living.
When we experience trauma, our boundaries are violated, impacting our sense of self. Boundaries are critical in the establishment of healthy sexual and intimate relationships. Learning how to regain those boundaries is critical for healing.
Trauma shakes us to our very core and causes us to question everything we think or know about ourselves. This impacts our relationship with self – which prevents us from feeling vulnerable with others. Building back our sense of self is especially important and happens by:
While a diagnosis for sex addiction has not yet been included in diagnostic manuals, there is no doubt to those in the mental health industry that sexual dysfunction is very much an issue that impacts an individual’s ability to live a healthy and normal life.
Certified Sex Addiction Therapists, ongoing research and education around sex dysfunction, and sex-centered programming is evolving as we speak to help provide resources to those in need.
When we experience trauma, our safety and boundaries are violated. This has a domino effect on our lives. Throughout our website, you will find a lot of information on negative behavior patterns, but this also includes negative response patterns. One of those often impacted by trauma is sex and intimacy. Trauma often keeps us in a state of fight or flight, making it difficult to experience healthy relationships – with ourselves and with others. It is difficult to maintain a healthy relationship, especially sexual and intimate relationships that rely on safety and vulnerability, when we are in a constant state of survival, uncertainty, escape, panic, etc.
Common misconceptions are that sex behavior is more impacted when there has been sexual trauma. While certainly correlated, it is not the only type of trauma that can trigger sex and intimacy issues.
All types of trauma affect our safety.
At The Bridge to Recovery, our therapy workshop offers a safe setting for you to work through trauma to establish a healthier relationship with sex and intimacy. Whether you are dealing with sex addiction, love addiction, relationship issues, or other intimacy struggles, we are here to help. Reach out to our team today to learn more about sex addiction therapy and intimacy issues work at The Bridge to Recovery.