Only you can determine if you are addicted to pornography or sex. These question may help you decide:
Questions for self-assessment:
- Do you keep secrets about your sexual behavior or romantic fantasies from those important to you? Do you lead a double life? Yes_____ No_____
- Have your desires driven you to have sex in places or with people you would not normally choose? Yes_____ No_____
- Do you need greater variety, increased frequency, or more extreme sexual activities to achieve the same level of excitement or relief? Yes____ No____
- Does your use of pornography occupy large amounts of time and/or jeopardize your significant relationships or employment? Yes_____ No_____
- Do your relationships become distorted with sexual preoccupation? Does each new relationship have the same destructive pattern which prompted you to leave the last one? Yes_____ No_____
- Do you frequently want to get away from a partner after having sex? Do you feel remorse, shame, or guilt after a sexual encounter? Yes_____ No_____
- Have your sexual practices caused you legal problems? Could your sexual practices cause you legal problems? Yes_____ No_____
- Does your pursuit of sex or sexual fantasy conflict with your moral standards or interfere with your personal spiritual journey? Yes_____ No_____
- Do your sexual activities involve coercion, violence, or the threat of disease? Yes_____ No_____
- Has your sexual behavior or pursuit of sexual relationships ever left you feeling hopeless, alienated from others, or suicidal? Yes_____ No_____
- Does your preoccupation with sexual fantasies cause problems in any area of your life—even when you do not act out your fantasies? Yes_____ No_____
- Do you compulsively avoid sexual activity due to fear of sex or intimacy? Does your sexual avoidance consume you mentally? Yes_____ No_____
If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, we strongly recommend that you contact us for more information about sex addiction and the SAA program of recovery.
These questions are from the pamphlet, Sex Addicts Anonymous—A Pathway to Recovery, ISO of SAA, Inc., 2009. Used with permission.