About SAA
As a fellowship of recovering addicts, Sex Addicts Anonymous® offers a message of hope to anyone who suffers from sex addiction.
Through long and painful experience, we came to realize that we were powerless over our sexual thoughts and behaviors and that our preoccupation with sex was causing progressively severe adverse consequences for us, our families, and our friends. Despite many failed promises to ourselves and attempts to change, we discovered that we were unable to stop acting out sexually by ourselves.
Many of us came to this realization when we started attending SAA meetings. In that setting we heard stories similar to ours and realized that recovery from our problem was possible. We learned through the SAA Fellowship that we were not hopelessly defective.
The basic principles of recovery practiced by SAA are found in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. Although we are not affiliated with AA or with any other organization or agency, we are, indeed, grateful for permission to modify and apply the Steps and Traditions to sex addiction, making recovery possible for us.
Looking for help?
If you believe you have a problem with sex addiction (or are wondering if you might) and you want to change your behavior, we recommend that you find and attend a meeting of Sex Addicts Anonymous® as soon as possible. We have found that the path to recovery begins with meetings. You may attend as many meetings as you like, and they are free of charge. The only requirement is a desire to stop your addictive sexual behavior. You may find a list of meetings here. We wish you well in your recovery.
SAA: Is it for You?
“Before coming to Sex Addicts Anonymous®, many of us never knew that our problem had a name. All we knew was that we couldn’t control our sexual behavior. For us, sex was a consuming way of life. Although the details of our stories were different, our problem was the same. We were addicted to sexual behaviors that we returned to over and over, despite the consequences.” — Sex Addicts Anonymous, p. 3
In Sex Addicts Anonymous® we are a fellowship of men and women who share our experience, strength, and hope with each other for the purpose of finding freedom from addictive sexual behavior and helping others recover from sex addiction. Local meetings offer an accepting, non-threatening environment where we can share our common struggles and learn how to apply the principles of the Twelve Steps to our everyday lives.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop addictive sexual behavior. There are no fees or dues.
We practice strict anonymity and confidentiality, so that our meetings are a safe place for all of us. Whom we meet or what is said in a meeting is considered as confidential. If you are unsure whether you may be a sex addict, we suggest that you complete the self-assessment appearing on the page entitled Are You a Sex Addict?.
Abstinence, Sobriety, and the Three Circles
“But while the SAA fellowship supports our recovery, the actual work of recovery is described in the Twelve Steps. Meetings are forums for learning how to integrate the steps into our lives. Working the Twelve Steps leads to a spiritual transformation that results in sustainable relief from our addiction.”
Our goal when entering the SAA program is abstinence from one or more specific sexual behaviors. But unlike programs for recovering alcoholics or drug addicts, Sex Addicts Anonymous does not have a universal definition of abstinence. Most of us have no desire to stop being sexual altogether. It is not sex in and of itself that causes us problems, but the addiction to certain sexual behaviors. In SAA we will be better able to determine what behavior is addictive and what is healthy. However, the fellowship does not dictate to its members what is and isn’t addictive sexual behavior. Instead we have found that it is necessary for each member to define his or her own abstinence.
To help us define our sexual sobriety, many of us use a tool developed within SAA called The Three Circles. We draw three concentric circles, consisting of an inner, middle, and outer circle. With the help of our sponsor or others in recovery, we write down various behaviors in each of the three circles. In the inner circle we put the sexual behaviors we want to abstain from, the ones we consider “acting out.” These are the behaviors that we identify, with our sponsor’s guidance, as addictive, harmful, or unacceptable for us. In the middle circle we put behaviors that may lead to acting out, or that we are not sure about. In the outer circle we put healthy behaviors that enhance our life and our recovery. More information about abstinence, sobriety, and The Three Circles is available in Sex Addicts Anonymous and pamphlets available online through the SAA Store or by telephone or postal mail from the ISO office.
Spirituality
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other sex addicts and to practice these principles in our lives.”
The Twelve Steps of SAA are the heart of our program. They contain a depth that we could hardly have guessed when we started. Over time, we establish a relationship with a Power greater than ourselves, each of us coming to an understanding of a Higher Power that is personal for us. Although the steps use the word “God” to indicate this Power, SAA is not affiliated with any religion, creed, or dogma. The program offers a spiritual solution to our addiction, without requiring adherence to any specific set of beliefs or practices.
The Twelve Steps are more than a series of exercises. They provide basic principles for living. Most of us find opportunities on a daily basis to apply one or more of the steps to some challenge in our life. Over time, the spiritual principles in the steps become integrated into our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. We find that we are not only working the steps – we are living them.
We have been given a new chance at life, awakening to a spiritual dimension we never knew was available to us.
In taking the Eleventh Step, we dedicate ourselves to an increasing spiritual awareness and a greater connection with our Higher Power. We seek to improve [our] conscious contact, so that our spiritual connection will become, not only the means by which we recover from our sex addiction, but our daily source of guidance and strength.
Our message is simple and profound: that recovery from sex addiction is possible through working the Twelve Steps of SAA, and that following this program results in a spiritual awakening.
Through the process of the Twelve Steps, we let go of ways of thinking and acting that are based on fear, shame and isolation and we learn to rely on the guidance and care of a Higher Power. When we first came to the fellowship of Sex Addicts Anonymous, we may have sought only to stop acting out. But every step of the program contributes to a fundamental change in our outlook, from self-obsession and control to surrender and acceptance. Our sexual sobriety goes hand in hand with our spiritual growth.
The Steps are an expression of spiritual principles that can be practiced in all aspects of life. Honesty, willingness, courage, humility, forgiveness, responsibility, gratitude and faith are just some of the names we give to the spiritual principles that gradually come to guide us in our lives.
Continuing to apply these Steps on a daily basis keeps us spiritually fit and growing in recovery.
Practicing these principles in our lives means applying program principles at home, at work and wherever else we gather with others for a common purpose.
We find that spiritual principles can guide us in the everyday challenges of life, and they can help us face even loss, grief and death with fortitude and grace. What we gain in the program is a blueprint for full and successful living, whatever may come.
Contact Us
Phone
USA / Canada: 1-800-477-8191
elsewhere: +1-713-869-4902
Office hours
10 am – 6 pm Central Time
Monday – Friday
Postal mail
ISO of SAA
PO Box 70949
Houston, TX 77270 USA
Email info@saa-recovery.org