Sex addicts are experts at creating “justifiable reasons” for their actions.
Rudyard Kipling once (jokingly) wrote, “I never made a mistake in my life; at least, never one that I couldn’t explain away afterwards.” Active sex addicts seem to feel the same way, except they’re not tongue-in-cheek, as Kipling was. In fact, most of the time we’re busy creating justifications for our bad behavior even as we’re engaging in that behavior. Before, during, and after we act out, we tell ourselves lies like, “This is what all single people do,” or, “I’m not damaging my relationship because my spouse will never find out,” or, “If I was in a good relationship, I’d be having sex every day, so I might as well have lots of sex even though I’m in a bad relationship,” or whatever. The list of justifications is endless.
Just for Today
Identify a justification you’ve used to enable your sexual addiction. Share it with another person. Ask for feedback.