Lived Experiences of Recovery from Compulsive Sexual Behavior among Members of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Key participant characteristics

Participant number/’S’ group(s) attending	Age/ gender	Sexual orientation	Relationship status	Sexual behaviors reported as compulsive	Self-identify as having love addiction?	Self-reported history of comorbid substance use disorders/mental health difficulties	Length of active membership in ‘S’ group(s)
P01/SLAA	38/M	H	Divorced	Visiting escorts, group sex, casual sex with multiple partners, pornography use, masturbation	Y	Methamphetamine, cocaine, and alcohol use	3 years 7 months
P02/SLAA	28/M	H	Single	Visiting escorts and strip clubs, cybersex, public sex, sex with strangers, pornography use, masturbation, telephone sex	Y	Cyclothymic disorder	1 year 10 months
P03/SLAA	41/M	H	Divorced	Visiting escorts, group sex, anonymous sex with strangers, cybersex, pornography use, masturbation	ND	Depression and anxiety	7 months
P04/SLAA	44/M	H	Married	Visiting escorts, pornography use, masturbation	Y	Bipolar disorder	5 years
P05/SLAA	22/M	H	Single	Pornography use, masturbation, stimulant-enhanced anal masturbation while watching pornography	Y	Alcohol, cannabis, steroid, nicotine, 3-MMC and MDMA use	10 months
P06/SLAA	40/F	B	In a relationship	Casual sex with multiple partners, group sex, swinging, cybersex	N	Cannabis and amphetamine use	1 year
P07/SLAA	57/M	G	Single	Public sex with strangers, visiting escorts, cybersex, pornography use, masturbation	Y	Alcohol, cannabis and nicotine use, anxiety, insomnia	2 years
P08/SLAA, SAA	52/M	H/P	Divorced, in relationships	Cuckolding, group sex, anonymous sex with strangers, swinging, pegging, underwear fetishism, bondage and submission, sexting, visiting escorts, pornography use, masturbation	Y	None	2 years 6 months
P09/SLAA, SA, SAA	49/M	H	Separated	Visiting escorts, casual sex with multiple partners	Y	Cocaine, cannabis and alcohol use, bipolar disorder	10 years
P10/SLAA	54/M	H	Married	Visiting escorts, massage parlors and strip clubs, pornography use, masturbation	Y	None	5 years
P11/SLAA	42/M	H	Divorced, in a relationship	Visiting escorts, pornography use, masturbation, telephone sex	Y	Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety	4 years
P12/SLAA	33/M	H	Married	Visiting escorts and massage parlors, cybersex, pornography use, masturbation, telephone sex	Y	Cannabis use, anxiety	4 years 9 months
P13/SLAA, SA, SAA	60/M	H	Divorced	Visiting escorts and strip clubs, pornography use, masturbation	ND	Alcohol, cannabis, amphetamine and cocaine use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder	1 year 2 months
P14/SLAA	54/M	H	Divorced, married	Visiting escorts, pornography use	Y	Alcohol use	7 years 4 months

Note: 3-MMC: 3-Methylmethcathinone; F: female; G: gay; H: heterosexual; M: male; MDMA: 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine; N: no; ND: not discussed; P: pansexual; Y: yes

Table

Interview excerpt	Basic code	Basic codes merged to form higher-level category
“I remember like, as an addict, my life was terrible… I had a package of missing things at work… Missing things in a relationship, my faith, my school… So, everything was terrible. We’re not talking about fixing that… hey you stop watching pornography. It’s not about that. It’s about fixing all the amazing things that I can have in my life… Then yes, I can move on to stop watching pornography. And that’s what I’m experiencing today. Because I’m fixing all the things that I just missed with in the past… And that helps me to stay away from pornography…” (P02)	Fixing life first, then abstinence comes	Recovery is about getting one’s life in order
“Yeah, first was more just to stop the behavior… stop the pornography and the chatting and I didn’t want to do that anymore. But I must say at some point it also more shifted like… Um… That I was more working on creating a life I didn’t want to escape from anymore. So, it was also more about not doing something but more about… yeah, working on all the other parts of my life… my relations, my financial situation, my work, my whole work-life balance my… so, work on all of those a lot.” (P03)	Goal in recovery to create a life he didn’t want to escape from anymore	Recovery is about getting one’s life in order
“What I learned after a year or so at SLAA is it’s not fighting the addiction, it’s just getting your life in order that’s important. It’s about regulating, it’s about doing positive things. And over time, the obsession for sex or needing that closeness or that love relationship dissipates, and you get on with your life and doing the things you should be doing, and having much more positive mindset, far more mindful.” (P10)	Recovery not about fighting the addiction but getting life in order	Recovery is about getting one’s life in order