ESSAY Magazine (An International Journal of Sexaholics Anonymous)
The mission of ESSAY is to serve as a source of information, experience, strength and hope to sexaholics, both inside and outside the rooms of Sexaholics Anonymous. Our vision is to provide a high-quality “meeting in print” that gathers together members from around the world. It can serve as a portable “extra meeting” especially for loners and for members who don’t have access to many meetings. In addition, Essay serves as an outreach tool to carry the message to those who have not yet found SA. We strive to include a mix of stories and shares from a wide variety of members, including men and women, prisoners, and international members. In addition, ESSAY provides Fellowship announcements and information on subjects such as new meetings, Fellowship events, and our service structure. We hope that all of the articles we publish will offer useful information and provide experience, strength, and hope to all who suffer from the disease of sexaholism. Fellowship actvities such as international conventions, regional events and local events appear in the Calendar section. Each issue has a theme and various sections to share sexaholic stories and practical tools. In addition to letters and group news, ESSAY offers short, edited articles written by members about recovery and our solution. The Practical Recovery Tools section features members sharing on the topic, “Exactly how I did it.” Submissions may also include meditations, poetry, and humor. ESSAY is guided by the principles of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts. Each issue contains the following statement:
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Episodes
Episodes
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
A Fun Take on the Business of Local MeetingsIf you’ve attended any business meetings at your local home group, you know they can be pretty dull and uninteresting as a few restless addicts monotonously dot all the I’s, cross all the T’s, and measure out the red tape. Sometimes, this can be downright annoying and frustrating as members debate unimportant nuances of every motion or haggle over whether a surplus of $9 should be spent on tea or cookies.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
How lightheartedness and a little perspective can turn self-pity into self-awareness.A few days ago, one of my friends came up to me with good news. “I have a boyfriend!” she said. I was so happy for her. Then it struck me—I was (and still am) the only single girl among my various groups of friends.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Hi, I’m Eugene K., a sexaholic. I’m 22 years old and came to SA in September 2024. When I saw the theme about Rule 62 (don’t take yourself too seriously), it reminded me of how I found my SA sponsor. Back when I was new, I had my eye on this one guy I thought would be a great sponsor. He’d been in the newcomers’ breakout meeting, and I thought, “This is the guy.” A few meetings later, I finally decided I should probably get a sponsor, so I started looking for him after the meeting.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Seeing My Part Without Taking Blame
Step Four was eye-opening for me. It was also hard to look at, written on paper, what I had done and who I was. I just didn’t want to be that person anymore.
I hadn’t really considered or wanted to look at myself like this. I had spent so much time focusing on what everyone else had done wrong to me. That’s all I had been able to see for a very long time.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Overcoming Addiction and Betrayal to Rebuild Love, Trust, and Purpose.
When I attended my first SA meeting in May 2021, I was totally immersed in lust and had already lost almost everything.
The problem began when my father abandoned us. My mother had to go out to work, leaving me alone with my little brother. Then, my mother married an alcoholic and violent man, twice her age, but with a good job. My childhood was hell. I suffered humiliation, violence, hunger, abandonment, economic deprivation, and sexual abuse by my stepfather. I dreamed that a charming prince would come to rescue me one day. While I isolated myself from the world, I discovered masturbation to escape my reality.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Higher Power’s guidance in both struggle and service.Step into Action (p. 67) tells us that “There are many good ways to do a Fourth Step inventory.” It recommends listing and describing our resentments, fears, and the selfish nature of our sexual behavior, but it also mentions identifying our positive attributes and recognizing what “God would have us be.” This can also be found in our personal history of other, more positive, behaviors—especially in actions that stand in direct contrast to our defects, like opposite ends of a pendulum’s swing.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
How the Steps, Higher Power, and the Fellowship helped this member find his path to recovery, one day at a time.Tonight, a tragic plane crash dominates every news network. The world is in shock. Why? Because plane crashes are rare—they don’t happen often, so when they do, it’s overwhelming.
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Friday Apr 11, 2025
Finding Strength in Higher Power and Self-DiscoveryMy name is Aaron M., and I’m a lust addict. One of the biggest parts of self-discovery in my recovery is the vast gulf that exists between who I am when I’m practicing sobriety and who I am when I’m in active addiction. They’re almost (but not quite!) two different people, with their own personalities and motivations. My sober self goes completely out the window whenever I take that first lust drink and the “other guy” kicks in.