Sexual Addicton, Female Version
2004.05.06
I am in the middle of reading a thorough and personal book about female sexual addiction. The title is, No Stones: Women redeemed from sexual shame by Marnee Ferree. The secondary title is most important. Shame is a huge component of sexual addiction for men and women, but there is an extra stigma for women. As sex, or the pursuit of it, becomes a woman's style of getting high or covering pain, more shame is built. After numerous vows to quit and subsequent relapses, the shame and depression grow to seemingly unovercomable levels. She begins with the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Jesus sends the woman away without condemnation and says, "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." These are words of hope. Some people can misuse these and beat the woman over the head with Just Say No. But any addiction has a complicated physical, emotional and spiritual recovery process. Those words are hopeful because they offer a woman a different life. An addict has tunnel vision of how life can be. She believes that she'll always have to offer her body to get some taste of closeness. These words of hope invite a sexually addicted woman out of a life of empty sex toward a life of true intimacy with God and others. Are you sexually/relationally addicted? Keep reading to take Marnee's self-test.