Am I a Sex Addict? An Honest Self-Look

This is the question that probably brought you here. There's no test that decides it for you, and no one is going to hand you a label - this is about your own honest look in the mirror. We've sat where you're sitting. The goal isn't to scare you or shame you; it's to cut through the fog so you can see clearly and decide what you want to do next.

Honesty is the first freedom: You can't change something you won't look at squarely. This worksheet only works if you answer it the way you'd answer if no one would ever read it - because no one will. This is just for you.

The honest questions

Tick the ones that are true for you. Be honest, not generous.

• [ ] I do more sexually than I want to, or things I said I'd stop
• [ ] I've tried to cut back or quit and couldn't keep it
• [ ] I keep going even after it's hurt my relationships, work, or self-respect
• [ ] I hide it, lie about it, or cover my tracks
• [ ] I need more, or more intense, to get the same effect
• [ ] I feel a pull I don't feel in control of
• [ ] I often feel empty, ashamed, or 'not myself' afterward

Which of these was hardest to tick - and what made it hard?

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What I'm afraid is true

Denial usually guards a fear. Name it.

If I'm really honest, what am I most afraid this means about me?

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A label is a door, not a sentence: Whatever you call this, naming it honestly isn't the end of your story - it's the start of getting free. Plenty of people have stood exactly here and built a different life. You're not behind a locked door; you just found the handle.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Understanding Sex Addiction, from Sex Addiction Recovery. Compulsive sexual behavior is a learned cycle, not a moral failure.
• Starting Recovery: The First Steps, from Sex Addiction Recovery. Recovery doesn't start with willpower — it starts with reaching out.
• Shame, Self-Worth & Identity, from Sex Addiction Recovery. Shame ('I am bad') fuels compulsive behavior; guilt ('I did something') heals it.