T
TLM08
Guest
Anxiety and lonliness due to that emotional distance are a couple of major ingredients that drives this habit. For those few minutes the hurts of life seems to go away and it actually feels good to be alive. Now throw in a heaping helping of religious guilt and shame that follows immediately afterward and the pain, anxiety and lonliness returns tenfold. Many of us seem to feel it’s necessary to punish ourselves for experiencing any relief whatsoever. However, incredibly powerful their draw and ability to provide temporary relief, masturbation, alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate, gambling or even golf are not the answer to life’s difficulties. The main thing that people who are struggling with this need to understand is that this is not always about “lust” and “pleasure seeking”. The release of endorphins within the brain is the ultimate pain killer. To begin work on the emotional issues that are causing the hurt if the first step toward healing. Always be sure to spend a few minutes each day just talking to God just like you would talk to your most trusted friend. Tell him everything, your fears, hurts, joys, and sorrows. He knows that our failures are not an attempt to hurt him.whatevergirl: Thanks for the prayers and great words of wisdom. I’ll take them to heart. Your comment about it being a form of escape sure seems like it might be the case. Anxiety, emotional distance - yes. Escape? A different twist but definitely is the case. It really is a complicated picture - dealing with (for the first time this past year) sexual abuse, thoughts and feelings about another guy (which probably are the result of the same root problem). It’s kind of a tortured world I live in if I’m not careful, and I try to be. So your prayers are appreciated. It’s those of others, as well as frequent reception of the sacraments and prayer that are helping. And helped me get through one day today! Yeah!![]()