Tiger Woods..2 " We admtted to ourselves that we were powerless..."

These are the first few words of the first step of the 12 step program of sex addicts anonymous. We admitted that we were powerless over our addictive sexual behavior-that our lives had become unmangable". Putting our marriage and our health at risk. Compulsive sexual behavior. The leading of a double life. Humiliating yourself. Risky behavior that could lead to legal problems.These are just few of the characteristics of a sex addict. In recovery addicts are taught to assess what their bottomline behaviors are. These are the behaviors that are the compulsive sexual behaviors that each person are trying to abstain from. These include: sex outside of your marriage, prostitution, pornography, cruising and anonymous sex,.
The play and movie Days of Wine and Roses and the works of Eugene O'Neil have shown us dramatically the devistating progressive damage of alcoholism on so many of us. We are seeing similar dramas being played out on the public stage..the drama and pain just as devistating.
Tiger Woods, has been leading a double life and has put his marriage, children, health and the health of his wife at risk. It is astounding and yet another indication of the incideous role of greed and money in our culture, that the main focus is on spin control and the trickle down effects on the economy and the golf world in particular. Is there a dollar price to personal struggle and putting your family at risk? What Tiger Woods and people like Mark Sanford need is not spin control but a 12 step program and the support of other members of the "fellowship", of people who have "been there" and struggling with a basic change in their compulsive behavior.
Dr. Patrick Carnes seminal book on sexual addiction is titled "Out of The Shadows" Taking the issue of sexual addiction out of the shadows, not sensationalizing it, not marketing it, not shaming it, would be the greatest good, the great cost benefit in term of emotional,personal as well as financial capital if others suffering in similar ways,see themselves in Tiger Woods and seek help for their sexually addictive behaviors. We are all different-we are all the same.