230 SelfWork: The Painful Reality of Sexual Addiction: Josh Duggar Is Far From Alone

The SelfWork Podcast

There are so many times when I don’t think things are going to go well and I hope I'm wrong. And sometimes, I certainly am. But I wrote a post back in 2015 right after a young Josh Duggar’s problems with sexual abuse came to be known. My post focused on how his family had missed a wonderful opportunity to model openness and honesty about the difficulties facing our kids in the realm of sexual abuse; to get help not only for the their daughters who'd been molested by Josh, but for Josh himself. The Duggars, rooted in a very conservative faith system, didn’t send him to appropriate treatment, which they could’ve well afforded. Now he’s been charged with alleged internet child porn charges – and has six of his own children with another on the way.

So today I’m going to focus sexual addiction, in this episode sponsored once again by Athletic Greens. You may not believe sex addiction is actually real – but from my experience, it is. And very destructive. We also always talk about what you can do about it, and I'll share well-known researcher, author and speaker Dr. Patrick Carnes' ideas about not only sexual addiction but its treatment.

The listener email for today is from a man whose girlfriend suffers from depression – and with whom he was deeply in love – and she suddenly and to him inexplicably broke up with him. He’s asking for some kind of information or understanding as he tried to face what has happened. What would you advise?

Important Links:

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Recent article on the present charges against Josh Duggar

Another article on these charges

WHO designates compulsive sexual impulse disorder

An interview with Dr. Patrick Carnes

Other thoughts on sexual addiction

One man's addiction story published in the Irish Times

CSAT information

You can hear more about mental health and many other topics by listening to my podcast, SelfWork with Dr. Margaret Rutherford. Subscribe to my website and receive one weekly newsletter including my weekly blog post and podcast! If you’d like to join my FaceBook closed group, then click here and answer the membership questions! Welcome!

My book entitled Perfectly Hidden Depression has arrived and you can order here! Its message is specifically for those with a struggle with strong perfectionism or need for control which acts to mask underlying emotional pain. But the many self-help techniques described can be used by everyone who chooses to begin to address emotions, long hidden away, that are clouding and sabotaging your current life.

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