5 Benefits of Recovery (#2)

In my previous post on the 5 Benefits of Recovery, we looked at the first benefit: Recovery leads you out of secrecy and deception. You can read it here if you missed it.

Let's continue on in our unpacking of the benefits of recovery.

Recovery Benefit #2:
Recovery leads you to better physical health.

Much has be learned in recent decades about the impact of addictive behavior on the brain. Roughly eighty percent of sex addicts suffer from some degree of depression, which makes sense when you discover that repeated overuse of the brain in one area causes an imbalance of underuse in another. Such imbalances can cause all sorts of symptoms, from depression to anxiety to rage, and more. 

The irony is that many sex addicts by overstimulating sexually are actually decreasing their ability to experience sexual pleasure. Neurologist Serge Stoleru has found that overexposure to erotic stimuli exhausts the sexual responses of normal, healthy young men. Many sex addicts we have helped in our ministry are actually impotent as a result of heavy porn use!

Recovery helps an addict regain balance in their brain. By eliminating the practice of overstimulation, the addict's brain begins to reshape toward what a healthy brain should look like. This is called neuroplasticity; the ability of the brain to change shape based on usage. This is good news for addicts! Their brain doesn't have to stay stuck in the rut of addiction and all the garbage that comes with it. Recovery is a process of learning to live in a healthy way, which includes physical, as well as emotional, health.

I hope in hearing about just these first two benefits of recovery you are encouraged and hopeful. Real transformation is possible, and the benefits are not just freedom from the shame and guilt of addiction.

​In my next post, we’ll look at the 3rd Benefit of Recovery: Recovery leads to healthy relationships.

​Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain
by Dr. William Struthers
​Order on Amazon.com

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