19 March 2015

Is Your Husband Still Using?!



When I find myself obsessing about Pete's addiction there is a question I'm dying to ask all my WoPA friends. I want to call them up, spreadsheet at hand, and ask them all 

When was the last time your husband looked at porn?  And when was the time before that?

You know that feeling, when you're thinking that if you could just get your questions answered you would surely feel better about life?  If I could just hear that other husbands were still relapsing, surely I would find acceptance and peace.  

Fortunately I've made some progress and I don't obsess about Pete's addiction too often.  But Pete is still relapsing.  Sometimes he is sober for a few days, sometimes a few weeks, and other times he can go months without acting out.  

And here I am, still learning lessons about how I am powerless over Pete's addiction.  About how I can. not. make. him. change.  No matter how subtle I get in my codependency.  Last night I asked my therapist if I needed sobriety in my marriage.  He told me that he couldn't answer that, I would have to decide for myself.  To which I responded 

"I think I'm going to decide I need it."  

"Okay Jane.  But just remember, that if you need sobriety in your marriage, you might have to leave your marriage.  Because you are not getting it."  

Immediately I saw what I was doing.  I was giving myself another shot at changing Pete.  I was thinking-  If I tell Pete that I need sobriety in our marriage, then he'll have to get sober.  By golly THAT will be the thing that will make him sober. But it won't.  

In Al-Anon they teach that relationships can exist when the addict is still using.  This is really difficult for me.  But I'm exploring it.  It looks like this: 

Old boundary: If Pete acts out we don't have sex for one week. 
New boundary:  If I don't feel present and connected with Pete, I decline sexual advances. 

Old boundary: If Pete is acting like an addict, I emotionally and physically detach. 
New boundary: If Pete is unpleasant, unkind or grumpy, I don't need to be around him.  I can make my own plans, do my own thing.  

Old boundary: If Pete has a relapse, he sleeps in another room. 
New boundary: If Pete has a relapse and I feel upset, I practice self-care.  

This new way of having a relationship with Pete is terrifying and liberating at the same time.  It's terrifying because I am relinquishing so much [artificial/percieved] control.  But it's liberating because  I don't have to analyze his behavior looking for signs of recovery or addiction.  I just go with my gut, use my feelings to gauge how much I can trust and connect, and go with it. 

It doesn't mean that I approve of Pete using porn.  It doesn't mean that I'm in denial about his addiction.  It just means that I'm accepting my reality. I'm making a deliberate choice about having a relationship with my husband that is vulnerable and has inherent risk.  And I'm honest about how I can not manage his behavior.  

9 comments:

  1. Love this. I feel that I am in a similar place. We are trying to make the best of our relationship and I've recently relinquished many of my boundaries. Once I did, (I experienced LOTS of fear) I realized there was a little bit of control I was trying to assert with my boundaries and relinquishing it was terrifying but has been rather freeing so far. B acts out about once a week - sometimes more, sometimes less. I hope the new way works for you, at least until it doesn't and you have a new plan! :)

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  2. It's so HARD! My husband is still relapsing too. And I just have to take it one day, one instance at a time.

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  3. Thank you for this post! I love it - I feel like it could be me writing it. I have been working on letting go of control and the "need" to have a sober husband. Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Wow. I stumbled across this at the absolute perfect time.

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  5. Resources like the one you mentioned here will be very useful to me! I will post a link to this page on my blog.
    5 Best Sex Pornography Inventions

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  6. My husband is currently incarcerated for looking at child porn. While most days I believe that he has a sickness (porn addiction) that I have learned is a progressive disease. I can understand that as he states it lead him to look for the next shocking subject. But on some other days struggle that it is more than the next shocking thing. I search for statistics. I search to see if he is really a horrible person. Even though I know him to be kind, sweet, hard-working. His secret world is a vast difference from what I see him to be. So have you found that porn addicts searching escalates to such things?

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  7. I wish I would have seen this when I was with my husband. His addiction, and my obsession with his addiction ultimately ended in him skipping town on our children and me. I sunk into depression and drinking when he just wouldn't stop! I am SO THANKFUL he left, even though at the time it felt like I couldn't bare the grief. I hope things worked out for you.

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  8. My husband returned home a few weeks ago. We are currently going to counseling, praying and reading devotionals together and assisting at church. He told me he is sorry for the way he hurt me and that he truly loves me. I am still standing for my husband and for those spouses who are waiting for their prodigals to come home! contact Dr. Lawrence and he will restore your marriage and make your husband come back home contact him via what-apps (USA)+1) 914 208 8349 Drlawrencespelltemple @ gmail . com

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