A recovering sex addict has encouraged anyone who may be going through similar feelings not to suffer alone.
John, not his real name, endured a 20 year internal battle before he accepted he could have a sex addiction. Speaking to the ECHO on the basis his anonymity would be guaranteed, John said: "The first step is to be honest with yourself and that is always the hardest."
John accepted he could have a sex addiction when his secretive desire to self-pleasure escalated to sending explicit images to a former work colleague in February 2021. John told the ECHO : "I was aware of the concept of sex addiction but in my head it was somebody that went off and slept with somebody different every night - that's still not me. I've never been in that situation, going and having one-night stands and risky sexual behaviour."
