Unfiltered: Real Talk About Sex & Love

096 - Coping, Fantasies, and Recovery: Finding a Healthy Path Forward

Episode Summary

Thanks for listening to Unfiltered: Real Talk about Sex and Love, with Ashley and Heather. On today’s episode, we answer the following questions: Listener feedback: I have gone through Unraveled and am currently starting a Betrayal & Beyond group at my church. Going through Unraveled was so amazing to help me process things and have a safe group of women that I could be honest with. Thanks so much for these tools you created. I still have thoughts about men that I was sexually intimate with before I got married. My husband and I are very honest about where we are and how we are doing in our healing journeys'. But I still find myself thinking about my ex's ... Is this a brain thing or spiritual tie that will always be there because of sex? What can I do to change this or work on it? Years after betrayal, I’m struggling with loneliness and sexual fantasy as a way to cope in a marriage that feels emotionally empty. Though I’ve stopped the behavior, I’m torn between protecting myself from further harm and pressure to reconcile for stability. How do you let go of coping fantasies, and how do you discern a healthy path forward when my marriage feels stuck between surviving and healing? I continue to relapse into old coping habits, like compulsive masturbation, fantasy, and unsafe sexual thoughts, despite counseling or accountability. How do I identify what triggers me and understand my old patterns, so I can take proactive steps to redirect these behaviors? If you have a question you’d like us to answer on Unfiltered email us at unfiltered@puredesire.org. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Episode Notes

Thanks for listening to Unfiltered: Real Talk about Sex and Love, with Ashley and Heather.

On today’s episode, we answer the following questions:

Listener feedback: I have gone through Unraveled and am currently starting a Betrayal & Beyond group at my church. Going through Unraveled was so amazing to help me process things and have a safe group of women that I could be honest with. Thanks so much for these tools you created.

I still have thoughts about men that I was sexually intimate with before I got married. My husband and I are very honest about where we are and how we are doing in our healing journeys'. But I still find myself thinking about my ex's ... Is this a brain thing or spiritual tie that will always be there because of sex? What can I do to change this or work on it?
Years after betrayal, I’m struggling with loneliness and sexual fantasy as a way to cope in a marriage that feels emotionally empty. Though I’ve stopped the behavior, I’m torn between protecting myself from further harm and pressure to reconcile for stability. How do you let go of coping fantasies, and how do you discern a healthy path forward when my marriage feels stuck between surviving and healing?
I continue to relapse into old coping habits, like compulsive masturbation, fantasy, and unsafe sexual thoughts, despite counseling or accountability. How do I identify what triggers me and understand my old patterns, so I can take proactive steps to redirect these behaviors?

If you have a question you’d like us to answer on Unfiltered email us at unfiltered@puredesire.org. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Resources:

Unraveled