All you were doing was trying to have fun. But, in the pursuit of that fun, you found things that brought you a lot of pleasure. So, you started involving yourself in those activities. Everything went along fine for a while; you were having a good time and the people around you were having a good time. Then something happened that you didn’t expect.

At first you didn’t notice it; but you found yourself having to increase your efforts in order to have the same amount of fun. If it is sex, you had to try different things to get the same pleasure. If it is drinking or drugs, you had to take in more or stronger doses to get the same results. If it is gambling, you had to do it more often or take greater risks to get the same pleasure. It seems like all the things you do for fun require greater doses and more time for you to stay happy.

Another strange thing happened; when you tried to stop involving yourself in certain of these activities, you found you couldn’t stop. You promised yourself and your concerned friends that these activities were going to be the last time. But, you found that you just couldn’t help yourself. You discovered that you just couldn’t live without the pleasure you got from all these activities. Plus, others of your addicted friends kept contacting you and asking you to come back.

Deep down inside you know you are doing things that aren’t good for you. Even though you don’t like the feeling you get that you are no longer in control of your life and activities, you still find yourself staying involved in the addiction. As time continues to go by, your life starts to fall apart in certain areas. You start noticing that you are becoming a different person than you want to be. But, you still can’t stop the downward trend.

There is one major thing that keeps you from seeking help...some of your friends. Typically these friends don’t seem to mind heading in this direction. Every time you express concern to your friends or try to get out of the lifestyle, your friends keep encouraging you to stop worrying. They usually assure you that there is nothing wrong with the things you are doing.

The problem is, this kind of lifestyle just doesn’t seem normal to you. It has become obvious to you that something is wrong with some of the things you are doing. But, frequently, you won’t be able get any of these types of friends to agree with you. You may start thinking that it is just you that is wrong about this lifestyle. So, you may just shrug it off and keep on doing the things you have been doing.

You may try everything you can think of to make yourself feel better about it all. Some things help for awhile; but the nagging worries keep coming back. Finally you notice that some of your activities are getting a little bit perverted and twisted; that really bothers you a lot.