Anorexia

As an eating disorder, anorexia is defined as the compulsive avoidance of food. In the area of sex and love, anorexia has a similar definition: Anorexia is the compulsive avoidance of giving or receiving social, sexual or emotional nourishment.

Below are 10 of 50 questions excerpted from the pamphlet Anorexia: Sexual, Social, Emotional. There is no score for these questions. Your own instinct will tell you to what degree they apply to you.

1.  Do you go for long periods without being involved in a sexual or romantic relationship?
2.  Do you go without social activities for extended periods of time?
3.  Although in a relationship, have you found that, for a long while, you have not experienced: romance? sexuality? intimacy? friendship?
4.  Are you alone more than you want, but feel unable to change that?
5.  At work do you have trouble developing relationships, talk only when absolutely necessary, or hide out in the work?
6.  Do you avoid relationships with a certain gender?
7.  Do you stay aloof when in groups?
8.  Are you afraid of being noticed?
9.  Does being in the presence of others exhaust you, even if you like them?
10.  Do you habitually panic or push people away when they start getting too close?

©1992 The Augustine Fellowship, S.L.A.A., Fellowship-Wide Services, Inc.
Excerpt from Anorexia: Sexual, Social, Emotional

Anorexia with Sex and Love Addiction

In 2004, the Conference Anorexia Committee sent a questionnaire to members of S.L.A.A. in an effort to explore how the concept of anorexia ties in with sex and love addiction. The answers were complied and categorized several sections such as Hang Ups (Fear), Addictive and Deprivation Behaviors, Poor Self-Esteem, Depression and Anxiety, Trauma in Early Family Life, and Avoidance of Intimacy.

Read responses to the questionnaire Does anorexia tie in with your love and sex addiction? If so, how?

What to Do Now?

If enough questions seem to apply to you, or you want to explore the concept of anorexia as it applies to your sex and love addiction, there are several resources available to you while working your program of recovery.

• Read Literature
  • What is Anorexia in S.L.A.A.? (pdf)
  • Am I Anorexic? 50 Questions for Self-Diagnosis (pdf)
  • Anorexia: Sexual, Social, Emotional (pamphlet)
  • Anorexia 1-2-3: Working the Program not the Problem (booklet)
  • Articles from the Journal: Stories with an Anorexia Focus (booklet)
• Attend Meetings
  • View the Meeting Schedule and attend a meeting with an anorexia focus.
  • If there isn’t an anorexia meeting near you, consider starting one. The Anorexia Meeting Starter Kit will help provide the materials you need.
  • Share in meetings and with your sponsor and recovery partners about your experience, strength, and hope around anorexia and working your program.
• Other Suggestions
  • Contact the Conference Anorexia Committee for more information and to find ways to help carry the message that sexual, social, and/or emotional anorexia are an inherent part of sex and love addiction as a whole.