REAL Testimonies from REAL women of Betrayal Trauma Recovery
“Four years ago, I discovered my husband had been unfaithful for the entirety of our marriage. I had three young children and thought life as I knew it was over. It was, but what I didn’t know was that a new life was beginning. Recovery from betrayal trauma is a process. By God’s providence, I was guided to a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) who had years of experience working with couples who’s worlds were shattered by sex addiction. I surrendered myself to the recovery process & placed my trust in my therapist. My therapist guided me to support groups & people who shared their experience, strength, & hope with me. Finding other people had similar experiences as me made me feel less alone. Seeing people further down the road in recovery who had regained their serenity & their joy also brought me hope & gave me the strength to keep going. I was fortunate my spouse was willing to seek recovery as well. He, too, found recovery & support communities where he could heal & recover from his addiction. As we both healed, our marriage found healing & new life as well. I know the devastating blow & shame that sex addiction brings. But the blow is not the end. It is a beginning of something new. And possibly something better. Trust the process. Trust yourself & breathe.”
Rachel
“When I first learned about my husbands acting out, my world collapsed. I didn’t know what was real any more. Looking at photos of us & our family brought so much pain that I wanted to burn or delete all of my pictures & videos. I didn’t realize I could feel love & hate at the same time. I doubted if I could forgive him & rebuild our lives. I searched the internet for help & found very few groups or people who understood, until I was referred to a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) who was also certified to treat partners of sex addicts. We both ended up seeing a CSAT once a week & participated in group therapy & recovery groups. Five years later, our relationship is stronger & deeper than I could have dreamed. It didn’t happen overnight and though I have referred to it as “our miracle”, we worked hard on ourselves and as a couple to get here. It has definitely been worth it. People talk about the “gifts of recovery”, and I can attest to this! It’s hard to believe a marriage can actually be better after the devastation of sex addiction, but I can confidently say that it’s possible! There is hope if both of you are committed to being open, ruthlessly honest and willing to face reality at all costs and grow. In my experience, I believe we wouldn’t be together today without the support of my support group and knowledgeable therapist.”
Debbie