Shame and addiction in chemsex thrive in secrecy. The moment someone speaks about their struggle to another person, a therapist, or a recovery group, the grip of addiction and shame begin to loosen. Disclosure itself can trigger immediate healing without waiting for long-term therapy.
I've always posited that shame and addiction lives in secrecy. It needs secrecy in order to bloom. But as soon as you start to spread the light, as soon as you start to talk about it with another gay man or a therapist or someone like yourself or myself, from the very moment they begin to start talking about it, the healing begins. A lot of people think they have to be in therapy for years and, you know, before the healing happens. Right. But I'm of the school that healing can begin the moment you step into the room, the moment you start to tell another person. So it could be with us, like you and I, professionals, or it could be in meetings, in, you know, a 12-step meeting or a recovery group. But once they start to talk about it, all of a sudden, the addiction doesn't quite have the hold, and the shame isn't as deep as it was before they said something. So that's sort of the miracle that you bring to the world, that I bring to the world.
