·S5 E13
Relational Skills for Overcoming Sexual Addiction with Chris Coursey of Thrive Today
Episode Description
Addiction and unwanted sexual behaviors often feel like a mystery: “I don’t want this, but I keep doing it.” We sit down with Chris Coursey, co-founder and president of Thrive Today, to explore a different diagnosis for overcoming sexual addiction. Addiction, a maturity gap that forms when our brains never receive key relational skills. When these skills are missing, we don’t stop needing comfort, connection, or relief. We just reach for substitutes that work fast and fade faster.
We dig into the Life Model framework and the neuroscience of relational transformation, especially the difference between happiness and joy. Joy, as Chris and Dr. Jim Wilder define it, is “glad to be togetherness,” and it changes everything from fear-driven living to our ability to rest. We also discuss God’s "hessed", loyal love, and how recovery accelerates when we start to trust that God wills our good rather than demands performance.
From there, we get practical: emotional capacity, “enemy mode,” attachment pain, and how people can learn relational skills even as adults through practice and community. We connect these ideas to both sides of the healing journey, those fighting compulsive behaviors and those carrying betrayal trauma. If you want a Christian recovery conversation that blends spiritual formation, brain science, and real-world tools for change, this one will meet you where you are.
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Resources from this episode:
Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:
👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)