Aaron McDannell, CCAR Certified Recovery Coach
Like a lot of sex addicts, my addiction started very young, and progressively got worse over decades. Each time it escalated, I doubled down on the idea that I was never, ever going to tell anyone. On the outside, I was projecting an idyllic life to the world. I had a family, a successful career in television, a nice home in Brooklyn and beautiful family vacation photos. On the inside I was miserable. Worse yet, I was so used to being miserable I couldn’t see how miserable I was. And then, finally, my addiction was forced out into the light. It was the worst day of my life. In what felt like an instant, I was out of my home, my marriage was in shambles, my career seemed to be over and I wasn’t sure if I’d see my daughter again.
It was also the best day of my life. It finally set me on a path to recovery. Stunned, suicidal and hopeless, I got myself into recovery meetings and treatment. I did the work. I gained a community of fellow recovering addicts. Slowly, I built back trust with my wife and rebuilt my relationship with my daughter. After some time, and some serious soul searching about the impact of my former career on my mental and emotional health, I found myself working at a sex addiction treatment facility. It was there that I became a certified recovery coach and discovered the healing power of helping others heal from this terrible disease.
After a three year separation, I reconciled with my wife and moved back home. We are now living a beautiful life, filled with recovery, friends, the outdoors and lots of love, with our daughter and two dogs in Boulder, Colorado.
When not working, Aaron can usually be found exploring the backcountry with his dog Hazel in Colorado and beyond.