Porn Addiction Help

Do you feel completely out of control? You want to be a better person, but you can't? Are your "bad habits" impossible to break?

If you find yourself weak in any of these areas...

Hungry

Angry

Lonely

Tired

For H.A.L.T. to work, you need to review the triggers above. Almost all of your addictive behavior will be associated with one or more of those triggers.

Look back when you have had problems, look for the triggers.

If you keep yourself in a place of safety, take control of your triggers, avoid unnecessary stimulus and make Christ like living the center of your life, you can change and take control of these addiction.

In order to break an addiction, you need to have a proper goal system in place. Rather than simply saying, "I'm not going to ________ anymore," you need to say, "In order to help me not ..., I will do ... and ... and..." And then it is important to review and report on it on a regular basis. If you slip into the cycle of addiction again, it is important to identify why it happened, so that you can design your goals around the reasons for your acting out. For these reasons, the LDS Peer Help Groups have designed a Goal Setting Program. You will asked to record a long term goal (such as overcome an addiction, or anything else you might want) and three goals that will help you to achieve that this week (or however long of a consistent period you choose.) You will be asked to return and report on your goals each week and identify any reasons for any slip ups. This is all confidential and not viewed outside of site administration unless you request a peer mentor to view your progress. Register or Login.

The Recovery Program allows you to speak openly and confidentially with those that might be having the same struggles and find out what they are doing to overcome their addictions. You can also register or Login.

First Step - Addiction
The first change that happened was an addiction-effect. The porn-consumers got hooked. Once involved in pornographic materials, they kept coming back for more and still more…The pornography provided very exciting and powerful imagery which they frequently recalled to mind and elaborated on in their fantasies.
Once addicted, they could not throw off their dependence on the material by themselves, despite many negative consequences such as divorce, loss of family, and problems with the law (such as sexual assault, harassment or abuse of fellow employees).

…many of my most intelligent male patients appeared to be most vulnerable – perhaps because they had a greater capacity to fantasize, which heightened the intensity of the experience and made them more susceptible to being conditioned into an addiction.

…It is difficult for non-addicts to comprehend the totally driven nature or a sex addict. When the “wave” hits them, nothing can stand in the way of getting what they want, whether that be pornography accompanied by masturbation, sex from a prostitute, molesting a child, or raping a woman. These men are consumed by their appetite, regardless of the cost or consequences. Their addiction virtually rules their lives.

Step Two – Escalation
The second phase was an escalation-effect. With the passage of time, the addicted person required rougher, more explicit, more deviant…sexual material to get their “highs” and “sexual turn-ons.” It was reminiscent of individuals afflicted with drug addictions. Over time there is nearly always an increasing need for more of the stimulant to get the same initial effect.
…Their addiction and escalation were mainly due to the powerful sexual imagery in their minds, implanted there by the exposure to pornography.”

Third Phase – Desensitization
The third phase was desensitization. Material (in books, magazines, films/videos) which was originally perceived as shocking, taboo-breaking, illegal, repulsive, or immoral, in time came to be seen as acceptable and commonplace. The sexual activity depicted in pornography (no matter how anti-social or deviant) became legitimized. There was in increasing sense that “everybody does it” and this gave them permission to also do it, even though the activity was possibly illegal and contrary to their previous moral beliefs and personal standards.

Fourth Phase – Acting Out Sexually
The fourth phase was an increasing tendency to act out sexually the behaviors viewed in the pornography, including compulsive promiscuity, exhibitionism, group sex, voyeurism, frequenting massage parlors, have sex with minor children, rape, and inflicting pain on themselves or a partner during sex. This behavior frequently grew into a sexual addiction which they found themselves locked into and unable to change or reverse – no matter what the negative consequences were in their life.

• Sexual acting out despite serious consequences and repeated attempts at control
• Inability to stop (or powerlessness) despite adverse consequences, with frequent use of denial, rationalization, and minimization to hide the problem and the underlying shame.
• Neglect or sacrifice of important social, family, occupational, or recreational activities because of sexual behavior.
• An ongoing desire or effort to limit sexual behavior
• An inordinate amount of time spent in obtaining sex, being sexual, or recovering from sexual experience
• Risk taking
• Living a double life
• Decrease in one’s spiritual or religious life. A constant violation of one’s value system.
• Endangering one’s professional and family life