Why You Should Get Help For Your Pornography Problem

Pornography is one of the biggest problems in our world today. While you may think that this is an overstatement, the fact is that one prominent pornography website is viewed approximately 100 million times per day. It is not a problem that only affects adults, either. Just over half of preteen and teenage kids have viewed pornography. Some of them stumble on pornography as early as seven or eight years old. This is not okay! I have posted elsewhere about some of the problems that pornography causes, but will rehash some of them here briefly.

Pornography is harmful to you. Studies have shown that pornography affects even your brain. It does this by molding the way that your brain thinks. This is why, when you are a regular consumer of pornography, something random may seem to trigger you into thinking about the scene that you watched on the website you visited the other day. It also negatively affects your ability to relate to the opposite sex. It has been noted that "Pornography corrupts the ability to be intimate. It pulls consumers and producers in with the promise of intimacy, but fails to deliver the connection between two human beings." This is another way of saying that the intimacy that a person would experience with the opposite sex is lessened by the use of pornography. Furthermore, it is not in the best interest of anyone to continue with any addiction like pornography. If you are unable to put something down like pornography down, then it is even more imperative that you put it down!

Pornography is harmful to others. I have already mentioned how pornography degrades your ability to relate to people of the opposite sex. In other words, it affects your relationship to them, and not in a positive way. Pornography also affects other people in other ways. Women who know about their husband's pornography addiction often feel that they have to perform just like the women on the screen in order to get and keep their husband's attention. Women whose husbands have a pornography problem also often wonder why their husbands would rather spend time with women on a screen than with them. Parents who use pornography expose increase the risk of exposing their children to it, thus repeating the cycle with the next generation.

Pornography is harmful to those involved in the making of pornography. It also negatively affects the life of those involved in the porn industry. The average life expectancy of a porn star is only 37 years. Again, that is the life expectancy, not the career expectancy. Because of some of the effects the actions taken, female porn stars often have their lives cut short.

Pornography harms those of us who are not addicted to it. It harms us because it ultimately affects society as a whole. Since it affects the way that people think, it will cause them to look at others in society in a way that is less than how they should be viewed. In other words, it degrades most, if not all, women in society in the eyes of the person who views pornography. You may deny this, but it happens. As a former porn addict myself, I know firsthand that there is a difference between the way women are viewed while men use porn and when men are not using porn.

So why should you get help for your pornography addiction? Part of the reason is because of what I have said above. Pornography destroys lives so that one person can have a moment of pleasure. It doesn't have any major benefits. It is, in a sense, like smoking: it may bring you enjoyment for a moment, but it will only hurt you in the long run. There is ultimately a price to pay.

So what is the best way to get help for your porn addiction? There are tools out there that I have covered in this post. I will simply refer you to that page for more information on these great tools. To keep things simple, I will tell you one strategy that has worked for many, and worked for me when I was giving up pornography. It can be summarized in three simple words: CUT IT OFF! What I mean by this is simple: Whatever method(s) you use to consume pornography (ie, computer, phone, tablet, etc), make them as difficult to access as possible or get rid of them completely. Leave yourself no back door to get into these things. When Jesus spoke about the topic of lust, he said very plainly "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:29-30). Jesus wasn't speaking in a literal sense here, but figuratively he was saying that it is better to be without whatever is causing you to stumble than it is to stumble. It would be better to never use a computer again than to continue using pornography. People survived back then, and you can, too. Also, it is wise to utilize friends you know and trust (and who are not themselves addicted to pornography) during this process. It is easier when someone walks alongside you. Whatever the case, please get help for your pornography addiction.