Thursday, September 7, 2017

Yes, Pornography IS an Addiction!! Random Resource ThuRsday

Yes, Pornography IS an Addiction!!


Do I have your attention now?  I mean it's easier to see something visually right like the picture above?

Yes, viewing pornography is an addiction.  And in this country (and around the world even) many don't view it as an addiction.  It's not harming anyone right?  So it can't be bad like drugs or alcohol, right?

Oh so very wrong.  Those who view porn do it to get the same release that say a cocaine user or alcohol user does.  Look at the picture above.  See how the brain responds with the dopamine in almost identical ways?  Look again!  Viewing porn actually releases more dopamine than some other addictions like cocaine, food, morphine.

And the thing is, our minds are wired to store visuals. So, unlike these other addictions which require an item to be inhaled, ingested, drunk, etc in order to product that high - a person addicted to porn can do it without needing an item.  Once a visual is stored in memory, one can retrieve it.  And with the visual is also stored what happened when the visual was first viewed.  And voila. How the cycle continues.

Pornography addictions is so vastly growing.  With the internet, we can pipe these images right onto our computers or ipads, or phones with only a small search.  It's so accessible and can be done right in the privacy of your own home.

But beware, like with other addictions, your need to have that high will increase. And often the urge to view porn and masturbate will come more often esp with triggers and users will often risk more to get that high.  Many a people have LOST THEIR JOBS from viewing porn at work.  Many a marriages have been destroyed because a man would rather masturbate than make love to his wife.

The human being was created to crave intimacy.  When those needs are not met, many turn to pornography.


We thrive on intimate interactions and relationships with others. When our need for intimacy is neglected, our lives seem unpredictable, hostile, and stressful. The desire to escape or take flight from this stress can be overwhelming. When these conditions are present, we’re more likely to seek sources of release through addictive, and often, abusive behaviors. Unfortunately, when the “vacation” from the stressful environment is over, we return to the same, if not worsened, conditions–the negative emotional environment in which we repeat our cycles of addiction.
“With sexual addiction, instant sexual gratification becomes the addict’s most important, all-consuming pursuit. Part of the elevated mood generated by the activity may involve risk. Special routines and patterns may be followed that increase excitement, usually concluding in a sexual event…over which the addict feels absolutely no control.” (P. 295 Darryl S. S. Inaba, Michael E. Holstein, William E. Cohen, Uppers, Downers, All Arounders, CNS Publications, Inc., July 2000, Edition Number: 4.)
Pornography is an illusionary solution to meet the intimate needs of any participant. It shortcuts the natural process of being physically, emotionally, and spiritually close to another. The sensations are superficial. The bitter irony is that pornography and the use of the Internet for sexual expression actually increases the likelihood of separation from others: the exact opposite of intimacy.




I think this visual is very telling.  Look at the search engine request figure.  Look at the misconceptions...it's OK because I'm over the age of 18 and it's not illegal right? I could actually give you lots more figures but I think you get the picture.  I got the visuals from http://pornographyaddiction.com.  It's loaded with information so please check it out and become educated.

Treatment for pornography addictions can be a tricky one.  But with attention growing about this, centers are really starting to take a much more aggressive approach with pornography addictions.  Just as a side note, recoveryBox was first created for pornography addictions and was later expanded to incorporate lots of other addictions.  In some areas, porn treatment centers are co-mingled with places where sex offenders are required to undergo treatment.  Be careful of where you select treatment. As with all programs, if it's not a good fit for you then find somewhere else.  But seek help!

And now I bring this full circle.  Why was this the Random Resource ThuRsday?  Because even possessing an item in the house can lead to a relapse and it's so easy.  So go clean out the attic!  The closet!  Wherever you have it stashed.  If you are not at the stage where you can clean it out because you feel too tempted then ask someone you trust to do it for you.

Check out next week's Random Resource ThuRsday where I offer ideas and resources to protect your eyes, hearts, self, family and children from pornography.

Want recoveryBox, the iPhone app for Addiction Recovery.  There are multiple sex addictions to select from.  See which one meets your needs and download it now.  Be accountable to someone!

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Porn Addiction Recovery App

Wanting to break free from a pornography addiction (porn) is not easy. Viewing porn creates the same chemical highs in the brain as using drugs or drinking alcohol. But the difference with porn is that once the images are viewed they are in your brain and you can retrieve them at will and thus recreating that high.

recoveryBox - the Addiction recovery iOS App

recoveryBox was created originally for those in recovery from a pornography or sex addiction.  There are different addictions that you can choose from such as Lust, Sex Addiction, Pornography, Voyeurism. These are there as suggestions of the types of habits that need to be broken (called your red lights).  But you can create your own type of addiction that would work better for you by creating your own custom red lights.

By tracking your good habits (green lights) as well as warning situations (yellow lights - people, places, and things) and triggers you can create a clear picture of what habits you have as well as need to break. Keep accountable with your sponsor or counselor or accountability partner. recoveryBox will let you know it's time to enter your daily lights as well will remind you to connect with your sponsor.

recoveryBox works well with a traditional 12 Step Program or Celebrate Recovery.  Try recoveryBox today. Available for any Apple iDevice.

Don't worry if the lights you see here don't match what you need help with. Customize the addiction to match what you need to track. Users will also want to track their triggers (also customizable) so that accountability partners/sponsors can get a good picture of what's going on.

Want to break the addiction? Accountability does work!

And remember, there are multiple sex addictions to choose from OR you can create your own custom
addiction to meet your specific needs.





Friday, September 1, 2017

How does recoveryBox help me break my addiction?



Wondering what recoveryBox is and if it can help you? Well, do you have an addiction, habit, hurt or hang-up that you want to break? If so, then recoveryBox is your toolbox for the iPhone (or iPad).


Designed for accountability, recoveryBox is an iPhone app toolset that facilitates tracking of daily life activities by easily breaking them down into your "lights". Breaking habits requires knowing why we do what we do, when do we do it and coming up with goals to break unhealthy behaviors. recoveryBox has the tools needed to help with addiction recovery.

recoveryBox is designed to work with any addiction: drugs, gambling, pornography, alcohol or customize your own specific to your needs!!






Use as much or as little of recoveryBox as you need. Visiting the How To Use Page will tell you more about the app but let's break it down.



1. Entering your daily lights (which are your daily routine activities). As you progress in recovery, you will see the number of green lights (healthy activities) increase as the number of yellow lights (warning light activities) and red lights (acting out) decrease.  

The idea is to focus on changing your habits but by being accountable (see step 3).

2. Track your triggers. Know what sets you off so that you can try and avoid. Customize your triggers.

3. Be accountable to either a sponsor or accountability partner. This is a simple step of sending a text or email to your sponsor directly from recoveryBox. Included in the accountability communication will be totals of your lights as well as reasons for yellow and red light activities. You can customize this too.  Being accountable is how the conversation gets started about what's really happening in your recovery.

4. Earn badges for your accomplishments! This is huge! Everyone needs affirmation when heading in the right track. Let recoveryBox help you by showing you progress and milestones not only for time being sober but for activities that are part of a healthy recovery.

5. Enter treatment goals. These goals can be developed by you, with a counselor, as part of a group or with your accountability partner or sponsor. And if desired, treatment goals can be linked to either a traditional 12 step program or Celebrate Recovery steps.

6. If you attend a traditional 12 step program or Celebrate recovery program, use recoveryBox to track which step you are in, journal while in that step as well as well as create goals. You can even switch back and forth between the wording for each step.

7. Sobriety Anniversary Date tracking is crucial to our recovery journey. See how long you have maintained your sobriety as well as set goals for a new sobriety date. recoveryBox will adjust your anniversary date if red lights are entered. Customize the sobriety date screen by adding a motivating picture of those you love.

There are lots of other tools that are part of recoveryBox: 
  • search daily lights with any customizable dates to find patterns,
  • pray the serenity prayer, 
  • access daily devotionals, 
  • motivators that can be customized to remind you to enter your daily lights as well as text/email your accountability partner/sponsor, 
  • customize the daily communication piece, 
  • customize how daily lights are entered, 
  • post badges as well as anniversary dates to Facebook or Twitter, 
  • find recoveryBox resources, 
  • communicate with recoveryBox staff right from the app regarding bugs or requesting new features,
  • share recoveryBox with friends directly from the app,
  • rate recoveryBox from the app so that others find hope in their recovery
Good luck!