11 Steps to keep Pornography Addiction from Ruining Your Life

Top of the Blue Ridge mountains

Welcome to my series on recovery. Those of you who know me well know the story of my journey through recovery. This series is meant for my brothers in my accountability group and anyone else seeking freedom from porn addiction. The photo used in this blog is one I took after climbing to the top of one of the Blue Ridge mountains. The hike was not easy, there was mud that day from previous rain so I got dirty, it was humid, it took lot of effort to get there, I even slipped and fell a few times, but I made it. This series will be similar to that hike. I'm going to take you, the reader on my journey through recovery and I will be sharing the secrets to my success.

"The Genesis"

One day I was on the way home from work and I was listening to a book about habits and it made me realize something. Although I had been leading young men in accountability groups for years I had never taken the time to teach my accountability group the habits I formed that led to me experiencing over a year and half of freedom after 10 years of being addicted to pornography. This is what lead me to this blog. I am going to chronicle everything that I did from start to finish that has led me to where I am right now in hopes that anyone reading this can replicate my actions and attain freedom. My journey was not easy, on the contrary there were some very painful moments, but in the end I was successful. Statistics show that it takes people an average of 2-5 years to overcome porn addiction. I am staring down my 6 year mark with no thought of looking back. I feel that I am going to get there and when I do I want you to know that you can and will get there as well. Along the way I'll also talk about other things in my life that I came to realize also contributed to my addiction. Things like like video games, food, and more.

The first thing I’d like to do is provide 11 steps I took to get on the road to sobriety. Each one of these steps will be detailed in a separate post. If you follow these steps, you will be able to understand the different mindsets that contributed to my breakthrough moments of recovery. Understanding this can help you figure out which action to take as you travel on the road to sobriety. 

11 Steps to keep Pornography Addiction from Ruining Your Life

1. Confront your reality 

This is the first step. It is all about being honest with yourself. You won't get anywhere if you don't face the facts. 

2. Realize there is hope

You aren't the 1st person to be addicted to porn and you won't be the last. If other people can break free then so can you.    

3. Decide if you want to be healed

How bad do you really want freedom?

4. Acknowledge who you are

At a certain point in my journey I had to clean out my closet. In this post I'll share my story, how doing this impacted me, and why you should do the same. 

5. Expose yourself

Light shines brightest in the dark.

6. Ask God to heal you

Ask any recovering addict and they'll tell you that everyone needs a higher power. Yes even Atheists. 

7. Seek forgiveness from those you've harmed

Unfortunately there are no victimless addictions. Our actions can have positive or negative consequences. It's time to consider those we've put in harms way by our actions.

8. Build lasting habits

Everything we do in life goes back to habits. In this post we'll learn how to build some helpful ones. This will help combat porn use. 

9. Find a good therapist or counselor

Sometimes you'll need someone to talk to outside of your circle of influence, but who should it be? Should you seek professional help? What's the best way to find the right therapist or counselor? We'll discover the answer to that question in this post. 

10. Join an accountability group

As humans we can't survive more than 3 minutes without air,  no more than 3 hours in extreme cold and heat, no more than 3 days without water, no more than 3 weeks without... well you get the point. Going through recovery is a journey and we need other people if we are to survive. Most porn addicts believe they can defeat this thing alone, but going at it alone is a recipe for failure. In this post I'll explain why. 

11. Never give up

This one seems obvious, but it's not to some people. Fighting this temptation can seem like the most hopeless fight you've ever been in. Those of you reading this that struggle know firsthand how challenging overcoming pornography addiction can be. It's important to have tools that will keep you going when you want to quit. In this post I'll explain what those are and how to use them.