Pornography and sexual addiction are growing rampant in our culture. No matter where you turn, magazine covers and other images break into our lives, objectifying women and men and teaching our children these images are acceptable. However, the fact remains, these harmful stereotypes are having a negative impact on our lives.
Today, research shows 68% of young men and 18% of young women are viewing porn at least once a week and those numbers are increasing. Because pornography is so easy to access, for anyone at any age, now is the time to take a stand against this devastating and damaging disease.
If you're struggling with porn addiction, make a change and claim back your life. To help you get started on the path of recovery, here are three important steps you can take today.
1. Create a network of support
Admitting you have a pornography addiction is a big step and one you need to make to move forward in your healing. Once you've acknowledged you have problem, it's important you find a support group, therapist or trusted individual you can speak openly with.
If you're reading this shaking your head and hesitating to find people to talk to about this, remember addiction thrives in shame. In a support group, with people who understand and relate to what you're going through, you can listen to others share their stories and insights on what they've learned during their recovery.
2. Make a plan of action
Once you've found a safe place you can open up in, create a plan of action. Your plan of action is to help you implement and develop new habits that will help you stay on track during your recovery.
This may feel like a tedious task, especially at the beginning, but setting up a plan of action is important for helping you create a new lifestyle, free of pornography. These new habits don't have to be major changes, nor should they be (you don't want to set yourself up to be discouraged), but they are here to assist you in goals.
Not sure what to include in your plan of action? Here are a few ideas: write in a journal daily, do some kind of community service or attend a support group once a week.
3. Practice positive self-talk
In addition to creating your plan of action, taking time each day to practice positive self-talk is also critical to your recovery. If you're constantly talking down to yourself and participating in other negative self-talk, you're going to sabotage your recovery efforts.
Make it a daily practice to say positive affirmations to yourself (silently or out loud) each morning, every night and throughout the day.
Recovery from this devastating addiction is possible. While you start your recovery and continue to move down the healing path, remember to be kind to yourself. Healing takes time. You're going to have your good and bad days (another reason why a support group or therapist is so important), and you need to have positive, uplifting reasons around to remind you why you're doing this.
