Jan 05, 2012
“My story is different than most women’s. Yes, my life has been affected by pornography. However it isn’t a boyfriend or spouse that has an addiction. I am the addict.” (Source: Good Women Project)
The typical pornography addict surfs the web for the latest images on their favorite site. They feed their unquenchable addiction and spend countless hours viewing sexually graphic images.
According to United Families International blog, out of any given three pornography web sites visitors, one is a woman. So pornography is not just a man’s problem--17% of women would describe themselves as “addicted” to pornography. Women face the same challenges of addiction as men.
One brave woman wrote about her addiction to pornography while on the road to recovery. Like other addicts, she was ashamed and disgusted and wrote about her challenge anonymously on goodwomenproject.com. Her addiction began with romance novels.
She began reading love stories, which seemed innocent. But after the short-lived story was over, she was left intrigued and unsatisfied. She dabbled in erotic literature but it didn’t satisfy her appetite either. It was then that she began viewing hard-core pornography.
After years of viewing, she realized she had an addiction. She said, “An addiction is a bad habit that you can’t stop on your own and your personal willpower isn’t enough to help you overcome.”
She commented that addiction took the joy out of life. She worked less and less; as a result she didn’t have enough money to pay bills or buy food. She stayed up all night and slept during the day. She viewed pornography constantly. Her family noticed the change. She was “living in a world of darkness.”
This woman watched a friend get arrested in a prostitution sting induced by pornography. She decided to change. She cut herself off from pornography. At 12-step meetings, and while working with a therapist and her ecclesiastical leader, she started to build a new life, free of pornography.
She notes, “I quit cold-turkey. And I suffered withdrawals. I didn’t sleep for about 3 weeks. I couldn’t think. I didn’t want to eat. All I did for those three weeks was pray, educate myself on addiction and recovery, and do the bare minimum to survive physically. There were moments of despair and hope, pain and joy, fear and love, and darkness and light. In the end I was stronger, more knowledgeable, lighter and above-all else: clean.”
Any sort of addiction stems from character weaknesses. We use things, such as pornography, as a coping mechanism to these problems. We want to lessen the pain and disappointment we feel in ourselves by numbing it with an addiction. This woman’s first-hand account is devastating but hopeful. And she is one of millions suffering from pornography addiction. She is recovering and has been clean for 10 months. There is hope for the addict.
How Can Net Nanny Help?
ContentWatch, makers of Net Nanny, will give a copy of its leading Internet Filter to any addict or addict’s family. Free.
Here’s how it works:
The addict should identify a sponsor (e.g. Ecclesiastical leader or spouse). Just like Alcoholics Anonymous, an addict needs a sponsor to go to for help.
The sponsor contacts ContentWatch to ask for a Sponsor Copy of Net Nanny. (email: dlyon@contentwatch.com) ContentWatch will donate a Sponsor Copy with a free twelve-month license.
The sponsor installs Net Nanny on the addict’s computer, and keeps the passwords and login credentials. If the addict needs access to Web sites that are being blocked, he or she needs to ask the sponsor for permission. The sponsor can administer requests remotely and no local access required.
Allen Warner
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