When porn cravings hit, what do you do? Do you fight the porn addiction? Resist it? Try to just not think about it and distract yourself?
I’m here to tell you that none of these options work. At least not long-term. Willpower is finite. It runs out. To overcome porn addiction requires a completely different approach.
So what can you do instead? Today I’m going to give you 4 Simple Practices you can use when you face pornography addiction cravings.
So, imagine you’re experiencing an addiction craving or a trigger. What do you do? You need to build a habit of being aware of your mindset and what your brain is focused on. It’s easy to let your mind wander and fantasize before you even realize what’s happened. To get sober, you need to go from unconscious to conscious.
When we crave porn, drugs, alcohol - whatever it is - our limbic system, or the rewards-centered part of our brain is leading the show. We want to get our prefrontal cortex - the logical, moral director of our brain back online. In other words, we want to go from the “natural man” or “ego” running the show, to the soul or the light of Christ running the show.
To do this requires us to build new habits. It doesn’t come without effort on our part. But it isn’t about trying hard, it’s about trying right. It’s about centering our efforts on things that actually work.
Remember, porn addiction stems from resistance - our resistance to challenging emotions and to the truth within our souls that we want to live according to. We can’t quit porn by using the same mentality of resistance that got us there in the first place.
Instead, we build a mentality of acceptance - an acceptance that we’re addicted to porn? No. An acceptance of challenging emotions, pain, insecurities…and an acceptance of the truth within our souls that comes from God and acceptance of His love and help in all things - EVEN when we believe we don’t deserve it. We accept His grace to help us change. We surrender our weaknesses to Him.
So, what does this acceptance and surrender look like from a practical standpoint? We’re going to lay out 4 Simple Practices to help you get rid of porn addiction; practices that are aligned with this mentality of acceptance and surrender.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE EBOOK to help you break free from porn
Defining Addiction and Recovery PDF
Porn Recovery Coaching for Christians
Other Episodes to help you stop porn addiction:
What God Thinks of Porn Addicts
Living with Honesty and Accountability
I Had a Relapse with Porn | What Do I Do Now?
My Conversion and Porn Addiction Recovery Story