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August 2006 Foundation Newsletter |
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HELPING INDIVIDUALS STOP USING PORNOGRAPHY
Every day people from every facet of life are faced with problems which threaten to erode their family. Some of these problems are of their own making, but others are the result of a family member making wrong choices; such as a loved-one who is entangled in the trap of pornography. Caring family members try to cope with devastating situations, such as this one, by searching for support through others and by attempting to find resources and information that can offer some sort of guidance. The Mental Health Foundation was developed to fill this need by maintaining a library of resource material to help, not only family members, but also clergy, who will evidently be brought into the situation. A sister in Argentina shares her concern of pornography addiction: ...I visited the Mental Health Resource Foundation website by way of the LDS website...I am from Argentina and I have been married 3 years. I belong to a District in an area where the Church is not very strong, and sadly, a short time after moving here I found out my husband is addicted to pornography. She stated it was hard to face the situation on her own, without people who were knowledgeable about these issues. The letter indicated she spoke to her Church leaders, but none of them had any experience to enable them to provide the help she needed and, ...in fact sometimes they tried to undermine the seriousness of this horrible addiction.” Unfortunately, members of the Church around the world are in the same situation as this young couple. These concerns and other addiction problems inspired the Mental Health Resource Foundation to publish a guidebook on pornography addiction called, Helping Individuals Stop Using Pornography. This booklet is directed to (1) provide the essential steps to those who are helping others stop using pornography and (2) to assist clergy in organizing help for the pornography user. In helping someone overcome a pornography addiction, one must first understand the nature of pornography itself and the addiction pattern. The pornography guidebook defines pornography as the following: Pornography is a perversion of normal love and affection and it vulgarizes the sacred procreative power. |
Pornography addiction assaults the integrity and spirituality of an individual and it can destroy families and other relationships. Those who use pornography come from all walks of life. They may be from either gender, from any age group or from any level of church activity. Pornography is any type of sexually explicit picture, movie, book, music, electronic game, computer image, or anything else that promotes lust or inappropriate sexual behavior. Anyone can become addicted to pornography. The powerful nature of pornography creates a hormonal and emotional response. Sexual images and related sexual desires are stored in the memory. For man, these images and desires are very difficult to discard. Repetitive use of pornography literally changes the chemical patterns of the brain. Those who develop a pornography habit often follow a similar pattern to those found in other addictions. The characteristics of pornography addiction may include four phases: Initial pleasure, Escalation, Desensitization, and Severe Acting Out. The pace at which a pornography user proceeds through these phases varies. Not everyone who uses sexually explicit material will go through all four phases of the addiction pattern. The Internet provides private and immediate graphic sexual images and inappropriate sexual contacts. This can result in rapid progress through the phases of addiction, even with adolescents. The Internet is a powerful learning tool, but proper steps should be taken to help filter out the “filth” and pornography that can creep into your home unknowingly. A list of resources on Internet safety is listed on the Foundation’s website. For those who are trying to help someone struggling with pornography addiction can find support by reading the Helping Individuals Stop Using Pornography booklet. This guidebook is separated into three parts: 1) Checklist For Clergy A worksheet for the clergy to assist the caregiver. The worksheet is actually a checklist to help the clergy identify the necessary steps they need to take in order to help family members as they address the situation. These steps include:
2) Guide for Caregivers This Guide provides steps and necessary information for a caregiver to help someone stop using pornography. These include: Step One: Understanding the Problem. One can better understand the situation and problem by determining the level of involvement, determining the level |
of responsibility or denial, evaluating the individual’s spiritual strength, watching for associated concerns, and resolving concerns. Step Two: Develop a Personal Recovery Plan. This can be accomplished by teaching the consequences of pornography use, teaching God’s sacred purpose for sexual intimacy, outlining necessary behavior changes, committing the individual to stop, increasing spirituality and motivation in the user, having the individual resist temptations and triggers, studying written material, strengthening the family support group, encouraging involvement with community support groups, and scheduling follow-up visits. Step Three: Provide On-going Help to Strengthen Recovery. Continue regular contact with the suffering individual. Work through relapses, which will occur periodically. And be sure to implement accountability. Step Four: Dealing with Lack of Progress. This could be one of the most difficult steps. Confronting the lack of progress, selecting appropriate interventions, and encouraging increased involvement with support resources can help deal with the lack of progress an individual may be making. 3) Appendix Contains resources for the caregiver including:
You can find further support and more pornography and sex addiction resources on the Foundation’s website. SUCCESS STORIES AND FEEDBACK The Foundation is looking for success stories. How are we doing? If you have read a book or guidebook published by the Foundation and it has helped you or a loved one significantly, we would like to know about it. If you use the Foundation's website regularly to find needed resources on addictions, mental illness, parenting, etc. we would like feedback on how you used the resources or articles and all that you've learned and accomplished by using the website. Also, please let us know if the website led you to find the help or resources that you needed. Send feedback and comments to: info@mentalhealthlibrary.info |
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