Struggler

[Struggler]

How do I break porn addiction and remove email addresses from porn accounts.

[AnOrangeCat]

Aside from prayer I'd recommend treating it like an addiction. Support groups incorporate the element of accountability to help people overcome addictions and bad habits.

Ease of access is another thing that greatly affects addictions. Someone trying to break an addiction to drugs or alcohol wouldn't be doing themselves a favor if their addiction only involved walking from one part of the house to another to get their fix. Routers, browsers, and so on can be set to block certain sites, and it's password protected.

Some people have found it useful to keep a reminder of why they're fighting the addiction nearby so they can't help but think of that when they sit down to indulge.

In short the more you do to make it difficult and give yourself time to think the easier a time you'll have in dealing with the addiction.

[johnthebaptist]

21 hours ago, Struggler said:

How do I break porn addiction and remove email addresses from porn accounts.

Stop looking at it and stop thinking about it.

[Tristen]

Before and During sin (yes – even during)

Use the Word of God to replace the lies of sin (2 Corinthians 10:5). For example;

I am free because my Lord has made me “free indeed” (John 8:36). Jesus is with me – He “will never leave … nor forsake” me (Hebrews 13:5) and “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Jesus is the “truth” (John 14:6) and the truth makes me free (John 8:32).

Thank you Father that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin” (1 John 1:7). I am “the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). I am a “slave to righteousness” “having been set free from sin” (Romans 6:18). “For sin shall not have dominion over” me (Romans 6:14) as I am more than a conqueror (i.e. a super-conqueror) through Him who loves me (Romans 8:37).

1 Corinthians 15:57 - But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

 

After sin

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Do not waste any time in self-condemnation. That is the trap of our enemy – to tempt us into sin, then use that sin to keep us from God. This scripture tells us to come straight to God with confidence/boldness when we need “mercy” and “grace”.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us

Philippians 3:13-14 - Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

[Starise]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:17 PM, Struggler said:

How do I break porn addiction and remove email addresses from porn accounts.

I am not proud to tell you that I was at one time addicted to porn. For me it started to look more like a works based life because I might go for a month or two and never do it. Then one day at a weak moment in my life I would be down, depressed and sitting in front of my computer. It might start with me seeing something in an advertisement on YouTube or a skimpy dressed woman on a movie, then before you knew it I had tapped into all kinds of bad stuff. The hard thing about this addiction is anyone with average intelligence can access all of the free porn they want. It's like telling a heroin addict he can have all the free heroin he wants. Once I started into it I felt so BAD for days or weeks afterwards. I was never one to subscribe to it. I always got everything I wanted free.

I based my value on whether I did it or not which was probably the wrong thing to do. If I didn't do it I was a "good christian". If I did it , I hated myself. 

Since I didn't subscribe to porn, the only bad email I ever got went right into my spam account and I never went to those emails, nor did I ever pursue real people. It was all in my mind, but it was very damaging over time. There would be times when I would get caught up into a "binge" and couldn't get enough. Then I would feel VERY guilty, confess it but still feel really bad long after that. Every time I did it I confessed it to the Lord and determined myself to never do it again, yet I fell many times after that.

I finally just got SICK of it. I hated it. I hated myself and I hated what it was doing to me. I asked the Lord to do whatever He had to do in order to make sure it was gone from my life. It wasn't an immediate thing for me. It took some time but FINALLY The Lord delivered me from it. Don't give up. Keep asking God to release you from it and He will change events to stop you or make you hate it same as me.

While I appreciate the above efforts mentioned I don't think any of those would have stopped me from it. I can get around browser defenses in a split second. One thing that helped me was to find other interests to take my time. If my wife was away I would go find work that isn't computer related to do. 

I am only a few keystrokes from dong it again and I am on computers all the time, but I no longer have the inclination to do it. Part of that was seeing the sin for what it really is. Most of it was begging God for help. God had to do some pretty drastic things to me for me to back away from it. He also changed me on the inside. 

Prayer and Bible reading. Fellowship with other believers helps. Getting in the wrong company will make things worse. Sadly I have found that there aren't many support groups in my local area. It's a touchy thing that many men really don't want to expose, especially if they are Christians. Women are also doing it. In either case the same things apply. Not everyone is the same. I didn't really want a support group to deal with it. I was able to ask Jesus and He helped me. Support group optional.

[Henry_iain]

22 minutes ago, Starise said:

While I appreciate the above efforts mentioned I don't think any of those would have stopped me from it. I can get around browser defenses in a split second. One thing that helped me was to find other interests to take my time. If my wife was away I would go find work that isn't computer related to do. 

I am only a few keystrokes from dong it again and I am on computers all the time, but I no longer have the inclination to do it. Part of that was seeing the sin for what it really is. Most of it was begging God for help. God had to do some pretty drastic things to me for me to back away from it. He also changed me on the inside. 

I liked this whole post, but these parts resonated with me the most.

Addictions are hard to overcome. Some people find it easier to stop than others.  But it is possible. I have read many books, tried all kinds of programmes but none of them worked. Things that worked for me: staying busy, accountability and most importantly, as Starise said, being changed on the inside. You see, one thing I finally realised is that one of the reasons it was so hard to stop was because I was trying to deal with the symptoms rather than the root cause, which is my own sinful nature.  Once I realised that, I realised that I didn't just need behaviour change, I needed transformation on the inside. And only God can do that. So, pray and don't stop praying. I will pray with you. If anyone else is also struggling with this, let me know, I will pray with you. I know how hard it is. I still wish I could go back to that first time when I was just a curious teenager. 

[GandalfTheWise]

A couple of good posts from @Starise and @Henry_iain here.

Oversimplifying things, there are two aspects to dealing with addictions.  

The first is mitigating damage from it.  In other words, take steps to limit the damage.  For example, if you are addicted to gambling, make sure someone else has control of your credit cards etc. to prevent you from spending money on it and going deeper into debt.  Passwords, internet filters, accountability, etc. are means of doing this with online porn.  This can make occurrences of bad behavior decrease but they don't eliminate the underlying cause.  

The second is dealing with the root spiritual and emotional causes of things.  This often requires some type of spiritual healing.  Sometimes the root cause is simple exposure at an impressionable age; sometimes the root cause might be related to abuse or other such things.   I've heard some testimonies where this was an instantaneous thing and I've heard others where it involved counseling and time.   The common thread in the success stories I've heard is following God's leading for dealing with root causes of things.  

 

[ReneeIW]

You have already received excellent advice. Just wanted to add that if it’s an actual addiction, I would treat it as such. You may benefit from reading the book titled “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.” You can find the PDF free online. Although it’s about alcohol addiction, the steps are applicable  to addiction in general. 

I would pray all day long, even after you have given into temptation.  Continue to ask for help and forgiveness. The fact that you feel guilty about it  and want to change has to be coming from a spiritual place; which hopefully means that same spirit will lead you to recovery.

And if you can confess it to someone you know who can hold you accountable, that may help as well. That has always helped me with things I’m struggling with.

”Confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.”

Edited November 12, 2020 by ReneeIW

[Starise]

3 hours ago, GandalfTheWise said:

The common thread in the success stories I've heard is following God's leading for dealing with root causes of things.  

This is wonderful advice. For me, I was tempted more in moments of weakness when I was physically and spiritually tired. I felt hopeless inside. I just wanted to feel good, even if it was only for a short time. I knew it would make me feel good, would be fun for a little while, but I ALWAYS payed a price for it. It was SIN.

Guilt, depression, relational issues in my marriage and plenty of other really bad things. I mean, it's the sin of adultery. One of the ten commandments we are told NOT to do. At the time I didn't want to see it that way. Jesus said to even look on a woman with lust is the same as committing adultery. 

This is how I internally tried to justify it. By telling myself I wasn't hurting anyone. I was doing something private. It was only a movie or a picture and besides I wasn't  like one of those perverts that looks at kids or crazy stuff, but really I was no better than they were. We were both sinning. This is how we attempt to justify it so we can keep doing it and not feel as guilty. But it never really worked and eventually God brought me around. I can be driving down the road and see a scantily dressed girl jogging by in the corner of my eye and never even turn my head now. It's a miracle from God. It really is.

Now "if" it was somehow pushed right in my face I admit that might be more of a struggle. I would hope the Lord would take it away because I am still a man. And this is exactly what happened to me in the beginning when I was younger with hormones raging the devil made sure it was available to me. I was still the SINNER here but the availablity of it didn't help.Take the normal sex drive of a young man and add porno to that. It's like adding a rocket engine to a bicycle. It enhances it in all the wrong ways. I was one of those boys who went right to the women's underwear section of the Sears catalog ( remember those?). My other buds didn't seem to have it quite that bad. I'm not making excuses here, just being frank about how it all came about.

[JohnD]

On 11/3/2020 at 7:17 PM, Struggler said:

How do I break porn addiction and remove email addresses from porn accounts.

This is the best of times and the worst of times to live as a Christian male.

Our flesh (which craves flesh) is overrun with flesh to lust after virtually everywhere you go. Nudity is everywhere (according to the Bible which includes... well read Isaiah 47:1-3). It's everywhere and everyone (in the flesh) thinks it's okay and even their right to flaunt. 

In our spirit, all of the above is a disaster.

Proverbs 7 (AV)

1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot**, and subtil of heart.
11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

1 Corinthians 6 and I believe chapter 7 as well delves into this as being a particularly egregious temptation.

** I recall a preacher once spoke of how women's future fashions in the Church were currently on display in the red light district.

Not the victimless crime most believe it is...

Porn addiction is but an extreme eventuality to many (perhaps even most) males whipped into frenzies by lesser gateway porn (or acceptable women's fashions). Is it all women's fault? Absolutely not. But lust is a sin of both sides.