I’m a recovering porn addict. I have been for years. It started in highschool, as what I thought at the time was for recreation. Instead, it became a form of medication - or so I had hoped.

Porn is poison. It is not a remedy, nor is it an ally. Self-medicating with porn is like taking any other drug to numb the pain. Throughout most of my adolescence, I knew rejection and loneliness all too well. That was the pain that I sought to numb. That was the pain that I sought to escape.

You use more and more of a drug to drown the hurt, thinking you’ll be able to avoid the pain long enough until it disappears. But it does not work. Instead, you end up spiraling down and down the road of destruction where you end up hurting yourself even more.

Believe it or not, my downward spiral began with indulging in video games too much. Yes, that’s right. Video games. Before I became addicted to pornography, I used to spend hours a day plunging deep into the world of video games to help me with my sorrows. When I think about it, it sort of served as a gateway drug that led me to a worser drug: pornography.

When I started college, video games became boring and I had too much time on my hands. What I thought was a recreational activity in using porn soon became a habit, a daily routine, that then turned into a compulsion - a “need” that was never satisfied.

Please know that keeping busy and being plugged into a loving community really does help you avoid falling into a downward spiral – the vice trap.

Porn, just like any other vice, like alcohol and drugs, changes you. Indeed, it changes you from the inside out. I haven’t been myself, my true healthy self in a long time now. My body is weaker than it was before my addiction began and my mind is also slower.

Medicine - true medicine - heals, but porn will only harm you in the long run.

Unfortunately, harmful drugs give us pleasure in the short term while doling out damage in the long term, masking their destructive nature – like a predator that first lures and then consumes its prey.

I hate porn and all other vices. It is a thief, a liar, and a weapon used by the forces of evil to corrupt and ruin God’s creation.

Fortunately, I am becoming more and more free from the clutches of porn. You see, there is hope. I have been off it for a long time now. My overall health has improved, including my relationships. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention: Porn not only harms you but also the people around you.

This doesn’t mean I don’t have my lapses. I’m far from being perfect. But each time I fall, I get back up stronger than before. Undeniably, I am noticing positive changes.

I’m on a mission. I'm in the middle of a battle to achieve full recovery and freedom from porn, so I can be my best self who selflessly shares his gifts to the world. The thing is, no matter how hard I fight, I cannot win on my own. And, unfortunately, neither can you.

Having a strong support team of people who I could talk to as well as putting my faith in God has helped me a lot. A supportive community and my faith are my allies. They have picked me up countless times and have kept me going. They have and still are helping me heal.

These things are the real medicine that harmful drugs like porn can never be.

If you struggle with porn or with anything else, please know that you are not alone. Fill out the form below, and an experienced mentor will connect with you to help you on your journey of freedom.

This article was written by: anonymous