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Am I Addicted to Pornography?

http://curepornaddiction.me/2015/04/05/am-i-addicted-to-pornography-25-eye-opening-indicators/
by curepornaddiction

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Judge for yourself. 

Take the FREE Pornography Screening Test, and You decide whether or not you have an addiction.

As you keep reading this article, you discover behaviors that linked to pornography addiction. You begin to wonder: Do I need to make a decision to change?

Am I Addicted to Pornography?

I assume that you care about using pornography, or else you would not be reading this Blog.  You may be alarmed at how much time and money you have spent for sexual entertainment.

Perhaps, you are wondering if you have an addiction.

In Patrick Carnes’ book In the Shadows of the Net; Breaking Free of Compulsive Online Sexual Behavior, he presents a Screening Test on internet sexual behaviors.

The test indicates behaviors that are sexually problematic.

Now, honestly rate each of the 25 indicators.  You just mark true (t) or false (f) for each statement.  A true answer is more so than false.  A false answer is more so than true. At the end of the test, you will be instructed how to determine the results.

Now, take the test with a heart-felt effort.

Pornography Screening Test

25 Indicators That May Reveal a Pornography Addiction

___1 I have had porn sites bookmarked.

___2 I have spent more than five hours per week online viewing pornography.

___3 I have joined porn sites for sexual merchandise.

___4 I have bought porn products online.

___5 I have searched the internet using porn products as key words to find more pornography.

___6 I have spent more money on pornography than I originally had intended to spend.

___7 Pornography has interfered with other areas of my life.

___8 I have visited chat rooms.

___9 I have used a sexual nickname as a username for porn Web sites.

___10 I have masturbated while surfing online for porn sites.

___11 I have viewed and retrieved pornography on computers that I don’t own.

___12 I have kept online pornography a secret.

___13 I have attempted to hide my screen or monitor from others while I view porn.

___14 I have stayed up later than midnight to view porn sites.

___15 I have uses porn sites to learn how to do various facets of sexuality such as anal sex, bondage, and homosexuality.

___16 I own a Web site that includes explicit sexual material.

___17 I have promised myself to stop viewing pornography.

___18 I have used pornography as a reward for accomplishing a goal or finishing a task.

___19 I feel disappointed, angry, and anxious when I am unable to view pornography.

___20 I have given out my phone number, name, and even met people offline.

___21 I have cancelled pornography subscriptions or taken time-outs as a way to punish myself for viewing too much porn.

___22 I have had a face-to-face romantic relationship with someone offline whom I met online.

___23 I have had conversations online with others using sexual innuendos and humor.

___24 I have come across illegal sexual material online and considered purchasing it.

___25 I think that I am a sex addict.

Total responses for “true” ____: Total responses for “false” ____.

At this point, you tally how many statements that you marked “true.”

A previous study of 935 individuals found that people who  chose 19 statements as true had problematic sexual behaviors (Carnes & et al., 2001, p.p. 26 – 28).

If you do not like what you discovered about your usage of pornography, perhaps, you may want to find a therapist certified in sexual therapy or a 12-step support group.  12-step programs use sponsors to assist people in recovery.

Judge for yourself if you need a change.

Decide and act today.

Thanks,

Dale Criswell

P.S.  During recovery, you take small steps at a time; answering, what next?

Reference

Carnes, P., Delmonico, D. L., Griffin, E., & Moriarity, J. M. (2001). In the shadows of the net; breaking free of compulsive online sexual behavior. p. 26 – 28. Center City; Minnesota: Hazelden Foundation.  Retrieve from:

 http://www.amazon.com/In-Shadows-Net-Breaking-Compulsive/dp/1592854788.  

 

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Castimonia Purity Podcast Episode 40: Interview with Dr. Milton Magness and Marsha Means Part 1

Marsha Means and Dr. Magness are co-authoring a new book that is designed to be a resource for therapist, addicts, spouses and family. Their new book “Real Hope/True Freedom: Understanding and Coping with Sex Addiction” is designed in a “FAQ” format to be a resource.

In this podcast they discuss the book as well as practical advice for recovery and spousal support. The share from their vast personal experience working with couples, addicts, and spouses.

This is a 2 part series, so make sure to listen to episode 41 to get the “rest of the story”.

For more information on the work of Marsha Means, please visit acircleofjoy.com, and to learn more about the work of Dr. Magness, please visit hopeandfreedom.com or listen to his previous podcast.

As always, email us at puritypodcast@castimonia.org for more information!

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Group Therapy

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Setting Boundaries On Marital Submission

Ephesians 5:21 – ““Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.””

Whenever I (Dr. Townsend) talk about a wife setting boundaries in marriage, someone asks about the biblical idea of submission. What follows is not a full treatise on submission, but some general issues you should keep in mind.

First, both husbands and wives are supposed to practice submission, not just wives. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (see Ephesians 5:21). Submission is always the free choice of one party to another. Wives choose to submit to their husbands, and husbands choose to submit to their wives.

Christ’s relationship with the church is a picture of how a husband and wife should relate: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (see Ephesians 5:24–27).

Whenever submission issues are raised, the first question that needs to be asked is: what is the nature of the marital relationship? Is the husband’s relationship with his wife similar to Christ’s relationship with the church? Does she have free choice, or is she a slave “under the law”? Many marital problems arise when a husband tries to keep his wife “under the law,” and she feels all the emotions the Bible promises the law will bring: wrath, guilt, insecurity, and alienation (see Romans 4:15; Galatians 5:4).

Freedom is one issue that needs to be examined; grace is another. Is the husband’s relationship with his wife full of grace and unconditional love? Is she in a position of “no condemnation” as the church is (see Romans 8:1), or does her husband fail to “wash her” of all guilt? Usually husbands who quote Ephesians 5 turn their wives into slaves and condemn them for not submitting. If she incurs wrath or condemnation for not submitting, she and her husband do not have a grace-filled Christian marriage; they have a marriage “under the law.”

Often, the husband is trying to get his wife to do something that either is hurtful or takes away her will. Both of these actions are sins against himself. “Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church” (see Ephesians 5:28–29).

Given this, the idea of slave-like submission is impossible to hold. Christ never takes away our will or asks us to do something hurtful. He never pushes us past our limits. He never uses us as objects. Christ “gave himself up” for us. He takes care of us as he would his own body.

I have never seen a “submission problem” that did not have a controlling husband at its root. When the wife begins to set clear boundaries in marriage, the lack of Christlikeness in a controlling husband becomes evident because the wife is no longer enabling his immature behavior. She is confronting the truth and setting biblical limits on hurtful behavior. Often, when the wife sets boundaries, the husband begins to grow up.

Today’s content is drawn from Boundaries In Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. Copyright 2014 by Zondervan; all rights reserved. Visit BoundariesBooks.com for more information.

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Castimonia Purity Podcast Episode 39B: Chris’ Testimony – Pornography Addiction

Part B – Chris walks through the second part of his testimony. We get to see what recovery tools became crucial to his healing.

We appreciate his honesty and openess, and our hope is that we can all identify with areas of his story in a way that leads us to a better self.

For more information, please contact us at
puritypodcast@castimonia.org