• Do you spend more time viewing pornography than you do interacting with friends and family?
• Do you feel like your sexual behavior is controlling you, instead of you controlling it? (Who’s in charge?)
• Do you decide that you’re going to quit looking at pornography, and then later change your mind?
• Do you resort to viewing pornography to escape problems, relieve anxiety, or because you can’t cope?
• Do you feel guilt, remorse, anger or depression after viewing pornography?
• Is the amount of time you spend viewing pornography increasing or taking the place of things you should be doing?
• Is your desire to view pornography getting stronger and stronger? Do you spend more time viewing pornography than you did a year ago?
• Do you feel the “right relationship” would help you stop lusting, masturbating, or being so promiscuous? In other words, do you feel you can’t control this problem alone?
• Are you less connected with important aspects of your life, such as friends, work, school and family responsibilities, because of the role pornography plays in your life?
• Is emotional intimacy absent from the relationships in your life?
• Do you plan your day so that you can make sure that there will be an opportunity to view pornography?
• Does viewing pornography ever take priority over things which you’re expected or need to get done?
The more ‘yes’ answers you have to the above questions, the more serious your problem with pornography is.
Do you relate?
Do you relate to the statements below?
• I can stop anytime I want to.
The truth: I have tried multiple times to stop. I need help to quit this problem.
• One more time won’t hurt.
The truth: One more time means that I am continuing this problem and not quitting.
• I will stop when I get a girlfriend/start college/get married/have less stress in my life.
The truth: regardless of what is happening in my live, this problem will continue.
• This is how I release stress and it’s not hurting anyone.
The truth: It has destroyed my ability to have a honest relationship with my friends and family, it has damaged my self esteem, it has warped my view of the world around me. It is unhealthy on every level – sexual, emotional, physical, spiritual, interpersonally, etc.