As part of my work as a Counselor specializing in Pornography Addiction Recovery, I'm always looking for news stories that can help my clients get a "reality check" on the facts about their porn use. One great misconception among most porn users is that their viewing is pretty much private and anonymous. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Today, EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING related to online searches and traffic is being tracked by someone, somewhere. Check out an article illustrating this very point—https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/porn-pornography-sites-internet-privacy-browsing-a9012871.html
The Porn-Focused Brain Doesn't Want to Be Distracted by the Facts
One of the great challenges with pornography viewing is that it radically alters the human brain—chemically, neurologically, emotionally and functionally. For more on the details of HOW porn changes the brain, check out two of my articles:
In essence, porn puts the brain into an "altered state" where the viewer doesn't care about God, marriage, family, consequences, the future, etc. All "it" cares about is the "here and now." What most viewers don't know or don't want to face is the fact that their porn use is being tracked by their ISP and often sold to other third-party companies.
The most heavy-consequence-laden tracking of all is when law enforcement gets involved. Over the years I've worked with a number of clients who became involved with underage teen porn—some knowingly and others by chance—and were pulled into online sting operations which resulted in their arrest and prosecution. These clients ALL ended up on the Sex Offender Registry List.
What Was I Thinking?!
Without exception, clients I've worked with who have faced legal, employment termination, divorce, financial and other consequences due to porn addiction, have all asked the same kinds of questions—"What was I thinking? How could I do something so stupid and careless? Why didn't I stop to think about the consequences?!" This is especially true with porn addicted men who are religious with a strong faith that is important to them. For example, I work with a lot of LDS men who struggle with porn addiction.
When you understand the neuroscience behind porn-use and how it radically alters the brain, there can only be one response to the question, "What was I thinking?"—You weren't—in fact, you couldn't! Pornography viewing puts the brain into what I call the "Porn Funnel" where logical reasoning and any thoughts of consequences are blocked out and tossed aside! To learn HOW this happens, check out my article—Your Brain On Porn—https://www.reclaimcounselingservices.com/your-brain-on-porn
If you or someone you love is hopelessly trapped in the Porn Funnel and sincerely searching for a way to break free, there is great hope! Find out HOW to Overcome Porn Addiction—https://www.reclaimcounselingservices.com/overcome-porn-sex-addiction