Is The Church Clueless About Genuine Addiction?

[_Maksutov]

It gives them another handle for control.

[_Jesse Pinkman]

I see 'porn addiction' pop up every once in a while on Reddit as a topic, especially in r/relationships. I get the feeling there are a lot girlfriends and wives who reeeeeally don't like it when their menz knock one out. Makes 'em feel insecure or something. All of a sudden dudes are addicts.

But, then again, isn't sex addiction a thing? Sex addicts? I dunno. Ever since I turned 40-whatever I'm a monk. I'm calm like the morning dew settling gently on the blades of a dahlia. I'm a yogi.

- Doc

Again, I think that goes along with how masturbation is viewed. If you view masturbation as just a natural part of life, then knowing your husband is "knocking one out", as you say, is no big deal.

If you are taught that masturbation is a sin, and that after you get married, there should absolutely be no reason to masturbate anymore ever, then it causes an unhealthy view of sexual self esteem.

[_Jesse Pinkman]

It is simply amazing that there exists a sub-population in the US, in this day and age, that actually believes in porn addiction. If it exists at all, it is only in the minds of religionists who don't bother to learn the relevant facts, in other words; another Mormon-made malady.

Anyone who is the least bit interested in what clinical and social scientists have to say about this issues could quickly convince themselves that watching porn is not an addiction at all. American Psychological Association scientists estimate that between 50% and 99% of men, and 30% to 86% of women, watch porn*. Prevalent as it is, porn consumption has no discernible negative effects on society as a whole.

Data backing up such claims as made by the therapist in the article cited in the OP have been out there in the scientific literature, many readily available on line, for more than 15 years.

In continuing to preach and write about non-existent porn addiction, LDS Church leaders and media content generators do the the Church and its members a great disservice.

________________

*http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography.aspx

I think it's becoming the Church of Latter-day Prudes.

Becoming?

When hasn't it been?

[_Fiannan]

“Not everyone who uses pornography willfully is addicted to it,” points out Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “In fact, most young men and young women who struggle with pornography are not addicted. That is a very important distinction to make—not just for the parents, spouses, and leaders who desire to help but also for those who struggle with this problem.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2017/08/eigh ... y?lang=eng

[_Dr Exiled]

Thank you E. Oaks for pointing out the obvious. Now let's discuss why you think there are those who "struggle" and how the church compounds the problem by overreacting to the issue?

[_SuperDell]

I think it goes along with the Church's concept that masturbation is a sin. I think that is the most ridiculous thing in the world. There is nothing wrong with a young person exploring his/her own body. It is perfectly normal. And masturbation even after being sexually active is perfectly normal. The fact that the Church punishes people for masturbation branches over into other things like viewing porn. It becomes very easy to see how porn can be blamed for a lot of things that it really shouldn't be blamed for at all.

Baby steps, Jesse.

The Church has made tremendous progress on the issue of masturbation. Just a few decades ago, our leaders were instructing the youth to avoid spicy foods and even tying your hands to the bed post: https://www.cs.hmc.edu/~ivl/writing/quo ... ation.html

I'm just glad I belong to a Church whose leaders are in constant contact with God on these issues.

Yet they still proselyted among the Mexicans, Italians and others who use spice willingly.

[_DoubtingThomas]

There are some moral issues I have with the porn industry as far as how it can exploit men and women alike. .

Exploitation is a problem everywhere. The solution are laws that protect employees.

If all you or doing day-in and day-out is watching porn, then you have a problem. And you might need some counseling to deal with managing your priorities. But, no, I don't believe that watching porn is an addiction in the same sense that drinking or drug abuse can be.

Agree, but one can have to same problem for everything like watching Youtube all day.

[_Jesse Pinkman]

There are some moral issues I have with the porn industry as far as how it can exploit men and women alike. .

Exploitation is a problem everywhere. The solution are laws that protect employees.

If all you or doing day-in and day-out is watching porn, then you have a problem. And you might need some counseling to deal with managing your priorities. But, no, I don't believe that watching porn is an addiction in the same sense that drinking or drug abuse can be.

Agree, but one can have to same problem for everything like watching Youtube all day.

I completely agree with both of your comments.

And as an aside...when I was going through my divorce, my son was very depressed. It was summertime, and he literally watched YouTube all day. It was his way of escapism, and just not dealing with the issue.

A lot of times, these types of "addictive" behaviors are a sign of something else. There is usually an underlying cause. This actually applies to true addiction, such as drug addiction or alcohol addiction.

I know that the Church has sanctioned classes to be held for people going through addiction. I actually think that this could be a good thing. However, the teacher of these classes needs to be provided with some very specific professional training. I don't think that they necessarily need to be professional counselors, but I think that they should go through some training regarding how to help addicts before teaching a course about it. When I was a teen-ager, I was a member of a volunteer group called the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. I was a Teen Pregnancy Counselor. I obtained a certification from the health department before I was allowed to counsel my peers. It was a very informative course. We learned about various types of birth control, where you go for help if you become pregnant, etc. These types of courses are available.

Also, some of the best teachers of these types of classes would be former addicts..folks who have been through treatment and have come out successful on the other side. I have a lot of respect for my Aunt. She spent many years addicted to drugs. Now, she has completely turned her life around, and is getting her Masters degree at Chico State University to become a counselor specializing in drug addiction.

[_Jesse Pinkman]

This was mentioned in another thread, but another addiction which is becoming more prevalent in the Church is food addiction. This is a very real thing and one of the most difficult things to keep in check. You have to eat. But self medicating with food, particularly sugar, is a huge problem among Church members.

Sexual "sins" have always been a huge focus of the Church for as long as I can remember. It seems to me that there are a lot of other things that are much more important that the Church ignores in lieu of anything dealing with premarital or extramarital sex.

[_Wonhyo]

According to a well respected and prominent therapist, the answer is yes.

Marty Klein, in speaking to about 200 therapists and others who gathered for the Rocky Mountain Sex and Intimacy Summit:

Can pornography be an addiction?

Marty Klein says no. Take away an addict’s drugs, and witness their withdrawals — physical illness. Take away a frequent porn watcher’s porn, says Klein, and the person may at most act a bit “crabby.”

“It’s so disrespectful to genuine [drug] addiction to talk about porn addiction,” the sex therapist, author and public policy analyst said Friday in Salt Lake City.

Klein argued we live in such a “confused” atmosphere about sexuality that “porn is being blamed for problems that existed before porn.” He said clients he sees often blame porn as being the primary factor in their relationship or sex troubles, when deeper examination often finds another culprit.

Data do not demonstrate that the proliferation of online pornography since 2000 has caused an uptick in sexual assault, divorce or child exploitation and abuse rates, he said. All three numbers nationally have trended down since the start of the century and sudden growth of the internet.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2017/ ... ty-summit/

The only people who have any business labeling a behavior as an addiction would be duly licensed and qualified mental and behavioral health professionals. Our overuse of the term "addiction" renders it essentially meaningless.

We Mormons are good at creating bogeymen, moral panics, and inventing problems (or at least amplifying them).