One Thing I've Learned

If there is one thing I've learned recently, it is that the phrase, "Victimless Crime," and "I'm not hurting anyone" are both FALSE. If anything you are hurting yourself. Above all it hurts God and your partner, if you have one.

Forgive me for using a somewhat inappropriate picture, but I think it does the job well. Addiction hurts our family, whether it is a sex, drugs, food, or any other addiction. Now I'm not saying that it is easy to remember that our addictions don't affect others, because it is definitely not!

From the non-profit organization Fight the New Drug's website, I read the following in the section Porn Hurts Your Partner:

"...emotional pain can run much deeper than having a bad time in bed. Since women in our culture typically expect their intimate relationships to be built on trust, respect, honesty, and love, when a woman learns that her partner is using porn—which typically glorifies the opposite: disrespect, abuse, aggression, and infidelity—it can not only damage the trust she has in her partner, but also shake the foundation of everything she believed about her relationship."

Partners, especially women, find it very difficult to deal with the disclosure of porn usage; it is much worse to not tell them though, and to have them find out another way!

Remember that addiction is not a "victimless crime" and that we do hurt other people by using our addiction.