Counseling for Sex and Porn Addiction in Culver City
Find freedom from sex and porn addiction through Christian counseling in Culver City.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36
Are destructive sexual thoughts, behaviors, or pornography addiction taking over your life? You might feel hopeless right now, but we are here to tell you that there is hope. Our sexual addiction and CSAT (Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist) Christian counselors offer therapeutic treatment methods that can help you eliminate unhealthy sexual behaviors and pornography usage, reducing their negative effects on your life and relationships.
The more often you commit a particular sin, the more habitual it becomes, until you feel hopelessly trapped. At Culver City Christian Counseling, we believe that through the redemption Christ offers, you can be free from the strong grasp of habitual sin in your life. We offer support and guidance on your journey of redemption.
Don’t try to overcome sexual addiction on your own. Call us today at 949-386-7179 to start the recovery process.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
949-386-7179
When considering how to quit porn, it’s crucial to understand the common signs and symptoms of addiction. Whether you have an addiction to alcohol, drugs, the Internet, gambling, or pornography, denial tends to be a powerful factor in preventing you from recognizing the problem and taking steps to get help.
Pornography is a highly addicting experience. While porn addiction is not yet recognized as an addiction by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), anti-porn advocates and mental health experts say that the addiction is real, or at least acknowledge that overuse of porn can cause significant problems in one’s life and relationships.
What exactly makes porn so addictive? There’s a key to its power: it’s in the brain’s release of dopamine when viewing explicit content.
Neurosurgeon Don Hilton explains: “[Any] addiction cannot develop without high, but brief, bursts of dopamine in response to an addictive substance or activity… Repeated experiences of reward (for example, consuming porn) become associated with the stimuli in the consumer’s environment that precede them.”
In other words, the brain secretes dopamine in response to the viewing of porn. Over time, with regular consumption of pornographic material, the brain becomes conditioned to receiving these stimuli, leading to cravings for the material and dependence on its use. This process or cycle functions in the brain very similarly to other addictions such as alcohol or gambling addictions.
So if you are a regular consumer of pornography, does that make you an addict? Porn use is so widespread that it can seem almost universal (although that’s not the case). Because porn is so widely consumed, it can be easy to assume that you don’t have a problem with it; after all, everyone’s watching porn, right? How bad can it be?
But don’t be fooled. Porn addiction is real, and it can wreak havoc in your life. If you’re reading this article, either you or perhaps your spouse may be suffering from some of the following symptoms. If some of these ring true for you, consider whether your use of porn has crossed the line into addiction:
- Your use of pornography is damaging your relationships.
- You spend more time watching porn than on necessary activities or things you used to be interested in.
- You hide or lie about your porn use.
- You make multiple efforts to reduce or eliminate your porn use but are unsuccessful.
- Your porn use is negatively affecting your life, causing you to engage in risky behaviors or affecting your relationships, school or job performance, etc.
- You constantly think about porn and plan when you will next be able to watch it.
- You experience excitement and stimulation before and during the use of porn, and shame and remorse afterward.
Repeatedly attempting to stop a destructive behavior, but continuing to become ensnared in the cycle, is a common pattern of addictive behavior (see above). You are not alone in this struggle, and seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Professional Christian counseling can make all the difference as you seek freedom from an activity that has such a strong hold on your mind and life.
Many people struggle with the devastating effects of pornography addiction. Recognizing the problem and taking steps to get help requires courage and determination. The journey of overcoming porn addiction will be difficult, but it’s definitely not impossible. There is hope!
At Culver City Christian Counseling, we offer treatment options for sex and porn addiction based on your individual situation. Pornography rewires your brain in certain ways, but it’s possible to reprogram your mind in order to escape the addiction.
In Christian counseling for porn addiction, the goal is not to remove the temptation to view pornography, but to avoid the consumption itself. You may struggle with the temptation for a long time, but our Christian counselors provide support and treatment to help you learn to deal with the temptation while not giving in.
Over time, your brain can detox from the stimuli produced by porn addiction, and you will be able to enjoy a life free from addiction and shame.
Discovering your spouse’s secret porn addiction can feel just as painful as discovering they’ve committed adultery. You’ve probably been experiencing the negative effects of the addiction in your relationship with them, possibly without suspecting what the real problem is.
Men’s use of porn tends to decrease intimacy in their real-life relationships. Frequent use of porn by men in relationships is also linked to emotional withdrawal, secrecy, and increased levels of depression.
So if you’re married to a porn addict, you might have been experiencing decreased physical and emotional intimacy for a long time. Your spouse was keeping secrets from you, and they themselves were experiencing the negative effects of porn addiction on their mood and everyday life, which inevitably impact you as well.
Now that the secret has been brought into the light, probably in a painful series of events, you are grieving over the revelation. Or perhaps you have known about the problem for a long time, and you’re losing hope that things will ever change. Your emotions might range from denial to anger, sadness, and other overwhelming feelings.
It’s important to take care of yourself physically and emotionally as you consider how to respond to your spouse’s addiction. If you feel that your mental health is being affected, don’t hesitate to seek individual Christian counseling to process your experience and receive guidance for what to do next.
If your spouse is willing to seek counseling themselves, this is an encouraging sign. Christian counseling in Culver City offers treatment options for sex and porn addiction in a supportive, faith-based environment.
What if your spouse is not willing to seek treatment? This is a difficult path for you to walk, and a Christian counselor can help you decide how to respond when your spouse is unwilling to change. Even if you’re not sure what to do right now, there is hope, and our Christian counselors can help you make decisions from a place of inner strength.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18
“Porn addiction develops much like a drug addiction. After an initially rewarding experience with pornography… individuals may experience uncontrollable urges to obtain sexual satisfaction through that form of entertainment. The connection between internet porn and sexual gratification is positively reinforced, and the urges become more frequent and more powerful.”
Even in the secular world, both experts and non-experts have been sounding alarms for several years about the harmful effects of pornography use, both for individuals and society at large.
Christian counseling in Culver City combines proven therapeutic techniques for overcoming addiction with biblical truth and a faith-based worldview. The Christian counselors in Culver City understand the harmful effects of pornography and acknowledge that viewing sexually explicit material does not line up with Scripture’s call for sexual purity.
The trained counselors at Culver City Christian Counseling acknowledge that strongholds of sin can be incredibly difficult to break, especially when they progress to addictions. You will not be judged or shamed for your addiction; instead, Christian counseling in Culver City can help you overcome denial and confront the problem head-on through an individualized treatment plan for sex and porn addiction.
If you think you might be addicted to pornography, it’s important to take the first step towards getting help. Call us today at 949-386-7179 or visit our website to schedule your risk-free initial appointment.
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
949-386-7179