A concrete tip for staying away from porn - Consider therapy

This post is part of an ongoing series of posts about staying away from porn

One of the hardest parts of abstaining from something is to figure out what to do proactively to make sure we don't fall back into old habits. A good place to start this process is by seeing a therapist or counsellor. It allows us to speak freely about anything, with someone who's job it is to listen, make sense of things, and give advice and guidelines.

• Merely taking the step of going to therapy means that you're actually doing something to help yourself, as well as admitting that you need (or at least want) help from someone else. This alone can be a big turning point for many.
• Talking about things is cathartic in itself, and with a therapist everything will be completely confidential. Porn is a shameful habit for many, and it is easy to isolate ourselves. Telling someone who you know will not judge you can alleviate and help you overcome these feelings of shame, which is an important step towards acceptance.
• A therapist can help you make sense of any confusing thoughts, feelings or emotions that may (and probably will) arise during your recovery. Analyzing things and getting you to see things from a different perspective is what they do.
• By making this your first step towards actively recovering, your therapist can guide you towards other steps to take. Porn leaves a void that will need to be filled with something else.
• Apart from porn or other specific struggles, we all have various problems, issues, worries, concerns in our daily life. All of these things can also be brought up in therapy sessions, and worked through in similar ways. This is believed by many to be healthy for any individual, and "going to therapy" is no longer something that only those with specific problems do.