For many struggling with porn addiction, a support group is the difference between success and failure.
When porn addiction takes hold, it drives people into shame and isolation. We don’t want to talk about struggles with porn, which can lead to secrecy or even lying, which brings deeper shame and isolation.
These factors can keep you trapped, despite your best efforts to break free. What most people battling porn addiction—especially Christians—want is a secret formula that allows them to break free without anyone finding out about it.
But that’s just the problem: there’s no freedom from pornography apart from owning up to the struggle, asking for help, and getting real people involved.
John Doyel was the founder of 180 Recover, a ministry that helps men trapped by porn and sex addiction. He understood exactly how important support groups are:
“I needed help. A lot of help. The lesson I have learned and taught over and over again is: recovery must happen in community. Put another way, a lone sheep is a dead sheep!”
Today, 180 continues to provide support groups for men who wish to overcome porn.
How Support Groups Can Help
As John Doyel said: “We need to be on a team because we are all in a battle.” What kind of battle exactly? He explained:
“We have an internal enemy called our flesh, or sinful nature, and we live in a fallen world where porn has become omnipresent. In Ephesians 6, Paul says we do not do battle with flesh and blood but with demonic powers. So, like it or not, every day you wake up you are entering a battle, you are out-manned and out-gunned, and you are behind enemy lines.”
If you’re stranded alone on the battlefield, it’s not a fair fight. In fact, you can’t win. You need allies to win the battle. And a support group can provide just that.
A good support group is comprised of people who understand the struggle. They won’t verbally abuse you or shame you for looking at pornography because they know exactly how difficult it is to quit.
They will also encourage you to keep after your goals, and the group can hold you accountable.
Recommended Porn Addiction Support Groups
There are now many porn addiction recovery meetings available throughout the United States and worldwide. Here are some of the wonderful organizations providing support groups for porn addiction:
- Samson Society—Samson Society offers both online meetings and in-person support groups for men. Check their website to see what’s available in your area.
- SheRecovery—Founded by a good friend of Covenant Eyes, Crystal Renaud Day, SheRecovery offers both qualified professional counseling and online support groups for women.
- Celebrate Recovery—Recovery groups are now available in many locations. Their website includes a helpful tool for finding a location near you.
- PureDesire—Pure Desire has groups both for those struggling with pornography and those affected by someone else’s addiction.
- BeBroken—BeBroken is a ministry that provides a variety of resources for people struggling with sexual brokenness, including porn addiction. You can find BeBroken groups throughout the USA.
- 180 Recover—Founded by John Doyel, 180 Recover provides online support teams for those struggling with pornography.
Guidelines for Finding a Group
The six groups above are a great place to start looking for a support group. But depending on your location, there may be options. John Doyel has provided expert advice on finding a support group. Here are his recommendations.
1. If you are a Christian, find a biblically based group.
Please understand that I have nothing against 12-step Groups like SA, SAA, and SLAA. My dad was a recovering alcoholic, and Alcoholics Anonymous added 15 years of sobriety and extended his life. I believe the 12 steps of Recovery are all biblically based and were founded by Christian men. However, in order to help men who are not Christians, they have made their message religiously neutral, and you can pick your own higher power.
If you have been born again by the Spirit of God and trust Christ as the Savior from your sins, you have become alive in Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit. We know our Savior’s name, and His Spirit lives inside of our bodies.
I believe these facts are crucial in helping us recover from our sexual brokenness. These answers are not only for battling sexual sins but are essential to living the Christian life and applicable to all believers. Becoming saved impacts your whole life and begins the process of sanctification where we are becoming conformed by the transformation of our mind and our life by the Holy Spirit.
2. Find a group that meets frequently.
Recovery from this highly addictive behavior is not going to be fixed in ten meetings. This issue will be part of our lives as long as we have a sinful nature living inside of us. We live in a fallen world with access to porn 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we are in a battle with spiritual forces of darkness. In other words, until we reach eternity, we will struggle with sin.
I don’t mean to sound so negative, but this is human reality. I have learned that not only do the hundreds of men we work with need to meet weekly for accountability, but they also need daily support. They need to develop real, strong relationships with one another and stay in touch with each other every day.
3. Don’t wait to get started!
We have a saying in our 180 Recovery Program: “If you are being tempted, reach up to God, reach out to your support group, before you reach into your pants.” How many times do we continue to fall because we are living in isolation and have nobody from whom we can get help right there in the moment of temptation?
Need Christian counseling for porn addiction? Check out this article.
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