Are you a young man or woman who wants to stop looking at pornography but you feel like you just can’t quit? You’re not alone. At Covenant Eyes, we hear from people just like you every day. And we have lots of resources, support, and encouragement for you on your journey! Here’s a story we received recently from a young person who was addicted to porn for 7 years before experiencing freedom for the first time.
I was 12 or 13 when I first looked at porn, and I remember how it felt. The rush of adrenalin and dopamine, and then the feeling of immense guilt that followed. However, I’d poked the bear, and sure enough, I kept coming back to this new enticing world.
I made a number of attempts to quit in my teens, but they were all half-hearted, short-lived, and didn’t have any accountability behind them. I remember switching between feeling helpless against my own sin, and constantly rationalizing and ignoring it. I could feel my behavior pulling me away from a life-giving relationship with God.
One day, my parents found out, and seeing my Mum’s heart break when she found out her teenage son was watching porn should have been motivation enough to quit. But it wasn’t. I tried for a while, but eventually, the old behavior, deeply encoded in my brain, began to resurface.
When I was 18, I made an important step towards quitting porn: telling a friend about it. This was my first taste of real accountability, and it felt freeing.
When I was 19, I started an accountability group with my Christian male friends, and they all decided to get Covenant Eyes. I still thought that I could quit porn without it and didn’t get it straight away. Eventually, when I was still unable to quit, I got Covenant Eyes and discovered Overcome Porn: The 40 Day Challenge.
The challenge has been amazing and has helped me achieve my longest streak of living porn-free ever since I first discovered it as a 13-year-old. Today is my 20th birthday, and I haven’t watched porn for 38 days. Change is possible. Freedom is possible.
Please keep praying for me as I continue to battle temptation, and pray that I can be especially careful to avoid “yellow light” behaviors—things that seem harmless but put me on the road back towards pornography.
(See The Ultimate Guide to Identifying (And Redirecting) Your Porn Triggers).
Maybe going a month without porn feels impossible at this point. Don’t lose heart! There are practical steps you can take to find victory. Like this young man discovered, accountability is an essential part of the equation! When you find someone to talk about your struggle with, it helps you break free from the hold of shame and isolation that make pornography so gripping. It equips you with the regular encouragement that you need to stay strong in the face of temptation. You can also join Overcome Porn: The 40 Day Challenge. The challenge will walk you step-by-step through the first forty days of your journey away from porn.