By Erin McCole Cupp A Relationship Poisoned Their story could have been so different. They could have been childhood sweethearts, even though Alessandro was eight years her senior. In the Italian countryside of the early 20th century, it wouldn’t have been unheard of for them to wait until she was of marriageable age before […]
How do I Know if I’m Addicted? Because pornography is so widely used and accepted today, many people may wonder if they are addicted to it. According to Dr. Mark Laaser (1992) pornography/sexual addiction is “any persistent and escalating unhealthy pattern of sexual behavior. It is compulsive in nature and used to avoid or change […]
Our Catholic faith tells us that Jesus understands all our pain because he also experienced it. This is especially true of rejection. Throughout our lives we will experience rejection. The most painful rejection comes when we are rejected by loved ones. Jesus experienced this when his apostles abandoned him on the night before he was […]
Marty has a strong belief in God; however, he struggled to understand God’s unconditional love for him. Marty’s struggle with pornography addiction left him feeling worthless and unlovable, especially in God’s eyes. For Marty, a large part of recovery is understanding how God can be both just and merciful. This is a struggle I find […]
In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its International Classification of Diseases, the manual for classifying conditions, addictions and diagnosis (ICD). This document was last updated in the 90s, which explains why things like gaming addiction and online porn addiction were not included. Yet in the latest update ICD-11, the WHO recognizes online gaming […]
In my previous post I wrote about distinctions in addiction patterns, specifically addressing biological, psychological, and trauma-based addiction. One reason you or someone you are helping might be “stuck in the confessional” is that there is a psychological wound or trauma that needs to be addressed by a trained therapist. Another reason people get “stuck […]
About a year ago, a priest approached me at a conference and made the following observation. “My students today seem different than they were a few years ago. It used to be that when someone was struggling with pornography and masturbation, I could recommend filters and a more structured prayer life and that would take […]
Bill and Kathy are in their mid-forties. They have been married twenty years and have six children. Bill is a military officer and Kathy is a stay-at-home mom. Kathy sought marital counseling when she caught Bill viewing Internet pornography. A scan of the history on his laptop computer, cell phone and tablet revealed that he […]
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