MSI Press Blog

  From the co-author, Joshua Shea -- I never planned on writing a book like this when I was a kid. I knew I was going to be a writer, although I was shooting for screenwriter or at least staff writer at Saturday Night Live. But there it was, my first book, under my name, published by a real company. “He’s a Porn Addict… Now What?” wasn’t the humorous, heartfelt fictional tale I thought would make my name in the world. It was both a memoir and self-help book geared toward the partners of pornography addicts, co-written by Tony Overbay, a licensed marriage and family therapist who was one of the first people to invite me onto his podcast to speak about my former addiction and journey into recovery.   For most people suffering with the disease, it’s a secretive, shameful place and you feel utterly alone. And like any other addiction, the people around the addict get sick, too. My first book, a self-published memoir about the depths of my addictive journey, introduced me to the concept of

  Background to the podcast written by Ashley Jo Brewer: Joshua Shea is a pornography addiction expert, certified betrayal trauma coach, and the author of three books about pornography addiction, including  He’s a Porn Addict…Now What? An Expert and Former Addict Answer Your Questions . Since 2018, Joshua has given more interviews about pornography addiction and betrayal trauma than anybody in the world. During his interviews he does not portray an anti-porn message but rather promotes the ideas that porn addiction spans all demographics and those with a problem should seek help before it’s too late. After speaking openly about pornography addiction, he began receiving messages from wives, girlfriends, and mothers of addicts. As a result, he now speaks about the issue of working through betrayal trauma, especially with the partners of addicts and those who are facing infidelity. Today, Josh is not only recovering from a 24-year pornography addiction; he’s also been sober since 2014. Wh

  Have you ever found yourself learning a different way of doing something and then regretting all the inefficient time and effort you spent initially doing things the wrong way? I always feel like that when I'm trying to change a tire or work on a project around the house. How many hours have I lost in my life prior to buying an electric screwdriver? Writing books is just one of the ways that I conduct my outreach to the pornography addiction and betrayal trauma communities. I also coach, but I have a fairly large presence on social media and have appeared on more podcasts talking about these subjects than anybody else in the last five years. I thought I had all of my bases covered. Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram were perfect for hitting the communities I most thought needed my message. Facebook is political opinion I don't want to get into, Snapchat appears like it's mainly to trade naked pictures and TikTok just seemed like my kids' friends acting their age and I do

  How do I know if he’s actually an addict?   Tony, the mental health professional   To be clear, until recently, there wasn’t anything in either the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) that talked about sexual addiction or pornography addiction. Recently, the WHO updated the ICD to include Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) as a mental health condition. While this designation doesn't exactly meet the standard for addiction, it is definitely the strongest statement made by a body of experts in the field of sexual mental health.   Let me share a very 30,000-foot view of what is happening to the brain when viewing pornography.  When a man watches porn, his brain releases the feel-good drug, dopamine. There is some fascinating research around what is called “The Coolidge Effect.” The idea is that a male will mate with

  Joshua Shea is a recovering pornography addict and the author of   The Addiction Nobody Will Talk About: How I Let My Pornography Addiction Hurt People and Destroy Relationships.  He has appeared on over 50 podcasts, television and radio shows. Prior to admitting his addiction, Joshua was a prominent magazine publisher, award-winning journalist, film festival founder and politician in central Maine He is co-author of   He’s a Porn Addict…Now What?    and  Porn and the Pandemic. For more information about Joshua and his books, click HERE .

  Introduction This book is a unique collaboration between a mental health professional, Tony Overbay, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Joshua Shea, a former journalist who spent more than two decades struggling with pornography addiction. Usually, the expert sitting in the chair and the person on the couch getting the help don’t work together on a project outside of the therapist’s office, but we think this is a natural match. (And for those wondering, Josh was never Tony’s client—they met on a podcast.) Tony spends dozens of hours every week working with couples who are at various stages of the therapy process. Many of these couples have struggled with pornography issues. Although you’re probably feeling alone in the world right now, you are not. Tony has dealt with women, men and couples who are going through exactly what you are experiencing. Josh was a pillar of his community when his world came crashing down. A magazine publisher and city councilor, his life cha

Joshua Shea, author of  He's a Porn Addict...Now What?  and Porn and the Pandemic was a guest speaker on Through a Therapist's Eyes on May 6, 2020. Listen to the podcast episode, "Pornography and the Coronavirus,"  HERE . For posts by and about Joshua Shea and his work, read  HERE .   

Joshua Shea, author of  He's a Porn Addict...Now What? , was a guest speaker on Conversations with Eugene Ebner on May 4, 2020. Listen to the podcast episode, "Porn Addiction Author and Educator, Joshua Shea,  HERE. For posts by and about Joshua Shea and his work, read  HERE .

Joshua Shea, author of  He's a Porn Addict...Now What? , was a guest speaker on The Father Show with Mike Thompson on April 28, 2020. Listen to the podcast episode, "Overcoming Porn Addiction," HERE . For posts by and about Joshua Shea and his work, read  HERE .

Joshua Shea, author of  He's a Porn Addict...Now What? , was a guest speaker on the Hell Bound with Haloes Show on April 23, 2020. Listen to the podcast episode, "Hell Bound with Haloes,"  HERE . For posts by and about Joshua Shea and his work, read  HERE .

Joshua Shea, author of  He's a Porn Addict...Now What?,  was a guest speaker on the Dr. Zoe Show on April 16, 2020. Listen to the podcast episode, "How to Deal with Your Husband's Porn Addiction during COVID-19," HERE . For posts by and about Joshua Shea and his work, read  HERE .

Released this week: https://msipress.com/book_titles/porn-and-the-pandemic-an-unseen-long-term-effect-of-covid-19/ Porn and the Pandemic: How Three Months in 2020 Changed Everything by Joshua Shea, author of https://msipress.com/book_titles/hes-a-porn-addict-now-what-an-expert-and-a-former-addict-answer-your-questions/ He's a Porn Addict...Now What? Read more posts by and about Joshua Shea and his works HERE .

Joshua Shea, author of He's a Porn Addict...Now What?, was a guest speaker on the Psych with Mike podcast on March 28, 2020. Listen to the podcast episode, "Frank Talk about Porn Addiction,"  HERE . For posts by and about Joshua Shea and his work, read HERE .

My First Questions How do I know if he’s actually an addict? Tony, the mental health professional When a client comes into my office to talk about her partner who she thinks is an addict, she’ll usually begin to list all the reasons she’s sure he’s addicted to pornography. Then she’ll ask me the question, “How do I really know?” At this point, I recognize she’s doubting herself and questioning her intuition. This usually happens for one of two reasons: either she thinks she’s not qualified to make that diagnosis or, most commonly, she doesn’t want it to be true. I’ll hear the client’s entire monologue about her partner’s behavior, a behavior that led her to my office in the first place, only to hear her say, “But I’m probably wrong.” What she’s really thinking is ‘Please tell me I’m wrong.’ Chances are, she’s not wrong, but there is help, and there is hope. There are countless definitions of addiction, each with its own little nuances, but for the work I do, I l