Daily Excerpt: He's a Porn Addict...Now What? (Overbay and Shea) - Concealing Addiction
This excerpt comes from He's a Porn Addict...Now What? (Overbay and Shea) How did he manage to conceal it all so well and deceive me for such a long time? Tony, the mental health professional: You may have just found out, but more than likely there have been years of this pattern of behavior on his part that have led to either his disclosure or your discovery, and during these years there has undoubtedly been a tremendous amount of guilt and shame on his part. Guilt can be a good emotion, because it can cause someone to evaluate a situation and motivate them to do something different. But when shame kicks in, that’s the voice that tells you, “You’re a horrible person and you’ll never overcome this. People are going to know you’re a fraud, or that you’re disgusting if they ever find out about this.” Pornography is the type of addiction that for most individuals is laced with guilt and shame, evolving into an addiction fueled by isolation because they don’t want anyone to