MSI Press Blog

excerpt --  Francesca Palazzolo, Researcher, Sydney The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the world we live in. Since city-after-city in country-after-country began to introduce strict social-distancing laws, including stay-at-home directives, most of us have been stuck at home whether we like it or not. One concern attached to this global pandemic is Internet pornography use. Already, prior to the pandemic, the prevalence of Internet porn use was incredibly high. Pornhub, one of the most famous tube sites boasted 42 billion hits in 2019 alone, up from 33.5 billion in 2018. And, in a stroke of publicity genius on March 24, 2020, Pornhub announced it would make its premium offering free for 30 days to help “flatten the curve” of the virus spread. Following this announcement, usage spiked across the world with Italy’s use increasing 61% after the announcement. However, prior to this broadcast, traffic was up anyhow, according to early research on the impact of the COVID-19 pa...

  Now available in audiobook edition: The Pandemic and Hope by Dennis Ortman. Book description: This little booklet, written by a former priest and well respected psychologist, takes an in-depth and multi-aspectual look at the covid-19 pandemic. Topics addressed include panic, post-pandemic stress disorder, and pandemic anxiety addiction. Full of compassion and wisdom, this book offers explanations for reactions to the pandemic, means of dealing with thoughtfully and pragmatically, and hope for a better today and tomorrow. Dr. Ortman describes what happens in a pandemic initially is akin to the sensation of drowning. Those living through a pandemic are indeed experiencing a life-threatening event every bit as frightening as an earthquake, tsunami, tornado, or any other natural disaster. They feel a sense of helplessness. They experience a sense of intrusion; indeed, the pandemic has intruded into their lives. It did not come into their lives invited. The result is a push toward av...

Yesterday, with the release of Julie Gentile's book, How to Stay Calm in Chaos , we reached release #10 of the books in our pandemic series--experts among our authors who have turned their expertise into providing advice, help, and encouragement with dealing with the fallout of various sorts of trying to cope with and manage life successfully during a pandemic. These books encompass a wide range of topics, all of them very pertinent to what is happening all around us. Which ones could help you? The  Pandemic and Hope , written by former priest and long-term, respected psychologist, Dr. Dennis Ortman. Read more HERE . Tips, Tools, and Anecdoates to Help during a Pandemic , written by San Diego social worker, Joanna Charnas. Read more HERE . God Speaks into Darkness , written by church leader, J Bennett Easterling. Read more HERE . Diary of an RVer during Quarantine, written by RV expert (judge of the RV Oopsies awards), Karry MacDonald. Read more HERE . Old and On Hold , written by ...

A just-discovered but out-there-for-a-while book review of   Porn and the Pandemic  by Joshua Shea. "I certainly learned a lot (like porn on Youtube!). The short book format makes a quick read, and I would definitely recommend it." Read the full book review from Mental Health @ Home  HERE . Book description: Porn and the Pandemic examines the early months of the exponential growth of Internet pornography during the time of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Author Joshua Shea, himself a former pornography addict, traces how segments of the population flocked to only pornography and tells the stories of those whose lives were impacted, including his own. Shea interviews former pornography addicts who succumbed to temptation during quarantine, often after years of sobriety, along with those who managed to "stay on the wagon" learning why addicts either failed or succeeded while stuck at home. Along with an analysis of online porn industry marketing techniques and measu...

  excerpt from  Exercising in a Pandemic   by Pat Young:  (note: good information for any time where opportunities are limited)  Keep the Exercise Habit Going Everyone knows that housework isn’t exactly fun. It is, however, a way to stay active and do things we need to do anyway while getting some exercise. This was particularly important while the stay-at-home order was in place during the pandemic. Exercise can and should be fun. It can be even more so when you are working out to your favorite music or exercising with friends and family.             As the world slowly got back to normal, people returned to gyms, perhaps with new awareness of how beneficial exercise is to our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. It took a pandemic for people to understand what the medical community has long known.             Staying active improves quality of lif...