How To Quit Porn: Just Stop It
Why can't I just stop watching porn?
Because what starts as a moral problem quickly becomes a brain problem. Many of the 68 percent of church men who view porn regularly have prayed and memorized Scripture and still relapse. Porn releases dopamine that bonds you to the images, and as Dr. Tim Jennings explains, repeated behavior carves trails in the brain that fire automatically. Trying harder only tightens the noose. Your mind has to be renewed.
Why Men Can’t Stop Viewing Porn
68% of men in the church view pornography on a regular basis. These are men who’ve tried to stop, they’ve prayed, they’ve memorized Bible verses but still, they wind up relapsing. Even the thought of being buried alive in a box isn’t a deterrent.
For many of these men, the recurring question is “Why can’t I just stop it?”
Related Article: Why 68% of Christian Men Watch Porn
Related Article: This Is Why Trying Harder Doesn't Work
Why Trying Harder Doesn’t Work
Trying harder only tightens the noose around your neck. Each time you fail you increase the shame you carry, which perpetuates the cycle – you go back to porn to medicate the shame you’re feeling. Committing to a process takes time because there’s no quick fix.
It’s more than just saying “I will no longer watch porn” because it’s really not about porn.
Related Article: Trying Harder Doesn't Work
It’s In Your Head
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You’re using porn to medicate anxiety and stress in your life. You do this by accessing the internal pharmacy that you have in your brain.
Your brain has powerful chemicals that you can access when you’re feeling low. Most likely, you’ve learned to rely on these chemicals from a very early age. When you watch porn, powerful neurotransmitters such as dopamine are released, which bond you to those images.
According to neuropsychologist Dr. Tim Jennings,
“Any type of repetitive behavior will create trails in our brain that are going to fire on an automatic sequence.”
The result is years of bondage. This is how you can love the Lord, but still be trapped in bondage to porn. You must renew your mind.
Related Article: How To Delete Porn From Your Brain
Related Article: How to Renew Your Mind After Porn and Find Lasting Freedom
A Proven Process
Dr. Ted Roberts in the Conquer Series will teach you how to biblically renew your mind and freedom.
Dr. Ted is a former Marine fighter pilot, pastor, and founder of Pure Desire Ministries. He has a 90% success rate in helping men and freedom.
The Conquer Series is a powerful, cinematic study featuring over 7-hours of in-depth teaching from Dr. Ted Roberts who shares powerful tools and Bible-based strategies that he has used to help thousands of men renew their minds and walk in freedom from porn.
Get digital access today!
Writing at the intersection of faith and neuroscience to help men and women break destructive cycles and walk in lasting freedom.
More articles by Jeremy Wiles →Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to break free from porn?
Longer than a weekend, and there is no quick fix. You are not undoing a single decision, you are retraining a brain that has spent years learning a pattern. Committing to a process means expecting slow, real change rather than one dramatic moment. Men who stay in the fight with other men around them do walk in freedom, but they get there by persistence, not by intensity.
Why does shame make porn addiction worse?
Because shame feeds the very cycle it comes from. Each time you fail you increase the shame you already carry, and porn is what you have been using to medicate that feeling. So the harder you try and fail, the more fuel the habit gets. Breaking the loop means dealing with the shame itself, not piling on more resolve and more self-condemnation on top of it.
What does porn do to your brain?
It hijacks your brain's own internal pharmacy. Watching porn releases powerful neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which bond you to those images. Any type of repetitive behavior creates trails in the brain that then fire on an automatic sequence, and the result is years of bondage. That is how a man can genuinely love the Lord and still be trapped, and why the mind has to be renewed.
What does it mean to renew your mind?
Renewing the mind is the shift Romans 12:2 describes, and it is not another word for trying harder. It means recognizing that porn has been medicating anxiety and stress, understanding how the pattern formed, and letting God rebuild what years of use wore in. The Conquer Series teaches men how to do this biblically, with over seven hours of in-depth teaching and tools for a long fight.
Why is praying about porn not enough to stop?
Prayer is essential, and it is not the same as a battle plan. The men in this fight are already praying and already memorizing Bible verses, and they still wind up relapsing, because this is not only a moral issue. It became a physical pattern in the brain that has to be retrained. God does the freeing, but He does it as you learn how to fight rather than simply fighting harder.
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