I have been going to confession for this sin for awhile now, but for some odd reason I still (some times) continue to do it. I know how this started (root cause), but I would like for this to stop.
I have been looking at pictures and reading role plays of snakes hypnotizing women in seductive ways (it’s worse than you think it is). This has been going on for too long. I really want this to stop.
How do I stop deviating from the internet like this? How did you overcome this (if this question applies to you)?
Please pray for me to stop this madness.
This sounds sort of like a kind of obsession or like a fetiche.
It’s my understanding that obsessions are treatable, to some degree, with counseling or medication, or both.
With most obsessions, the more one tries to resist, the stronger they can become, in all irony. It’s sort of like the saying, “What you resist will persist”.
So, what counselors often advise is not so much to resist this as to ignore them, because if you resist, it can make all this even more powerful.
Often, these incidents have sort of like a trigger, that set it into motion.
It might help you to know that you are NOT alone, that a lot of people have these issues.
For some, the trigger was in puberty where the person had some kind of sexual experience while something else was happening. Then, in the person’s mind, he began to associate the two as almost inseparable.
There are some people who have it to the point they have experienced violence with sex, for example, and have a hard time separating violence from sex from that point on!
So, if it’s any consolation, you are NOT the only one experiencing this. There is a HUGE range of experiences.
First of all, realize that these things do happen in real life, that we are actually pretty darned complex.
There are times we almost imprint on something. like an object, sort of like how, say, a baby bird will “imprint” on the first thing it sees when it comes out. Usually, the first thing it sees is its mother. Sometimes, it’s not! So, we’ll have cases where it will follow a person, animal, whatever.
We can also be a little like that. Some have had “fetishes” with, say, shoes. It can really happen with practically anything, where a person can become “fixated” on this one thing, even aroused by it.
Sometimes, this can cause a great deal of stress in the person’s life, since he doesn’t necessarily want that, can even be quite upset over it.
Once, I talked to someone who had an obsession where he would have murderous thoughts he couldn’t control, and he was talking to me about how to handle that, what his counselors had advised him.
Again, it’s complicated.
My ex-husband had obsessive-compulsive disorder and went to a regular MD with panic attacks. The doctor gave him medication for the anxiety, but it did NOTHING for the obsessions. He was then a happy OC!
His obessions were, in fact, SO bad that they helped destroy our marriage. We went to a counselor who diagnosed him with OC and suggested he get some meds that would work for his condition, but unfortunately, he refused.
My counselor told me it was a shame since, if one was going to have a condition, that she thought OC was one that most readily responded to medication. She was convinced that with medication, he’d improve. Yet, he was absolutely unwilling to give up his “rituals”, even to try to save our marriage. So, in part, due to all of that, we divorced.
I just want to tell you I believe there is hope for you through treatment, if you would like. Sadly, a lot of people with this do NOT want treatment, aren’t willing to part with their obsessions, etc.
You sound like you’re to the point you might be ready to see if this can be helped, because it’s to a point it’s upsetting you. There IS help available.
Yes, it could be a bit embarrassing, in the meantime, but I just wanted to say that, in the scheme of things, there is probably very little these counselors haven’t heard before. Most, if they have been doing this any length of time, have “been there”, “done that”.
I think there are many things one could try. Were I in that situation and wanted that to stop, I think I’d at least try counseling. What do you really have to lose?
God bless and God speed!
