Month: April 2026

The Problem of Porn Addiction

To take the test, simply answer yes or no to each of the following questions.

  1. Do you ever feel overly distracted by, preoccupied with, or obsessed with pornography?
  2. When you start to use pornography, do you sometimes have trouble stopping, consistently looking at it for longer periods than intended?
  3. Do you ever use porn as a way to avoid stress, anxiety, loneliness, boredom, or other forms of emotional discomfort?
  4. After you use porn, do you sometimes regret it or feel depressed?
  5. Have you ever promised yourself or another person that you would stop using porn, only to break that promise later?
  6. Do you ever look forward to events with family/friends ending so you can look at porn?
  7. Have you ever kept secrets about or lied about your porn use?
  8. Have you ever experienced negative consequences related to your porn use, such as relationship trouble, social/emotional isolation, issues at work/school, etc.?
  9. Does your porn use potentially offend others, violate community standards, or place you in danger of arrest?
  10. Do you feel restless, irritable, or discontent when you are unable to use porn?

A ‘yes’ response to three or more of the ten questions listed above indicates that porn addiction may be an issue.

For a long time people with porn-related issues were thought to have a history of early-life trauma. Recently, however there is a new and rapidly growing subcategory of people struggling with pornography. These individuals meet the basic criteria used to identify addiction but lack the underlying early-life trauma that typically drives addictive behavior. Rather than qualifying as traditional trauma-driven porn addicts, it appears these non-trauma-driven individuals have developed a “conditioned” addiction to pornography.

Typically, conditioned porn addicts start viewing porn at a young age, often before puberty hits. And then they fail to move beyond this easily accessed sexual outlet. For these individuals, porn serves as both sex education and sexual fulfillment. The unfortunate result of this is that the user’s emotional and psychological development in terms of sexuality and relationships can be stunted – beginning and ending with what they learn from porn. As such, their ability to form and maintain meaningful real-world romantic and sexual attachments may not develop or may not fully develop in the usual ways.

Initial treatment for conditioned porn addicts mirrors treatment for traditional addicts. In other words, early work is focused on stopping addictive behavior, breaking through denial, managing the crisis or crises that precipitated treatment, and developing tactics to combat triggers and relapse. At that point, because conditioned porn addiction is not driven by trauma, the treatment approach diverges. Rather than working to resolve early-life trauma, treatment transitions toward social development – learning how to develop and maintain real-world romantic and sexual connections. Admittedly, not all conditioned porn addicts are entirely bereft when it comes to real-world relationships. In fact, some are quite adept socially. But the majority need to be walked through the adolescent and early adult stages of social development to some degree, and that, rather than trauma resolution, is the second-level treatment focus for this population.

In SCA we not only learn how to stop the addictive behaviors but also how to grow spiritually to live a more fulfilling life.

Each SCA Meeting can have a vote?

At the 2023 SCA ISO Conference the following updates to the By-laws were made:

Article I. Delegates, Section 2. Voting Rights and Proxies

As indicated in Section 1. above, each Intergroup delegation has as many votes as the number of meetings
they represent. An individual meeting can choose to withdraw their vote from the local intergroup and send
their elected or selected representative instead. All delegates may participate in the ISO conference in
person, or by electronic means, including internet conferencing software, telephone, or other digital
methods that ISO may employ in the future. Intergroups or meetings that do not participate in the
proceedings using any of these methods may select a proxy to represent them and cast their votes. This
proxy may be another participating Intergroup, meeting, officer, or another member of SCA. A proxy
designation must be made known to the ISO Chair at least one (1) week before the scheduled conference.
Groups not participating in the ISO conference discussions will be counted as absent in any vote unless
their proxy votes on their behalf

“I want my RTV (Recovery Television).”

SCA New York is pleased to announce its Spring Show  “I want my RTV (Recovery Television).”
 
Performances will be held on Saturday, May 2nd, at 7pm and Sunday, May 3rd, at 3pm at the TADA! theater, 15 West 28th Street, near Madison Square Park. 
 
Tickets are $35 plus online transaction fee.​
 
To buy tickets, click this link:

Hitting Bottom?

There’s a common belief in addiction recovery that keeps people stuck longer than they need to be: the idea that you have to hit “rock bottom” before things can change. It sounds convincing—but it’s not true.

Waiting for things to fall apart often leads to more loss, more disconnection, and more pain. It can quietly reinforce the idea that help is only justified after irreparable damage is done. In reality, recovery doesn’t begin at rock bottom. It begins with awareness.

That moment might look like:

  • Realizing you can’t stop, even when you’ve tried
  • Noticing patterns you’ve seen before starting to repeat
  • Experiencing a rupture in your relationship
  • Or simply recognizing something doesn’t feel right anymore

It doesn’t have to be catastrophic to matter. You don’t need to lose your family, your career, or your sense of self to take this seriously. In many cases, choosing to seek support early reflects clarity, insight, and a willingness to do something different.

Awareness of Addiction can raise your “Bottom” and help you to change direction before things escalate.