Resources for overcoming pornography offered at BYU

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BYU offers various resources for students seeking help to overcome a pornography addiction including clubs, conferences and podcasts.

According to Live Free Community, a group focused on finding resources for men struggling with pornography, 49% of young adults ages 18–24 say all or most of their friends use pornography on a regular basis. 

BYU’s Un-Alone Club is a resource any student can use to find “help, hope, and real resources” for issues such as overcoming pornography addiction or trauma. Club President Emi Bass started the club in 2021 as a way to create more conversation about the topic and provide support for those who need it.

Sterling Bradshaw, Cosmo and Emi Bass from the Un-Alone Club participate in New Student Orientation on Aug. 26, 2021 to share their message and gain club members. The club seeks to open conversation about pornography addictions on campus. (The Un-Alone Club)

“Of course people struggle with pornography, because we don’t know how to talk about it,” Bass said. “I wanted to start a space where we can find resources that were actually going to work and connect with them in an environment where people weren’t going to feel shame.”

The Un-Alone Club meetings are every Tuesday over Zoom at 8:30 p.m. Students can choose to attend anonymously. Meetings often include guest speakers such as life coaches, therapists or those who have overcome pornography themselves. If club members have questions, they are able to submit them and share their experiences. 

Another resource comes from Women’s Services and Resources, which holds an annual conference on pornography every February. This year the conference will be Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Wilkinson Student Center. Topics include defining addiction, women’s experience with pornography and pornography in relationships. 

Women’s Services and Resources marketing coordinator Carissa Mitchell believes the conference is designed for everyone. Professionals from BYU’s Counseling and Psychological Services will be speaking on the topic of pornography to end misconceptions. 

“It’s important to have a healthy dialogue about the topic so we can have open conversations,” Mitchell said. “The conference will be good for any person, anyone can benefit from it.”

There are resources students can also utilize from the comfort of their own home. Reach10, a nonprofit organization, launched their Breaking the Silence podcast in 2019. Their podcasts are designed to help people navigate pornography and create an understanding of healthy sexuality.

Former co-host and BYU alum, Creed Orme, said Reach10 no longer meets together to produce new content, but the resources they gathered are still there for people to use on their website. The Breaking the Silence podcast consists of 82 episodes and can be listened to on Apple Podcasts.

“I hope this podcast and Reach10 resource resonates with those who are seeking after insights on how to help themselves out of pornography if they’re struggling with it, but also for insights for how to talk about healthy sexuality,” Orme said.

Orme said he hopes those who listen to the podcast can replace fear, shame and silence with courage, passion and connection about these topics. 

Students can also utilize CAPS and speak to a therapist who can help students on the journey to overcome pornography.

“Those of us who’ve struggled with pornography have struggled with it for different reasons,” Orme said. “Just by seeking after connection, courage or compassion — just by seeking out after trying to be better, you’re doing a great job. You’re still a worthy being. You’re still capable of love. There is great hope in the fact that you can become better, you can change, you can stop using pornography.”

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