Stephen King wrote, “The thing under my bed waiting to grab my ankle isn’t real. I know that, and I also know that if I’m careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle.”
Yogi Berra said, “The problem with my mind is that sometimes it gets in my head.”
The mind can be a tricky thing. That is especially true for any addict. Our brains don’t work like normal brains. We think in different ways. Let me give you a few examples.
1. External validation: Rather than finding his value from within, the addict looks for outside sources, like porn or masturbation. He seeks from without what he does not find within.
2. Pain reduction: One of the things I tell clients a lot is that porn isn’t a bad problem as much as it is a bad solution. Sex addiction is an intimacy disorder. The addict only runs toward pornography because he is first running from something else.
3. Spiritual masking: I am the first to say that successful healing must be spiritual at its core. God alone is the Great Physician. But by making everything “spiritual,” we practice what is known as spiritual masking – covering the real issues that nobody else sees.
Recovery Step: Yogi was right – your mind gets in your head. Commit your thoughts to the Lord today. As Paul said, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).
