Camille was born with a condition known as familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome. This disorder meant she had black and brown moles covering her entire body, including her face, arms, and legs. Although it was a physically painless condition, mentally and emotionally, it traumatized Camille.
As a child and teen, she was teased relentlessly and usually had few friends. And as for a social life with boys? That was non-existent.
Around 14, Camille started to read her mother’s romance novels and soon found herself often drifting off into a fantasy of what it would be like to be pursued by a man. A short time later, she came across Internet porn, which descended her further down the pathway of living an isolated life centered upon fantasy.
This lifestyle continued throughout high school and into college. Although Camille never engaged in a romantic or sexual relationship with another individual, in her imagination, she had enjoyed the pleasure of hundreds of lovers. She read an average of five romance novels a month, viewed pornography, and masturbated as frequently as three times a day.
Camille dealt with a love and porn addiction.
But what was at the heart of her addictive behaviors? It was a hurt and troubled little girl who wanted to be loved and accepted. Something Camille had never experienced from her peers. And that is what drives all addictive behaviors – our wounded inner child.
I believe the road to recovery from love and porn addiction goes through your childhood. That is because the Inner Child is running the show when it comes to an individual’s addiction. My Inner Child Model™ for treating Problematic Sexual Behaviors is a unique trauma-based therapy that clinical leaders have widely endorsed.
This interactive treatment approach empowers individuals by helping them understand why they engage in addictive behaviors. This knowledge allows them to stay one step ahead of their addiction by identifying the core emotional triggers that activate their Inner Child.
When activated, the Inner Child will correlate current negative events with past pain points, increasing your anxiety and compulsiveness. The Inner Child will seek to escape the emotional discomfort by engaging in destructive addictive behaviors. This is done to provide the child’s number one need – comfort.
When the Inner Child is activated, an individual struggling with addiction will compulsively turn to sexual behaviors because they are unaware of the existence of the Inner Child and its troubling emotions.
By becoming familiar with their Inner Children, their core emotional triggers, and the techniques necessary to comfort the child, individuals can take an active role in successfully managing their love and porn addiction.
Later in 2023, Going Deeper for Women: How the Inner Child Impacts Your Love and Porn Addiction will be published. Coauthoring with Lacy Alajna Bentley, author of Addicted to Love, and Heather Cronemiller, CSAT-C, the book will help women stay one step ahead of their Inner Child and addiction.
If you would like to be added to the mailing list to obtain a notice when the book is launched, send your email address to [email protected].