Topic : How Porn Has Hurt Our Relationship

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Created on : Monday, December 11, 2006, 09:00:32 am
Author : DrPhilBoard1
Are you in a relationship that has been negatively affected by porn? Has pornography destroyed, or about to destroy your marriage? Is there hope for a relationship when one partner is addicted to porn? Share your advice and support here with others.

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July 17, 2008, 4:16 pm PDT

How Porn Has Hurt Our Relationship

Quote From: kimikomine

Hi. I know that there have been times when I get a familiar feeling with someone sexually and it has good points, not so good points. Isn't that always the case? :) 

 

Anyway, when I get bored sexually, it still doesn't make me want to go and find someone else, sexually. I kind of figure this is what happens when you have sex, with the same person, probably in the same location, similar positions, (it is after all the same person) and that can drive me to wonder what sex would be like with the next,  newest person that happens to catch my eye and my groin.

 

But the only time I will cheat, sexually, is if the rest of the relationship is not good as well. If things are good in other areas, sex loses its power and my focus would be on other aspects of that relationship. I would have to then ask what is it about these individuals that would rather blame a person for their inabilty to be a good lover, a sexy companion, etc. and treat a person with blatent disrespect, obvious abuse, and think this is a normal way to live - a healthy approach towards life?

 

No one is perfect, thank god, and we are all learning. But if a person is using something that is creating a disturbance in their life, or in the life of others, would'n't it be a good approach to see what it is that is creating this imbalance and see if it is something that can be tweaked a little? Changed somewhat? Make the scale balanced? But no. Either way, both are attached to either being totally against porn, or totally for it. What is up with that? If you lean in either direction too strongly, you will not be balanced. If we are not balanced in one area, you can bet, we will not be balanced in all of them.

 

Create a great day!

Hey Kimi. Just want to address something you said in your post. I usually agree with you on most of the things you say, but I don't agree with you about this:

 

"But the only time I will cheat, sexually, is if the rest of the relationship is not good as well."

 

 

If the rest of your relationship 'isn't good', then why wouldn't you try to help improve it? And if that didn't work, then why wouldn't you just break up with that person so you can have sex with someone else without having to cheat on your boyfriend? I realize everyone is different, but I just have a really strong stance on infidelity, NO MATTER how messed up the relationship is.

 

In my opinion, if a person is unhappy in their relationship and they've tried to resolve it to no avail, then they should EXIT OUT of that relationship BEFORE having sex with someone else. I guess it just boils down to integrity and faithfulness.

 

Sexual boredom in a relationship can usually be remedied via a little effort and experimentation by doing it in different places, in different rooms of the house, trying different positions and techniques, role-playing, etc. If after all that, someone is still sexually bored with their partner, then they probably didn't really love or care for them that much to begin with. A relationship is more than having exciting sex every single day. It's also (mostly) about LOVE, CARING and COMPANIONSHIP. What's your view on this?

 

 

 
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July 18, 2008, 3:29 am PDT

Hiya Cam.:)

Quote From: camangel_07

Hey Kimi. Just want to address something you said in your post. I usually agree with you on most of the things you say, but I don't agree with you about this:

 

"But the only time I will cheat, sexually, is if the rest of the relationship is not good as well."

 

 

If the rest of your relationship 'isn't good', then why wouldn't you try to help improve it? And if that didn't work, then why wouldn't you just break up with that person so you can have sex with someone else without having to cheat on your boyfriend? I realize everyone is different, but I just have a really strong stance on infidelity, NO MATTER how messed up the relationship is.

 

In my opinion, if a person is unhappy in their relationship and they've tried to resolve it to no avail, then they should EXIT OUT of that relationship BEFORE having sex with someone else. I guess it just boils down to integrity and faithfulness.

 

Sexual boredom in a relationship can usually be remedied via a little effort and experimentation by doing it in different places, in different rooms of the house, trying different positions and techniques, role-playing, etc. If after all that, someone is still sexually bored with their partner, then they probably didn't really love or care for them that much to begin with. A relationship is more than having exciting sex every single day. It's also (mostly) about LOVE, CARING and COMPANIONSHIP. What's your view on this?

 

 

I also don't think cheating, in any form, is unacceptable in a committed relationship.Just wanted to say that first and foremost. Infidelity is wrong and shouldn't happen. Unfortunately, the line gets blurred with what is infidelity and what is considered acceptable. I think its important that two people understand what it means to each person so that they can either walk away before a relationship begins, or talk about it at the early stages. Unfortunately, again, these things don't come up until something has already stirred the pot.

 

If you think about it, sex is the glue that keeps people feeling the "love" feeling, right? All other relationships are just platonic as long as sex is not involved, right? I don't think so. I think you can cheat in many ways. Sex is not the only way a person cheats. Emotionally charged conversation with a co-worker, going to clubs where girls dress scantily and seductively, spending money on something other then what that money was intended for, not being honest to one another if someone gets hurts, or is offended, witholding information, overlooking the fact that we all want to have a semblance of safety and admiration with the person that we are with.....all these things, and many more, are what slowly chips away at a relationship. If there is love, then these can and do happen, but there is a desire to keep the loved one primarily, so we change our actions and behaviours as we go along.

 

It is a matter of compromise, working it out, and if a satisfied resolution cannot take place, then the best thing to do would be to leave. If neither one is willing to change. If sex is bad in a committed relationship, and all methods to change that have been squashed, does one end the relationship? If personal differences are what is creating the wedge is the issue, does one end that relationship? I guess either one can be a means to end a relationship. I think depending on what sex means to a person, it can have a big effect or not much on that specific relationship. If things are really good but the sex is ho hum, it can be worked around. If sex is great, the rest of the relationship is ho hum, one is more likely to seek personal stimulation, slight flirting, coming home late, avoiding romantic moments....I think a person can go longer without sex then they can without emotional connectiveness, belonging, intimacy that is NOT sexual in nature.

 

So in a long way around this, lol, I would sexually cheat if the rest of the relationship is not good because to me, that is the symptom that that specific relationship IS ALREADY OVER.

 

Sexual boredom is something we need to deal with. If we think having sex with the same person for 10 years is going to feel as good as it did in the early stages, but thats because we get comfortable and familiar; I think when that does happen, it is crucial that these two people have a very good personal relationship with one another so that sex is not the priority. Or maybe sex should be the priority????? :))))))))))))) Take care.

 

 

 
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July 18, 2008, 3:31 am PDT

Brain fart.

First sentance in my last post......please change "unaccept......to acceptable". sheehsh.
 
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July 19, 2008, 12:42 pm PDT

Pornography is ruining our marriage..

It all started when I was pregnant with our first child, my husband began turning me down for sex and I would catch him using pornography instead. I would take a shower and peek under the door to see him "using" pornography in the other room. When I would come out of the shower, he had turned it off, and acted as though nothing happened. At first I figured that this was a normal guy thing. Then, he begn getting up in the middle of the night and using it. We lived in a small apartment at the time, so I would hear something going on in the other room (at like 4am) and tip toe out and peak in to see him using it. At this point he had been turning me down for sex for several months and I was hurt by th fact that he would rather look at porn than even touch me.

Eventually, I found all the videos and hid them.I told him that if he loved me he wouldn't watch them anymore and would have sex with me. He agreed to that but shortly after I found out that he had found the hiding place nd was taking them out and putting them back when he was finished. I confronted him about it and he lied repeatedly. He swore on our marriage and our unborn child that he didn't. But he made one big mistake, he left a video in the DVD player one day by accident and when I turned on the tv it came on, right in front of him. He knew he was caught at that point and fessed up that he still used it. I left him for a few days after that and stayed with my mother. I was more upset that he had lied and swore on our unborn child and marriage. It wasn't about the porn anymore, it was about all the lies in our marriage.

He agreed to go to marriage counseling if I took him back, so we did. We talkd about his alcohol abuse and his pornography addiction, to the point where we thought we had cured his porn addiction. Well, it's been 3 years and I juest found out that I am still being lied to. He is still using porn all the time. We have two children now and our first daughter is a special needs child. His alcohol abuse problem is out of control, and I feel that our whole marriage is a lie. I can't handle it anymore.

I don't know what to do. I am extremely unhappy in my marriage but I feel stuck because he financially supports us so that I can stay home and take care of our disabled three year old.

I need advice. Please help me.

 
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July 19, 2008, 2:38 pm PDT

How Porn Has Hurt Our Relationship

Quote From: kimikomine

I also don't think cheating, in any form, is unacceptable in a committed relationship.Just wanted to say that first and foremost. Infidelity is wrong and shouldn't happen. Unfortunately, the line gets blurred with what is infidelity and what is considered acceptable. I think its important that two people understand what it means to each person so that they can either walk away before a relationship begins, or talk about it at the early stages. Unfortunately, again, these things don't come up until something has already stirred the pot.

 

If you think about it, sex is the glue that keeps people feeling the "love" feeling, right? All other relationships are just platonic as long as sex is not involved, right? I don't think so. I think you can cheat in many ways. Sex is not the only way a person cheats. Emotionally charged conversation with a co-worker, going to clubs where girls dress scantily and seductively, spending money on something other then what that money was intended for, not being honest to one another if someone gets hurts, or is offended, witholding information, overlooking the fact that we all want to have a semblance of safety and admiration with the person that we are with.....all these things, and many more, are what slowly chips away at a relationship. If there is love, then these can and do happen, but there is a desire to keep the loved one primarily, so we change our actions and behaviours as we go along.

 

It is a matter of compromise, working it out, and if a satisfied resolution cannot take place, then the best thing to do would be to leave. If neither one is willing to change. If sex is bad in a committed relationship, and all methods to change that have been squashed, does one end the relationship? If personal differences are what is creating the wedge is the issue, does one end that relationship? I guess either one can be a means to end a relationship. I think depending on what sex means to a person, it can have a big effect or not much on that specific relationship. If things are really good but the sex is ho hum, it can be worked around. If sex is great, the rest of the relationship is ho hum, one is more likely to seek personal stimulation, slight flirting, coming home late, avoiding romantic moments....I think a person can go longer without sex then they can without emotional connectiveness, belonging, intimacy that is NOT sexual in nature.

 

So in a long way around this, lol, I would sexually cheat if the rest of the relationship is not good because to me, that is the symptom that that specific relationship IS ALREADY OVER.

 

Sexual boredom is something we need to deal with. If we think having sex with the same person for 10 years is going to feel as good as it did in the early stages, but thats because we get comfortable and familiar; I think when that does happen, it is crucial that these two people have a very good personal relationship with one another so that sex is not the priority. Or maybe sex should be the priority????? :))))))))))))) Take care.

 

 

So, I guess what you're basically saying is, you would still cheat while IN a relationship that you feel is already DOOMED and OVER.

 

I guess I'll have to agree to disagree with ya on this one! I see what you're saying, but I'm not feeling it nor do I approve of it. But, to each his own!  ;)

 

 

 
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July 19, 2008, 2:52 pm PDT

How Porn Has Hurt Our Relationship

Quote From: momtotwogirls

It all started when I was pregnant with our first child, my husband began turning me down for sex and I would catch him using pornography instead. I would take a shower and peek under the door to see him "using" pornography in the other room. When I would come out of the shower, he had turned it off, and acted as though nothing happened. At first I figured that this was a normal guy thing. Then, he begn getting up in the middle of the night and using it. We lived in a small apartment at the time, so I would hear something going on in the other room (at like 4am) and tip toe out and peak in to see him using it. At this point he had been turning me down for sex for several months and I was hurt by th fact that he would rather look at porn than even touch me.

Eventually, I found all the videos and hid them.I told him that if he loved me he wouldn't watch them anymore and would have sex with me. He agreed to that but shortly after I found out that he had found the hiding place nd was taking them out and putting them back when he was finished. I confronted him about it and he lied repeatedly. He swore on our marriage and our unborn child that he didn't. But he made one big mistake, he left a video in the DVD player one day by accident and when I turned on the tv it came on, right in front of him. He knew he was caught at that point and fessed up that he still used it. I left him for a few days after that and stayed with my mother. I was more upset that he had lied and swore on our unborn child and marriage. It wasn't about the porn anymore, it was about all the lies in our marriage.

He agreed to go to marriage counseling if I took him back, so we did. We talkd about his alcohol abuse and his pornography addiction, to the point where we thought we had cured his porn addiction. Well, it's been 3 years and I juest found out that I am still being lied to. He is still using porn all the time. We have two children now and our first daughter is a special needs child. His alcohol abuse problem is out of control, and I feel that our whole marriage is a lie. I can't handle it anymore.

I don't know what to do. I am extremely unhappy in my marriage but I feel stuck because he financially supports us so that I can stay home and take care of our disabled three year old.

I need advice. Please help me.

Do you have a college degree or job skills to fall back on? He knows that you (and your two children) depend on him for sustenance, so this is why he continues to use porn behind your back and doesn't care how you feel about it. He knows (or rather, thinks) that you have no other recourse and that you can't possibly make it out on your own. You should start saving money and making a PLAN whilst all of this is going on. He'll NEVER stop using it and will continue to do so as long as you stay with him. And why wouldn't he? He has the BEST of BOTH worlds: a wife to come home to who cooks, cleans and takes care of the kids (especially a special needs child! wow, that's A LOT of hard work on your part!) while he pulls his pud to porn in the middle of the night or anytime you're not around. He won't quit using it until you give him an ultimatum that you can STICK TO.

 

But, don't give him that ultimatum until you have all your ducks lined up in a row (money saved up, your mom's help to move out and stay with her 'til you find your own place to live) and are emotionally and spiritually strong enough to STICK to your ultimatum! He doesn't care about your feelings on this, nor does he care about the possible exposure to his very own children that his porn use could eventually lead to! I mean, helllooo?! He LEFT a PORN DVD in the player and when you turned it on, it was THERE for BOTH of you to see!!! What if your THREE YEAR OLD or your other child saw those disgusting images for those few seconds??? That could've changed their lives FOREVER.

 

You don't need help. You have it WITHIN YOU to do what I stated above. You've ALWAYS KNOWN that it would come down to this, it's just that you probably love him and don't want the marriage to end - but, it has ALREADY ENDED! At least in his eyes and heart anyways.

 

 

You're a MOM, so by default, you're a VERY STRONG and COURAGEOUS person and you KNOW what needs to be done. Protect your children and yourself from this perversity.

 

Let us know how it goes and I'll be rooting for you.

 

 

 
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July 19, 2008, 11:41 pm PDT

How Porn Has Hurt Our Relationship

Quote From: momtotwogirls

It all started when I was pregnant with our first child, my husband began turning me down for sex and I would catch him using pornography instead. I would take a shower and peek under the door to see him "using" pornography in the other room. When I would come out of the shower, he had turned it off, and acted as though nothing happened. At first I figured that this was a normal guy thing. Then, he begn getting up in the middle of the night and using it. We lived in a small apartment at the time, so I would hear something going on in the other room (at like 4am) and tip toe out and peak in to see him using it. At this point he had been turning me down for sex for several months and I was hurt by th fact that he would rather look at porn than even touch me.

Eventually, I found all the videos and hid them.I told him that if he loved me he wouldn't watch them anymore and would have sex with me. He agreed to that but shortly after I found out that he had found the hiding place nd was taking them out and putting them back when he was finished. I confronted him about it and he lied repeatedly. He swore on our marriage and our unborn child that he didn't. But he made one big mistake, he left a video in the DVD player one day by accident and when I turned on the tv it came on, right in front of him. He knew he was caught at that point and fessed up that he still used it. I left him for a few days after that and stayed with my mother. I was more upset that he had lied and swore on our unborn child and marriage. It wasn't about the porn anymore, it was about all the lies in our marriage.

He agreed to go to marriage counseling if I took him back, so we did. We talkd about his alcohol abuse and his pornography addiction, to the point where we thought we had cured his porn addiction. Well, it's been 3 years and I juest found out that I am still being lied to. He is still using porn all the time. We have two children now and our first daughter is a special needs child. His alcohol abuse problem is out of control, and I feel that our whole marriage is a lie. I can't handle it anymore.

I don't know what to do. I am extremely unhappy in my marriage but I feel stuck because he financially supports us so that I can stay home and take care of our disabled three year old.

I need advice. Please help me.

Well, first off, I think I shall say that as long as he feels like he can get away with it, he'll keep doing it. You've caught him many times, and each time he keeps going back until you catch him again. Since this has happened more than once, he probably just figures in his own mind "Oops, hand in the cookie jar!" and takes it just about as seriously as that. He just figures he can lie his way out of it. Like a child who's been caught by his mom. They never really learn until they either 1) Mature a little and realize their wrongdoing or 2) Something really big and impactful happens to them because of it.

 

I think that the impactful thing that needs to happen here is you leaving.

 

He's in that mindset that he can just keep lying and get away with it. He probably also thinks that he's your only hope for financial survival and he can do whatever he wants to you without care because he thinks you actually can't leave no matter what he does. That's not fair. It's demeaning, it's cruel, and it's obviously destroying your marriage. What would your child learn from that? Nothing good, of course.

 

I think what you need to do is fully assess your own situation. What skills do you have? Do you have a place to stay for some time so that you can save up money and possibly build up career skills if you don't have any, or build up more if you already have some. Your mother would probably be willing to help you considering she did before, but the most important thing is, should you decide to leave, you must NOT back out of that decision. You must stick to it. He won't take you seriously if you don't. Then that would just give him more power, and more ego, and build more on his already demeaning and unfair treatment of you and your child. In order to take away his power over you, is to show him that he really has none.

 
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July 20, 2008, 8:32 am PDT

cross-addiction issues

Quote From: momtotwogirls

It all started when I was pregnant with our first child, my husband began turning me down for sex and I would catch him using pornography instead. I would take a shower and peek under the door to see him "using" pornography in the other room. When I would come out of the shower, he had turned it off, and acted as though nothing happened. At first I figured that this was a normal guy thing. Then, he begn getting up in the middle of the night and using it. We lived in a small apartment at the time, so I would hear something going on in the other room (at like 4am) and tip toe out and peak in to see him using it. At this point he had been turning me down for sex for several months and I was hurt by th fact that he would rather look at porn than even touch me.

Eventually, I found all the videos and hid them.I told him that if he loved me he wouldn't watch them anymore and would have sex with me. He agreed to that but shortly after I found out that he had found the hiding place nd was taking them out and putting them back when he was finished. I confronted him about it and he lied repeatedly. He swore on our marriage and our unborn child that he didn't. But he made one big mistake, he left a video in the DVD player one day by accident and when I turned on the tv it came on, right in front of him. He knew he was caught at that point and fessed up that he still used it. I left him for a few days after that and stayed with my mother. I was more upset that he had lied and swore on our unborn child and marriage. It wasn't about the porn anymore, it was about all the lies in our marriage.

He agreed to go to marriage counseling if I took him back, so we did. We talkd about his alcohol abuse and his pornography addiction, to the point where we thought we had cured his porn addiction. Well, it's been 3 years and I juest found out that I am still being lied to. He is still using porn all the time. We have two children now and our first daughter is a special needs child. His alcohol abuse problem is out of control, and I feel that our whole marriage is a lie. I can't handle it anymore.

I don't know what to do. I am extremely unhappy in my marriage but I feel stuck because he financially supports us so that I can stay home and take care of our disabled three year old.

I need advice. Please help me.

No one who has replied to this post has discussed the cross-addiction angle yet, so I will. This poster's  husband has another addiction besides the porn. The poster wrote about her husband being supposedly 'cured' of his porn addiction, but nothing else was mentioned regarding his out of control alcohol addiction. First, the porn angle. My opinion is that he turned to porn during the pregnancy because he, like many men, began to see his wife as a mother and not just a sex partner anymore. Lots of men have a "Madonna complex" regarding this. It is almost incestuous for them to have sex with a pregnant woman or a woman who is a mother. It evokes very primitive feelings regarding mothers and motherhood. Men like that cannot have sex with a woman that reminds them of 'mother' or motherhood. I had a friend whose husband had this complex. He could not bring himself to have sex with her when she was pregnant and after she became the mother to his children he insisted that she behave like a whore in the bedroom. He could have sex with the "bad girl" but not the "good girl." The good girl was a mother, and he could not have sex with a maternal figure. Weird, but true. Of course it is immature thinking and feelings that have not been reconciled in their minds or emotions. This poster's husband may have just been turned off by his pregnant wife's body for reasons other than the ones I have described. Whatever the reasons, he turned to porn and now he can't stop. He is not having sex with his wife and prefers the fantasy of porn to having a real relationship with his wife. I know all about that one. I also know about having a cross-addicted spouse, because mine was addicted to porn and pot. My husband started smoking pot in his early teens, and was very promiscuous by age 15. He was in denial that he was addicted to anything. He was also a narcissist and passive-aggressive to boot. Me and my children were doomed. My immature husband (his emotional development stopped at age 16) also left porn out where my children could find it. My sons found it and were scarred by it. They also acted out sexually with their sister as children because of it. The poster better think long and hard about that. Her children will be scarred and damaged by their father's porn use. They will. They will also be damaged by their father's alcohol abuse. So will she.

My suggestion is that the poster go to Al-Anon meetings for the spouses and loved ones of those who abuse alcohol. And that she find out everything she can about porn addiction and alcohol addiction, to help herself by getting clarity about what she is up against. She cannot make this better on her own. Having a special needs child certainly complicates the issue (my oldest son had severe behavioral problems) so I know how she feels. Counseling will help also. However, staying with an addicted spouse who lies and prefers porn and abuses alcohol because he financially provides for the family is a hell she cannot afford to stay in, for herself as well as for her children. I will tell you that doing that was the biggest mistake of my life, one that I and my children are still paying the price for, and I suspect always will. My husband presented himself as a lamb, but he was really a wolf. And I allowed the wolf to tear me and my children apart. Lady, there is a way out of the hell you are in, and it is your responsibility to find the way out. It will not be easy by any means, but you must. You must. Good luck, keep posting, and God Bless. ~jjj~
 
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July 20, 2008, 4:48 pm PDT

Cheating in a dead relationship.

Quote From: camangel_07

So, I guess what you're basically saying is, you would still cheat while IN a relationship that you feel is already DOOMED and OVER.

 

I guess I'll have to agree to disagree with ya on this one! I see what you're saying, but I'm not feeling it nor do I approve of it. But, to each his own!  ;)

 

 

Its not necessarily cheating anymore when the relationship is over because there is no chance of it being any different. What difference does it make if a person finds another while in the throes of a separation  anyway.
 
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July 21, 2008, 8:02 pm PDT

How Porn Has Hurt Our Relationship

Quote From: kimikomine

Its not necessarily cheating anymore when the relationship is over because there is no chance of it being any different. What difference does it make if a person finds another while in the throes of a separation  anyway.
Well...I agree and disagree. If the relationship is past the point of no return, then I could understand someone starting to look around at other people, but I don't think it would be okay for them to start a new relationship before the other one is officially over. Not about to be over, but actually over. With both parties saying that they want to break up, and then actually doing it. Starting another relationship before that happens, I do think is cheating. It's kind of like spitting in the other person's face then leaving.
 

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