Why Religious Answers Alone Won’t Help Overcome Pornography | An Interview with Clay Olsen

Clay Olsen serves as the CEO and Founder of Impact Suite, which
owns and operates a suite of award-winning self-care apps that have
helped hundreds of thousands of individuals find deeper healing and
recovery in over 150 countries. Early in his career, he co-founded
and lead the creation of Fight the New Drug—a youth movement
dedicated to raising awareness on the harmful effects of
pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation through science,
facts, and personal accounts. He now sits on the board of directors
and helps guide the larger vision. Highlights 01:15 Introduction to
Clay Olsen. 05:00 What are bishops/leaders missing what it comes to
pornography? Most are wildly naïve to the scope of pornography.
Bishops focus on boosting their spirituality but don’t help the
individual get professional help. Both are needed. 10:15 Therapy is
just one way to get help with addiction but for some other methods
might be more helpful. 13:00 Addiction can be a huge Mount Everest.
Instead of focusing on the summit, focus on the next right step.
14:00 Addiction or mental health issues boil down to a deficiency
in 1 of 3 relationships. Relationship with self Relationships with
others Relationship and connection to a higher power 16:00 Clay
highly recommends approaching recovery through community. Having a
support system is a powerful tool for recovery. 20:45 Are Sunday
School lessons on pornography helpful? Clay gives his tips on how
to teach it. 29:00 How can do reduce shame around pornography
addiction? Guilt vs shame What drives the shame? 42:20 Fight the
New Drug and other organizations have a lot of free resources that
leaders can use in lessons. 46:50 Fortify is an app designed to
help individuals heal and recover. Missionaries will also have
access to this app. 49:15 Clay and Kurt discuss accountability.
Fortify is not an accountability app. 53:40 Is pornography an
addiction? It’s a spectrum of struggle. Be careful of what you call
an addiction, especially when talking about young people. 1:01:40
Often times a person struggling with pornography is also struggling
with their mental health. 1:06:00 We often discount the role that
our lifestyles and environments have played in our collective
mental health. While depression can be genetic, it is most commonly
a disease of our civilization and lifestyle. Links
FightTheNewDrug.org ImpactSuite.com, workplace mental health
support Brain, Heart, World docuseries Let's Talk About Porn,
conversation blueprint Fortify, app for quitting porn Read the
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