suggestions

[ElderJAR]

What are some things that people can do to occupy their minds and detract their mind when they are being tempted with pornography? I guess I pretty much know the answers, but they aren't as obvious when you're being tempted.

[siouxz72]

Walk away...from the computer...from the magazine...from the whatever. Get up and walk. :)

[Tough Grits]

My suggestions might seem simple, but they actually work for some...

1. Say a prayer.

2. Pick up your scriptures.

3. Call a friend to talk.

4. Find somebody to do a service project for or run an errand for.

5. Do that one thing that you have been putting off and setting to the side.

6. Think of all the reasons why you shouldn't engage in pornography.

7. Think of how Satan must laugh and enjoy it when a noble son or daughter of God gets caught in the trap of pornography.

8. Make a list of all your goals in life and in the gospel, then think about how being caught in the web of pronography might jeopardize those plans.

9. If you are married, talk to your spouse. Let them help you in your moment of trial and weakness...there is a reason that they are called a help-mate.

10. Call your Bishop. Yes, he is busy, but most bishops I know would welcome the sacred opportunity and responsibility to help a member avoid a moral/sexual/adulterous pitfall.

11. Have a spouse, family member, or friend set a strict lock-down on allowed sites/content on your computer. Let them be the only ones who know the password. Have them also set a strict content filter on your cable or satellite hook-up, again, where they are the only ones to know the password.

12. Keep a miniature Book of Mormon in your pocket or car at all times. If you feel the need to stop and purchase or rent material of a pornograpghic nature, pull out your "emergency" scriptures and start reading!!

I hope these suggestions help anybody who may be struggling with this terrible disease. My prayers are with you. Though not all of us struggle with this painful addiction, many of us know somebody who does. It is for the benefit of us all to know the warning signs, and to know how to be proactive in combatting this plague.

[Truegrits]

What are some things that people can do to occupy their minds and detract their mind when they are being tempted with pornography?

I think all the suggestions so far are good/helpful...

How about calling a friend?

Even if you have not shared your "problem" with the friend, just talking/being with them would help. Having people around you puts your focus elsewhere.

[deydream]

If you can find someone to report to about your progress, like your bishop, it may help you be stronger. Also, don't let yourself be idle or bored. Don't go near the line, if you feel yourself start to be tempted, stay away from the computer, shut it down. Don't even use the computer unless some one else is in the room with you. If the computer is in a bedroom, take is out and put it in a public place in the house.

Make a long list of anything else you can be doing and then use that list. If you are having a hard time, don't lose hope. Satan wants you to lose hope so he can more easily tempt you and bind you down with his chains. He doesn't care about you, but there are a lot of us out here who do care what happens to you.

[unixknight]

I usually work on a hobby.

[funkymonkey]

Addiction is really hard, especially this one because it's can be hidden so easily.

Having someone in person coach you can really help, especially at first... like a bishop or a counselor. I know guys tend to have a bigger problem than women when it comes to accepting outside help but when it comes to this kind of tempation, outside people to give you the necessary tools to beat this.

Keep the computer in a public area and don't use it when you're alone. Use computer labs on campus with people around if you're in school.

Also, always have the will-power to regain control over your own mind, and be stubborn about it. For the first while it'll feel like you'll be fighting fighting fighting, but it will get easier with time, and don't feel bad if you slip up or if it takes longer to conquer than you thought it would. Sometimes it takes even years.

There are a ton of Ensign articles that talk about coping with this too.

[ElderJAR]

thank you everyone for your suggestions. It has been a good day for me and hopefully they'll keep coming and never cease.

[xXTekXx]

I would say that listening to music is a really good one,as long as it's in good taste. Excersize would help too

[Misshalfway]

cutting the thought off before it gets rolling! Mind blockers!!!!

If start dwellling, then start a conversation with another person. Or get out of lonely spaces into inhabited ones and start new thought processes.

[unixknight]

I'll tell you one of the things that I have found that definitely does NOT help is suggestive imagery on television.

I'm a lot more careful these days about what I watch than I used to be. I used to have the mindset of "Well it's regular TV so it'll never be anything that bad" but the problem is that it's becoming ever more common to see attractive women in minimal amounts of clothing and while that material isn't porn per se, it does remind a person of porn they may have seen before and that plants the thought in the mind.

[firewater49]

What I do is think about what it does to you spiritually. It can stop you from receiving many blessings from the lord and not feeling the spirit. (For a long time until you receive forgiveness)

Now: I am going to assume temptation comes from the computer.

First, I downloaded and Installed K9 web filter. This allows me to not see any popups, or accidentally stumble upon a site that has pornographic content on it. This helps a lot because if you are, "aroused" it can be hard to let go.

Lastly if you already are, "aroused": Immediately turn off the computer. Don't get back on until you have done an activity of some sort that will occupy you for a long time.

If you are addicted: Seek Immediate help... and this time set web filter's password so that someone else has control over the password.

[mountainrider]

This is how I do it.

I know that I will be fired from my job is I look at anything inappropriate on the computer at work. I have to have self-discipline.

I figure if I can be on a computer all day at work, everyday, with access to the internet and can not look at anything inappropriate, I can have the same self discipline at home or anywhere else.