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

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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.