It was 1945, and Dr. Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer, was about to make an astonishing discovery all because of the chocolate bar in his pocket. 

He noticed an unusual occurrence while conducting experiments with magnetrons, components used in radar systems during World War II. Standing near the magnetron, he sensed an unexpected warmth from his pocket.

 To his surprise, the chocolate bar had melted. This peculiar incident piqued Dr. Spencer’s curiosity and set him on a path of exploration.

Fascinated by the mysterious power of the magnetron, Dr. Spencer delved deeper into the nature of microwaves (spoiler).

His meticulous investigation unraveled a scientific principle that forever changed how we approach cooking: he invented the microwave oven.

While the microwave was an accidental invention, it reveals an important principle: something was happening that he couldn’t see, but once he became aware, it was a life-changing discovery.

Just like the unexpected melting of a chocolate bar by the invisible microwaves, our unseen emotions have a powerful impact on us and those around us, especially when we are unaware of them. Becoming aware of our emotions is essential for breaking free of sexual sin.

How to Quit Porn by Navigating Your Emotions

God made us emotional beings with the ability to feel a wide array of emotions – from elation to despair, from love to anger. We may not be able to inhale happiness or taste anger, but we can become self-aware and comprehend their profound influence on our actions and life decisions.

The wise person grows in self-awareness. “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways” (Proverbs 14:8). The wise man or woman thinks about why they do certain things and the way they do certain things. To be wise, we must grow in self-awareness.

Self-awareness is the deep-seated understanding of our character, feelings, motives, and desires. Those with a keen sense of self-awareness don’t merely identify their emotions; they understand how they shape their behavior.

When tackling unwanted behaviors, such as pornography addiction, self-awareness enables individuals to discern their emotional triggers, preventing relapse.

Emotional Triggers: The Hidden Enemies in the Battle Against Pornography

Negative emotions are one of the roots of porn addiction that must be addressed for freedom from porn to be achieved.

Overcoming porn involves growing self-awareness and learning to process feelings instead of medicating them. Acting out in response to an emotional trigger gives a person the jolt of dopamine they crave.

Pornography- which can produce much more dopamine than relational sex- provides a powerful, albeit temporary, medication to numb negative emotions. Because negative emotions regularly trigger the man or woman in sexual bondage down the path to relapse, being able to identify emotions is the first step in learning to process them instead of medicating them. 

Emotional intelligence, a subset of self-awareness, measures individuals’ capacity to recognize, control, and express their feelings. It also assesses their skill to handle interpersonal relationships effectively.

In essence, self-awareness enables us to understand who we are, while emotional intelligence equips us to relate and adapt accordingly. Like the transformative invention of the microwave, recognizing and harnessing the power of our emotional intelligence can pave the way for profound personal growth.

From Microwaves to Being BLASSTED

Acknowledging, understanding, and navigating your emotional landscape forms the initial stepping stones toward freedom from pornography.

We use the acronym BLASSTED. BLASSTED helps a person identify common triggering emotions. .

Boredom is the state of feeling weary because someone is unoccupied or lacks interest in their current activity.

Loneliness is sadness because of a lack of friends or company.

Anxiety is worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

Self-doubt is a lack of confidence related to failure, poor performance, rejection, or low self-worth.

Ticked-off represents a state of anger because of conflict or frustrating circumstances.

Exhausted means being physically or mentally depleted because of overwork or inadequate sleep.

Depressed is being in a state of unhappiness or hopelessness.

Porn users who aren’t emotionally aware find themselves getting BLASSTED. 

Emotions that have regularly led a person to use porn in the past can trigger them to use it in the future. If family conflict while growing up regularly resulted in medicating with porn, they may have that same urge to use it when they get into an argument with their roommate or boyfriend.

Someone moves toward self-awareness by recognizing their tendency to isolate themselves when BLASSTED. In that recognition, they refuse to isolate but instead seek connection with friends or family or just go to a public place.

Like a muscle, the ability to process one’s emotions only develops when used regularly, and people who medicate their feelings instead of processing them undercut their emotional development. This is why we have the daily check-in on the FF app and website so you can identify your emotions and how you’re feeling and share with your accountability partners. This daily practice can sharpen your awareness and emotional intelligence in a powerful way. 

Using Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence to Quit Porn

Outgrowing porn requires deepening emotional intelligence by growing self-awareness. Like everything else on the path to recovery, you can’t do this alone. Regularly processing your emotions with others is invaluable in the process of emotional intelligence.

This is why regular check-ins with accountability are crucial. The most successful recovery groups have daily check-ins as a foundational practice. The process of check-ins must be easy enough to do regularly, which is one reason we built our Freedom Fight app.

As great as microwaves are, you can’t quick-cook your path to freedom from pornography. It takes time, 100 percent commitment, self-awareness of your emotions, and inviting God and others into this journey.

P.S. (The Feelings Wheel is another great resource once you’re comfortable with BLASSTED)