As a part of regular trips to Australia, Darryl and Mary have been visiting organisations doing similar work to The Reward Foundation. On this trip we have met with three such organisations.
The third organisation we had contact with in Australia was Go For Greatness and its founder Jason Huxley. Jason is a TV producer. After his own protracted struggle with porn addiction, spending as much as 8 hours a day watching it while working from home, he set up this charity to help others. During the latter years of his eight-year addiction to porn, he tried to make his wife divorce him as he had decided she wasn’t good enough for him. Fortunately his wife refused and rather stood by him as he struggled to regain control of his life. He revealed that he had no idea that porn could be addictive. This is the most common problem we have encountered. How to make users realise that all that free fun and entertainment can be destructive?
Jason and his Board have produced a terrific website with very professional short, sharp videos and messages about recovery. The website has a help page to guide people to local counselling services, software, courses and support groups. They have decided to focus on more positive messages in future to help users become inspired to change. He said that many of the young men and women who have sought help from his organisation cannot believe how much more time, energy and well-being they have experienced since giving up porn. They are no longer wasting energy online. The Guilty Pleasure team offer support to partners as well.
Along with Liz Walker, our second contact in Australia, Jason is producing material that will help parents have those important ongoing conversations with their children as they navigate the temptations of the internet via smartphones and tablets. They are also developing videos that will show parents what apps are the most useful to help block porn and manage behaviour.
Along with the other organisations we have met, Jason and his team are interested in the work of The Reward Foundation and in cooperation where possible. Together we all contribute different and sometimes overlapping pieces of the puzzle as we look for ways to support recovery and avoid harm from the hooks set up by the porn industry today.
