Breaking the Silence

Creed and Crishelle share thoughts on why young adults really do want to talk more openly with friends about tough issues like pornography and sexuality. At the same time, it’s tricky to get started. It’s all about our basic needs as humans to feel valued and feel like we belong. Understanding each other is the root of connection. Listen in for motivation to get the conversation going in your circle. This is part 1 – listen to part 2 coming up! Click here for show notes with links to resources talked about in this episode. Support our nonprofit podcast and help us reach more young people here. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more!

“Where do babies come from?” Most of our parents dreaded that question! But lucky for us young adults, we can be more prepared than our parents ever were. Talking to our kids (or future kids) doesn’t have to be traumatic or awkward if we get educated and practice talking about sexuality now. Dr. Laura Padilla-Walker is a Professor at BYU in Family, Home, and Social Sciences. She’s an expert on how to create a culture of openness with your kids about sexuality, and she shares all her best ideas with Creed and Crishelle on this episode. Learn about how to talk, when to talk, and the importance of teaching your children the why behind healthy sexuality. Click here for show notes with links to resources talked about in this episode. Support our nonprofit podcast and help us reach more young people here. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more!

Creed and Crishelle talk to Zachary Andrews about what it was like getting involved in pornography as a young teen, then deciding he wanted to change. For Zachary, building healthy connections with God first, then with people in his life, was the key to his progress. Hear his thoughts on relapse, relationships, and healthy sexuality. Working on recovery from pornography use can be an opportunity to learn positive principles that transform someone’s life. Click here for show notes for this episode. Support our nonprofit podcast and help us reach more young people here.

What does recovery from porn addiction look like for couples? When should you set boundaries? What are boundaries, anyway? How do I know if I’m being co-dependent? What does interdependence mean? All of these questions and more are answered in this interview with Amanda Christenson, MFT. Amanda has spent many years counseling couples and individuals struggling with pornography addiction. Hear what she teaches her clients about the power of boundaries, rebuilding trust in relationships, and what helps people make progress in recovery. Click here for show notes with links to resources talked about in this episode. Support our nonprofit podcast and help us reach more young people here.

Travis Spencer, MFT is a young therapist, but he’s already spent years studying how couples navigate recovery from the impact of pornography. Travis shares what he has learned from his own experience of recovery, his work as a therapist, and his grad school study of couples. Hear about the 5 common experiences he observed with successful couples: a catalyst event that motivated recovery, finding support, getting educated, setting up structures such as boundaries and routines, and finally working on healing past trauma and learning better stress coping skills. Ultimately, couples came to see the experience as a crucible that helped them come out on the other side stronger than ever before.

Pornography isn’t just a guy problem. It’s a human problem, and Cassandra (Cassy) Hulse is a young woman on a mission to make sure that women who struggle with pornography use aren’t left out of the conversation. After years of struggling in secret and drowning in shame, Cassy decided enough was enough and came forward on social media about her lifelong battle with pornography addiction. Hear how compassion, inclusion, and love catapulted her into recovery and how she’s been transformed by it all. She talks about the unique struggles women face, what you can do to help the women in your life, and how breaking the silence on female pornography use is changing the world for the better. You can support our nonprofit podcast and get show notes at https://reach10.org/cassy-hulse-open-your-heart-women-struggle-porn-addiction/

How can young couples navigate the tough topic of pornography when one (or both) are working to stop using it? Nate and Shelby started this conversation while dating and are still relying on the power of open communication in their marriage. Hear what they mean by not letting pornography define a person or a relationship. Validating both partner’s feelings and not taking on the emotional labor of someone else’s work have been key factors in their connection. Nate shares tools for getting out of a shame cycle, learning self-regulation, and the importance of realizing his actions were causing Shelby pain. Together they resist narratives about “the creepy guy in the basement” and hold to the view that we are all whole people even while we have both strengths and weaknesses. Every relationship is unique, yet we can learn from each other’s experiences as we navigate our own. You can support our nonprofit podcast and get show notes at https://reach10.org/nathan-shelby-astle-open-communication-relationships-pornography-issue/

Creed and Crishelle talk with Rachel Denton and dive into the topic of healthy sexuality. As a young adult, she's already been deeply involved in projects and organizations helping people overcome pornography. She recently graduated with a Master's degree in social work, works at Fight the New Drug, and is also a therapist at LifeStar Network. You'll hear why pornography use is a symptom of a bigger problem - it's misunderstanding sexuality.  Many people either abuse or neglect their sexuality. Finding the healthy middle ground means understanding many types of intimacy, which is available to everyone even if they aren't sexually active. Healthy sexuality is about sharing, while pornography is about consuming and taking. And when we can talk about pornography with true vulnerability, we give people space to breathe and share. You can support our nonprofit podcast and get show notes at https://reach10.org/rachel-denton-healthy-sexuality-is-sharing/

It's our first podcast! Meet our hosts Creed and Crishelle. These young adults have had unique experiences that helped them understand that shame hurts and love heals. Hear their stories about why they are advocates for healthy sexuality and freedom from the impact of pornography. Learn more about the sponsor of the show, Reach 10, and their mission to help young adults create a new culture of compassion, courage, and connection to replace the shame, silence, and fear that keep people stuck in the problems of pornography.