Ted Shimer > Quotes

“Noah and his friends jokingly called their Freedom Fight group Rat Park because of how instrumental the group was in helping them walk in freedom. They held each other accountable for practicing BRACE. They confessed their relapses and celebrated victories, including being honest and open about their struggle. They took time out of their lives when a member reached out for help.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“The Christian Porn Problem It might come as no surprise that there is virtually no difference in monthly porn use among non-Christian men (65%) versus Christian men (64%).[32] In fact, it might even be worse than the published statistics indicate. The Freedom Fight recently conducted a survey of over 750 Christian college men from over thirty different campuses across the country. Each of the men we surveyed was involved in a campus ministry, and each considered their faith to be a vital element in their lives. Many of them were leaders in their ministries. What we found was alarming—89% of the growing Christian men we surveyed watch porn, at least occasionally. More than six in ten view it at least weekly. More than half of these practicing Christian men say they are addicted to pornography.[33] The Freedom Fight’s recent survey of over 550 Christian women from over thirty university campuses across the US showed that 51% are watching porn at least occasionally. These aren’t just any college women either. These women are practicing Christians, involved in campus ministry, and many of them are in leadership positions. Though their faith is important to them, pornography remains a part of their lives.[34]”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, it’s connection.”[196] The importance of connection is especially true for sex addiction, which is classified as an intimacy disorder. Today’s media age creates a world where people connect without true connection. The lack of connection fosters the type of isolating environment where a porn or sex addiction thrives.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“When a person desperately wants to stop a behavior they see as harmful, and they repeatedly try to stop it but can’t, it may be an addiction. When the unstoppable behavior changes the brain in such a way to lock them into the behavior then the use of the term “addiction” seems appropriate.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“The power of thoughts is significant, which is why God warns His people to be diligent about every thought that enters through the doorway of their minds. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul writes that believers should “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The word “captive” comes from the Greek word meaning “a prisoner of war taken by spear.” It is this kind of military diligence followers of Christ should exercise over every thought. The thoughts people think matter. Through what people feed their minds, they are either being conformed to the world or are being transformed to be like Christ.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“Brené Brown says, “We can’t selectively numb emotion. Numb the dark and you numb the light.”[229] When people numb negative emotions, they also blunt their capacity to feel joy and love. Avoiding mental discomfort at any cost is a self-defeating strategy. When people medicate emotional pain, it ends up costing them more happiness, joy, and love than they may realize.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“In 2013, a research professor at the University of Montreal wanted to compare the behavior of men who viewed sexually explicit material with those who had never viewed it. Unfortunately, he had to cancel the whole project. Why? He could not find one man in his twenties who had not looked at porn.[36] This reality makes the following study even more significant.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“The Report on Digital Sexuality surveyed 11,000 porn users and concluded that the more porn someone watches, the more likely they are to be bisexual. The study shows there is a steady increase in the percentage of men who consider themselves bisexual for each level of frequency of porn use. The data shows: Of those watching porn once a week, 13% considered themselves bisexual. Of those watching porn a few times a week, 20% claim bisexuality. Of those watching porn several times a day, 27% consider themselves bisexual.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“And yes, porn is one of the most addictive of all substances. In fact, some people have come to call pornography “the new drug.” As we will see later, some drugs create a higher dopamine high than porn, but there are no drugs as accessible as the new drug. How hard would it be to break a cocaine habit if you always had it in your pocket?”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“The Bible says choosing isolation is a foolish thing to do. “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment” (Proverbs 18:1). Still, when we’re left to ourselves, we are prone to self-deception and isolation”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“That decay and death is evident to Christian leaders today. As author Josh McDowell said, “Right at this moment, there’s never been anything in history that is destroying more churches, more pastors, more marriages, more young people, than pornography.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“The destructive consequences of increasing porn addiction are coming. The next generation will experience them firsthand. The consequences will be worse than ever because each subsequent generation is getting more addicted than their predecessors.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“Pornography is a powerful drug. Few drugs can be binged on for hours at a time like porn, which creates massive amounts of dopamine in the brain. Dr. Michael Barta, who specializes in treating porn and sex addiction with a neurobiological approach, says, “Pornography can produce up to ten times more dopamine in the brain as relational sex.”[218] And like other drugs, porn is often used to medicate the pain and discomforts of life. When negative emotions trigger the brain’s limbic system, people begin to seek relief from their negative feelings. This entire process usually happens subconsciously.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“When someone who’s seeking freedom understands that isolation moves them toward acting out, they will recognize the need to move toward community. If they are going on a business trip by themselves, they see the need to make a plan to break isolation with some strategically placed phone calls. If they are going back home to a triggering environment, they plan to regularly break isolation by reaching out to their accountability group. A meetup over coffee or a simple two-minute call can be powerful weapons against the root of isolation.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“Take Steve Kuhn, for instance. In an article about wearing facades, he wrote: Sure, my friends may have enjoyed being with “good-Christian-Steve,” my family may have been proud of “successful-family-man-Steve,” and my wife may have loved “faithful-Steve-who-wasn’t-cheating-on-her,” but if any of those people got to know the real me, they’d reject me in a heartbeat. Or so I thought. The result, sadly, was that no matter how much anyone tried to love me, I knew they were only loving fake versions of me that didn’t exist. The real me was hidden away where no love could ever reach it, parched with a loneliness that was never being quenched.[”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“Atheist author Gary Wilson wrote, “Until recently, erectile dysfunction was rarely seen in men under forty. Now it is seen in teenagers as young as fifteen.” Why? Wilson attributed the phenomenon to the use of porn. He went on to explain: By the time they find a real partner, perhaps as much as a decade later, some guys discover they have trained intensely for the wrong sport. These young men had simply conditioned their sexual response to screens, isolating, constant novelty, shock/surprise, fetish porn, and watching other people have sex… you become numb to real partners.[13]”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“We have been blessed by God so we can bless others. The Bible says God “comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (1 Corinthians 1:3-4). God gives freedom so we can help others find freedom too. Those who embrace this vision early will see it enhance their recovery and bring freedom to others.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“Much like this tsunami, the destructive nature and enormous scale of pornography addiction are hidden from the masses. Much like a tsunami, the wave may not be seen until it is too late. And much like the tsunami that crushed so many communities in southeast Asia, the wave of porn addiction is gaining size and speed at an alarming rate. Today, we only partially see the impact of porn in culture, but there is a wave of devastation coming when today’s youth who have been raised on porn grow up. If the Church does not wake up to the coming tsunami, the devastation will be catastrophic.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free

“Emotional intelligence, a subset of self-awareness, is the measure of someone’s capacity to be aware of, control, and express their feelings, as well as the skill to effectively handle interpersonal relationships. Simply put, self-awareness allows us to see who we are. Emotional intelligence enables us to relate and adapt accordingly. It is self-awareness when a man knows that after a long day of work, a loud and chaotic environment at home causes him stress. The ability to communicate those feelings and to navigate them effectively with his wife and kids is emotional intelligence.”
― Ted Shimer, The Freedom Fight: The New Drug and the Truths That Set Us Free