When my cousin came to our home to speak about addiction recovery, he made a very interesting distinction that I had never considered.  He suggested that viewing pornography is just one way of acting out on a lust addiction.  This was new territory for me.  I had always considered pornography viewing as the addiction; but he expanded the scope into lust addiction and gave examples of how he received ‘lust hits’.  It could be acting out with pornography OR it could be getting a  pretty woman to smile at him OR simply recalling a pleasurable moment OR….you name it.   Thus pornography was not the addiction per se; but it was the need for lust.  I believe he has it right.  It’s the same concept as an alcoholic that drinks beer one night, vodka the next night and wine coolers yet another night.  Different drinks-all with the same purpose-to fill a craving. And I was reminded of a young man I once encountered.  He didn’t have access to pornography, but he was clearly going through the of the cycle of lust addiction. At the time, I didn’t understand what was going on for him;  but this expanded idea brought it all into focus.  The young man was able to find other ways to satisfy a lust addiction without any pornography.  Unfortunately, pornography can accelerate a lust addiction, takes it to new levels of dependency and easily becomes the ‘drug’ of choice.  As we support loved ones through recovery, it is wise to remember that their addiction may be wider than just pornography and needs to be addressed on all of its levels of triggers and acting out.  In short, the need for lust must be removed…and replaced with love, deep love.  This is a PROCESS and not an EVENT.  But, it is absolutely possible through recovery, repentance, and understanding addiction.