Saudi Arabia launches first site to recover from "porn addiction" in the Kingdom
The director of the Saudi "Afaat" program, Saud Al-Hasani, revealed the launch of the first website to recover from addiction to watching pornographic sites in the Kingdom and the Gulf, with a self-help mechanism within two months.
Al-Hasani revealed the launch of specialized psychological models to help eliminate the problem of pornography in the Kingdom, including the “Ten Steps” program for divine healing next Ramadan, and the launch of the women’s recovery model during the next month of Ramadan.
Al-Hasani explained, during his talk on the “Ya Hala” program, that “pornography is a problem that affects human values, mental health, productivity, and giving, as the harms of pornographic materials relate to social, health, psychological, and societal aspects, such as harassment and violence.”
He said that "addiction to pornographic sites is a global phenomenon," noting that "42 billion visits were made to a pornographic site in 2019," explaining that a third of the Internet's content is pornographic.
He pointed out that "the specialist in psychiatry and sexual addiction developed 10 signs that define the problem of sexual addiction, including the formation of a pattern of loss of control over behavior, and an obsession with sexual fantasies as a primary means of dealing with stress."
Regarding the period of time that a porn addict needs to recover, Al-Hasani explained, “It depends on the duration of the previous addict’s viewing, the quality and intensity of the scenes, and the length of the viewing period, as it varies.”
He added: "But there are those who talk about 90 days or 3 months, and as is the case with addiction, recovery may take up to 18 months, and some even up to 5 years until a person reaches his normal life away from the habit of addiction."
The "Afaf" program is a psychological counseling program that was launched in 2019, and recently launched the annual Chastity Challenge initiative for the year 1443 AH with an organized model for those wishing to get rid of the problem of addiction to pornography, and is based on 3 axes: cognitive behavioral therapy, spiritual therapy, and providing a safe supportive environment. The challenge lasts for 100 days, starting from 01/30/2022, and ends at the end of Monday 09/05/2022, passing through the month of Ramadan, and culminating in Eid al-Fitr.