*Trigger warning: there is talk of childhood abuse by an adult, and abuse directed by and adult.* Joshua Shea is a recovered addict from alcohol and porn. He is now an educator on pornography addiction, a Certified Betrayal Trauma Coach, TED Talk speaker (December 2020), and author of three books: “The Addiction Nobody Wants to Talk About,” “He’s a Porn Addict… Now What?” and “Porn and the Pandemic: How 3 Months in 2020 Changed Everything."  Joshua had a traumatic childhood. For a few years, he (along with others) was abused physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually by a manipulative babysitter in a "house of horrors". At age 12, he found porn. At 14, he found alcohol. Harboring this trauma, later in life he was diagnosed as being bipolar. Joshua married and had children, and went on to become a successful City Councilman in his home state of Maine, a magazine publisher, and created a film festival. Having an addictive personality was his normal. Joshua says that "an addict has to always escalate..."  He took himself off his medication to have more control....  Soon, his successful life and career would all come crashing down as his need to control led him down an illegal path, using his investigative reporting skills to catfish young women online. He was caught. He went to therapy, eventually went to prison, and emerged as a therapist of sorts to others going through the same struggles and addictions he battled for almost his entire life. He found his purpose.  This is a very important talk, and Josh is brave to share his story and reveal very personal and private details in order to shed light on addiction, particularly porn addiction. Go to Joshua's website https://recoveringpornaddict.com where you can find all of the information you need to get help for yourself or others, more info about Josh himself, links, contact info, an educational course called Pornography Addiction Education for Partners… and more.  Thank you for listening.   😁❤️🎤🤪😷🎧  🎤  Facebook: @whatsnormalwithgabrielsanders Twitter: @wnwgspodcast Insta: @wnwgspodcast Email: emailwnwgs@gmail.com   + Podcast artwork created by the amazing Dan Meth. On Instagram: @danmeth.