Addiction Isn’t “Content”

Most people don’t know how to handle addiction, mental health/illness, or general trauma/emotional distress.

This is why stigma exists.

But I would imagine that they (especially if they are educated, empathetic, & within their right mind) would at least know what not to do, and that is to use whatever platform they have (regardless of how large or small) to make content out of someone else’s addiction/addictive behaviors.

Unfortunately, this is what a well-known internet personality (will only be addressed here as “IP”) decided to do recently during a live-stream, causing their viewers & other content creators to react to their story. To make this readable & get to the point, I’m going to quickly go through the series of events:

• IP tells story revealing that their previous video editor confessed to a sex addiction. Specifically, self-stimulation.
• This addiction caused said editor to be late multiple times on turning around content.
• IP states that after the admission, they continued to employ the editor for some time because they “felt bad” & “has first-hand experience with others who have struggled with addiction.”
• IP mentions they’ve held on to this story for years, eventually telling someone about it privately.
• IP does this while smirking & laughing.
• Internet & content creators react through tweets & monetized videos, primarily assuming that IP is the source of the editor’s addiction.
• IP provides clarity, but it’s purposeless at this point.

Here’s the thing – experiencing something like this has to be extremely uncomfortable (to say the least) for the IP, because their employee admitted to behavior that would normally get them immediately terminated upon confession. This would be something that the editor would need to seek professional help for, seeing as how it interfered with their job duties, overall well-being, & likely, their interpersonal relationships. So, to be fair to the IP, telling this story while laughing to disguise discomfort would be somewhat normal.

People commonly laugh when they are nervous and uncomfortable to cope.

But using your platform to expose someone’s addiction while admitting to you allowed them to remain an employee for months after (likely enabling their behavior) is incredibly problematic. It shows that the IP is most likely:

• Unsafe to confess the truth to
• Willing to use addiction as content
• Does not have a heart for those who struggle
• Unprofessional as a business owner

Being a public figure does not mean you need to make every experience public, especially at someone else’s expense. Tell a therapist, not an audience.

Hopefully IP has learned something from the initial experience, but to reiterate my original point, this is proof that people do not know how to handle addiction, mental health, or general trauma/emotional distress. & because IP used their massive platform to expose someone, this will make it significantly harder for people to open up or confess to anything, especially sex addiction.

Do I think the editor should have admitted it to someone who is responsible for their paychecks? Probably not. Especially if that someone is more than willing to expose them, no matter how long it’s been, for whatever reason.

But confession is necessary for healing to take place, so I have to hope that they eventually confessed to the right person who guided them in overcoming their addiction & that this story being told & commented on hasn’t caused a relapse or any other mental distress.

Ultimately, we just need to be better at handling people with care & caution, especially if they actually want help, & we need to learn how to use discretion by implementing sound logic, empathy, & firm boundaries.

For women & girls who are struggling with pornography &/or self-stimulation & need a resource to accompany counseling/in-person support, click here to learn more about & purchase “You’re Not Finished: The Journey from False Intimacy to Freedom.”

If you need additional resources for mental health, addiction, and suicide prevention, head over to the “get help” section. If you want to share your experience or tell your story or journey as someone with a diagnosed mental health or mood disorder in order to connect with & encourage others, & you’re OK with that being shared here on the YNF website, shoot an email to brittany@yourenotfinished.com or contact me through the site.

Anonymous submissions are welcome.