I'm specifically writing this page for people in Atlanta on the more "mature" side of life who find themselves struggling with pornography use or other sexual behavior that goes against their commitments, values or self-control. If you've achieved a certain degree of success in your liife you want to be able to enjoy the benefits of your efforts without unwanted sexual habits sabotaging your happiness. That's where I come in.
Porn can be called "an equal opportunity destroyer". Many young adults have been watching porn since a young age. Some seem to do ok with this but many are having a dificult time controlling their use. In my metro Atlanta therapy practice I regularly counsel clients in their 20s who are having a range of difficulties because of their level of pornography consumption. Men in their 20s with porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED) are not uncommon. I have a separate section about excessive pornography use so I won't repeat myself here.
But excessive pornography use is not at all limited to the "Millennial" or "Gen Z" generations. I frequently consult and counsel older men to address their overuse of pornography. It's no longer unusual for people who have successfully reached retirement to find that too much of their time and attention has been siphoned off by frequent consumption of pornography.
If you "came of age" in the 20th century, today's pornography is a very different animal from anything you saw in your younger years. Until the advent of the Internet the primary sources for sexual images were pornographic magazines and venues such as "adult" book stores, movie theatres or arcades. Now it's possible to watch more pornograpy in a weekend than a person could feasibly do in his life just a few decades ago. Even though nobody plans for it to happen, once the habit of looking at this level of hardcore porn gets to a certain level it can be very difficult to stop or control. Bit by bit things go a little further until you end up far from where you intended.
Internet pornography has been called the "Triple-A" engine of addiction since it is so very accessible, affordable and anonymous. Many people find out after it is too late that easy, free and anonymous access to explicit pornography removes many of the major inhibitors of sexual excesses that were in place before the online era.
Again, as I have explained elsewhere on this site, the easy availability of hard-core pornography is so desensitizing that even highly moral people can spiral downward into the thrill of endless sexual stimulation. In addition, since just about every variation of pornography can be located in just a few clicks it is inevitable that even the slightest curiosity or fetish a person has can be intensely stimulated, amplified and reinforced. These simple factors set the stage for an unhealthy reliance on pornography to develop and deepen.
It's not uncommon for more mature men to experience various erectile dysfunctions. Some use pornography to 'jump-start' their sexual arousal. The risk here is that some people develop an increased reliance on sexual imagery to develop and sustain erections. It's not uncommon for such ongoing pornography use to escalate in frequency and/or intensity so that it becomes difficult or even impossible for some people to penetrate a sexual partner.
It takes work to keep relationships alive and vibrant over many years. Intimacy challenges of all sorts may take a back seat to children and careers. For some people porn can fill (as well as cause) intimacy voids without seeming to require anything in return. This creates a powerful "false intimacy" that can distort and erode a person's ability to put in the work of real-world mutual connection with a life partner. It can be very confusing and even destructive to a relationship if one person is using porn without the other's knowledge.
For some people, one of the effects of retirement involves leaving behind long-held sources of affirmation and self-esteem. If people are no longer seeking your knowledge, advice and skills, what's going to fill that void? Porn can be the equivalent of eating junk food in place of real nutrition.
As is evident throughout this website, I've helped people in Atlanta address these kinds of sexual concerns for decades. Entering my 60s has deepened my appreciation and understanding of the special concerns of more mature folks who struggle with pornography use as well as other forms of problematic sexual behavior patterns. You can see a therapist half your age, or come consult with a male therapist of similar age who can provide a safe and valuable perspective to address your struggles and goals in an effective manner.
Because of shame, fear and sometimes a "go-it-alone" mentality, many educated, successful, and moral individuals at the back-end of their career don't address their problems with pornography until some event forces the issue. Often it is a discovery by a partner, which can create terrible betrayal trauma that can take skillful assistance and dedicated efforts to heal. The good news is that I've helped many couples (including those marrried for decades) recover trust and intimacy and even grow stronger and closer as a result of the healing that happens.
In many ways, booking an appointment with a therapist doesn't have to be much different than seeking the services of a dentist, accountant, lawyer or other advisor based on your personal needs and goals. I'm available to provide an informed assessment and present a range of options and recommendations based on your specifc situation. I'll help make awkward conversations easy and productive, and I will work with you to help you change you behavior and keep it changed, bringing you to a new level of peace and success.
SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- A high-priced prostitute charged in the overdose death of a Google executive aboard a yacht in California had searched online for how to legally defend herself after giving a lethal dose of heroin, police in California said Thursday, as authorities in Georgia reopened another overdose case.
53-year old Dean Riopelle, a nightclub owner and lead singer for a fetish-themed band known as the Impotent Sea Snakes. died of a heroin overdose in September 2013 in Milton, Georgia, about two months before Google executive Forrest Hayes died of an overdose on his yacht. Both had been seeing suspect Alix Tichelman, authorities said.
Milton police Capt. Shawn McCarty said Tichelman, 26, called 911 on Sept. 17 to report that Riopelle, her boyfriend, had overdosed. She told investigators that he had been drinking and using heroin throughout the day, and that she found him on the ground after she got out of a shower.
According to a police report, Tichelman said she tried to revive Riopelle for about five minutes before she called 911. She told police that he had been having a rough time but did not believe he overdosed intentionally.
Riopelle had said that the woman took pills before they went to a bar he owned in Atlanta, where she drank, dove off the stage and exposed her breasts. After they returned to his home, they fought. She scratched his face and threatened to hit herself in the face and tell police he had done it, Riopelle said at the time.
In Santa Cruz, police say surveillance video shows Tichelman casually walking over Hayes as he lay dying on his yacht, picking up clothes and heroin and swallowing the last of a glass of wine before lowering the boat's blinds and walking back on the dock to shore.
Hayes was found dead by the captain of his 50-foot yacht last November. Police said the surveillance video from the yacht shows everything that happened from the time Tichelman came aboard to when she left.
The video shows Tichelman preparing the heroin to a liquid and injecting it into Hayes' arm, Clark said. Shortly after, Hayes started clutching his chest, near his heart, Clark said. Tichelman tries to prop him up, but he then loses consciousness.
Tichelman then starts picking up her belongings, including the needle, and cleans up a counter while stepping over Hayes several times. During that time, Tichelman calmly drinks a glass of wine and surveys the scene, Clark said.
"Never does she call 911 or call out to others in nearby boats for help. She never tries to administer any aid to him," Clark said about Tichelman. "She is more concerned about getting herself out and concealing evidence than helping Mr. Hayes."
Santa Cruz Police said Tichelman had an ongoing prostitution relationship with the 51-year-old Hayes, who was married and had five children. Tichelman was arrested last week after police lured her back to Santa Cruz in a prostitution sting.
Tichelman's father has ties to the tech industry. Folsom software firm SynapSense announced hiring her father, Bart Tichelman in 2012. Neither the firm nor her father responded to immediate requests for comment.
TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I have never been accused of anything that, in my view, could be construed as criminal or coercive. But in the blink of an eye I have gone from being someone recognized on the streets of New York City as a journalist, author, and advocate for people with disabilities to someone who fears recognition and trembles at the prospect of running into some radio listener who has come to find me an object of pity or reproach. My mission here in part is to let you know a lot more of the truth about me and to deny what you may have heard that is false but gets repeated over and over without challenge.
In the past year I have found it impossible to get serious business meetings based on anything other than sympathy. I have watched as freelance work has been canceled. Less than a week before accusations about me appeared in the media, I was having lunch with people eager to produce a new program to replace Charlie Rose. Then I was swept away as completely as Rose, at one point even being implicitly cast as an understudy for his own improper behavior. Offers to ghostwrite under a different name or no name at all have been refused or canceled. For a time the only employment I could contemplate was detailed on an email list seeking disabled senior citizens to be greeters at Walmart stores in Utah and Georgia.
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