Recently, a story surfaced out of the Midwest about the driver of a tractor-trailer who caused a fatal accident while possibly watching porn videos on his cell phone. Now, seeing as how he hasn't gone to trial yet, this is all still alleged, but I bring it up because it's not the first time I've heard about something like this happening, and sadly it won't be the last.

People talk all the time about how addictions to substances like heroin or even alcohol can be deadly, but the truth is that any addiction can be deadly — including sex and porn addictions.

In the case of this particular story, an actual human life was sadly lost, but it shouldn't take an event like that to make you realize how destructive sex addictions can be. It can eat away at parts of your life slowly or can blow them all up in the course of a single day.

One way or the other, your addiction is "killing" something.

You’re Heading for a Crash

So, what could a truck accident in the Midwest possibly have to do with you? You're a regular guy. You have a wife, kids, a job; you're not like that other guy. Sure, you spend a lot more time looking at porn than you should, but that's not going to kill anybody, right?

This is where you're looking at it all wrong. First off, addicts are great at justifying their behavior, so you'll have to accept that you're probably not seeing the situation objectively. Secondly, parts of your life are dying, dropping off, and going away.

Maybe you wish you had more time to spend on your hobbies. Perhaps you think you've gotten a little out of shape and keep meaning to get to the gym. Maybe you've been late to work a few times thanks to your compulsions. Ever missed one of the kids' soccer games because you lost track of time? Is your relationship with your wife really as good as it could be?

If any of these thoughts gave you pause, pay attention. Your sex addictions might have killed your chances of a promotion at work. It might have killed your relationship (or several relationships). It might have killed your creativity, your personality, or your friendships. Believe me, some part of you is dying from this.

If you don't put the brakes on your addiction, it will crash into somebody, and it will be hell on earth trying to put things back together again after it happens.

How Far Will You Let a Progressive Disorder Go?

I don't have any idea what it's like to be a long-haul trucker. I can imagine that it gets boring and your mind is looking for something to do. But driving is not unstructured time; the road requires your full attention.

The same goes for your life. There are probably parts of your day that you find boring and in your search for stimulation, you turn to porn. The longer you let that situation go, the worse it's going to get. Right now, maybe you can't imagine yourself pulling up a video while at work, but you will. Or maybe you have looked at work but can't imagine pulling up videos while you're supposed to be taking care of the kids. You will. There is always something in your life which demands your attention, but your addiction is making you ignore it.

Certainly, you don't think you'd ever be reckless enough to pull up a video while you're driving, but I'm here to tell you that this sort of thing happens all the time. Guys run up on curbs, drift into other lanes, or knock their side mirror on a tree because they were focused on their porn addictions instead of on driving. Since nobody got hurt or died, these incidents never get reported officially, but I hear about them.

I don't know about you, but for me, that's way too close a call. No aspect of addiction is worth anybody getting hurt, physically, emotionally or spiritually. No human being, nor any meaningful aspect of your life deserves to die due to sexual compulsion.

You Can Get Help Before the Crash

One of the things that worries me about this story is the fact that if this driver is convicted and serves a prison sentence, he may not have the opportunity to explore his addiction with a professional. He may have access to some psychological help, but maybe not a structured program specifically designed for the help he needs.

He might get out of prison with the exact same problem that put him there in the first place.

The option of treatment may be gone for him, but it's staring you in the face right now. If you are struggling with sex or porn addictions, it’s not going to get better on its own. In fact, it's going to get a lot worse. Someone in your life is going to be irreparably harmed by your behavior if you don't learn how to break the cycle and get free of your compulsions.

I know all this because I've been there and I'm saying this to you now because I can help. Pick up the phone and let's talk before you crash into something that you can't repair.