Man Within Podcast 520 - Nate Larkin on How Seminary Worsened His Addiction, Why Accessibility Trumps Accountability, and The Unmistakable Link Between Trauma & Addiction
Nate Larkin is a recovered porn and sex addict, the founder of the Samson Society, and the author of Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood. As of 2023, more than 500 local Samson Society groups have started and thousands of men from around the world are attending daily online video meetings at samsonsociety,org.
In this interivew, Nate and Sathiya discuss:
-Porn is a maladaptive response to trauma
-How a seminary trip to New York brothels with his wife made things much worse
-The somatic response in a unique moment of high danger and high pleasure creates a "bookmark" (memory)
-In a tug of war between the head and the heart, the heart always wins
-The emotional disconnect with wife (Allie) as addiction worsened
-Porn programs you for prostitution
-Retiring from ministry at 30 due to addiction
-Being who you are outside of the church is harder than being who you are inside the church
-Experiencing freedom through community
-The moment that changed everything in his recovery
-Recovery is learning to walk; you may fall down along the way
-Relapse in recovery is not necessary but it is normative
-Have realistic expectations of recovery: This is a process;
-Rookie mistakes to avoid when you start recovery
-Why ACCESSIBILITY is superior to accountability
-Progressive healing isn't any less miraculous
Learn more about Samson Society
Read Samson and the Pirate Monks book
Read Unbroken Brain – Maia Szalavitz