You may already know how dopamine and cravings work. Maybe you’ve read studies about how tube site algorithms are designed to hold you captive, and you understand the real human cost behind the screen.
But if you’ve faced this addiction, you know the quiet, frustrating pain of late nights when logic alone doesn’t help. Knowing all the facts doesn’t heal the pain inside. Information by itself rarely breaks the hold on your heart.
Joshua Broome
Recently featured on The Mandy Show, Joshua’s insider perspective shatters the glittering illusions of the adult industry because he lived it.
The Past
A highly successful male performer with access to fame, wealth, and fantasy.
The Present
A transformed pastor, husband, and father who found real freedom in Jesus Christ.
Joshua knows the dark, deceptive side, and he also knows what real freedom feels like. When someone who had everything the industry offers says it’s actually empty and soul-crushing, it really is.
His story made it clear why so many people struggle to break free. We keep trying to fight a spiritual battle with only our minds.
I took notes and found powerful truths in his story. But before sharing them, let’s look at the three main areas where this struggle happens: The Industry, Your Identity, and Your Freedom.
The Truth about the Adult Industry
It’s easy to sit alone in a room to think you’re just watching adults having fun. The industry spends billions to keep up that polished, glamorous image. But if you look past the facade to hear the real stories of the people on those screens, the fantasy disappears.
To cope with the reality of being on set, many performers use drugs, drink alcohol, or try to detach to get through filming mentally.
The statistics portray a difficult picture of what it actually costs a person to exist in that industry:
84%
Exhibit Clinical PTSD
Performers display symptoms at a rate comparable to combat veterans, carrying profound psychological trauma.
69%
Attempted Suicide
Clinical depression rates sit at nearly triple the general population, revealing the darkness behind the camera.
65%
Violated Consent
Performers report acts violating their explicit boundaries, while 87% face severe verbal abuse and coercion on set.
88%
Childhood Trauma
The industry heavily monetizes unhealed trauma, with the vast majority of performers holding a history of prior abuse.
50%
Live Below Poverty
Despite platforms earning billions, performers earn zero residuals from their permanent digital footprint.
13.7%
Overdose Fatalities
Of all drug-related overdose deaths among actors, this staggering percentage originates directly from the adult industry.
Many viewers justify their habit by thinking, “At least they are getting rich.” But the economic reality is equally predatory. Most performers’ careers last just 3 to 5 years, often starting when they’re 18 to 22, before their brains are fully developed.
After the industry is done with them, they’re left with trauma, addiction, and a digital footprint that makes finding a regular job almost impossible.
When reflecting on how anyone survives doing that work, he explained the psychological mechanism required to endure it. It’s why performers are asked to adopt a stage name before they ever step on set:
“If you can remove an aspect of your humanity—like changing your name in the industry—then this new version of you will do something that the real you might not.”
Your Identity: The War Over Your Soul
If the industry harms performers this much, and the aftermath is so painful for viewers, why do we keep going back? Why is it so hard to resist?
This is where Joshua Broome’s insights shift from the external industry to the internal war over our identity.
The Great Counterfeit
“Satan can’t create anything, but he loves to counterfeit everything.”
God designed human sexuality to be a deep, meaningful expression of love. But pornography takes that gift and turns it into a cheap, toxic imitation. It gives the feeling of intimacy but removes the vulnerability, risk, and selflessness needed for real connection.
When we feel lonely, stressed, or inadequate, adult movie, erotica, and even romance novels become megaphones, increasing our deepest longings while never actually healing them.
It promises comfort but leaves you isolated. It promises connection but leaves you alone in the end.
Lust as a Dashboard Warning Light
“Whenever we talk about lust, we jump straight to shame. But what if lust isn’t the villain that we think it is? What if it’s more like a dashboard warning light? Not the problem itself, but a little ping that says, ‘Hey, something under the hood might need attention.'”
Lust is rarely simply about physical desire. More often, it’s a sign of an unmet emotional or spiritual need:
- A desperate desire to be chosen and valued.
- A longing to escape a painful or overwhelming reality.
- A need to feel something when life has left you feeling completely numb.
- A craving for control, since when your job, money, or relationships feel chaotic, desire can be the one area where you feel in control for a moment.
The Trap of Shame
Once we give in to the craving, the enemy immediately shifts tactics. Before you act out, he whispers that it’s not a big deal and that repentance will be easy. The moment you are done, he changes his voice.
“Before you sin, the enemy makes you believe repentance seems easy. After you sin, repentance seems impossible.”
Shame makes you believe you’re broken beyond repair and unworthy of God’s love. It tells you to hide, put on a mask, and act like everything is fine. But hiding only makes the addiction stronger.
Your Freedom: The Only Way Out
If the adult industry is built on exploitation, and addiction is fueled by shame and unmet needs, how do we actually break free?
Freedom doesn’t start with willpower. It starts with experiencing unconditional grace.
The Antidote to a Transactional World
The adult entertainment industry—and candidly, much of modern culture—is entirely transactional. You are only valued for what your body can produce, how much money you earn, or what achievements you can display.
When you’re used to a transactional world, you might think God works the same way. You may feel like you have to fix yourself, earn His approval, and be perfect before He’ll accept you.
But grace turns that thinking upside down. Grace means your worth was decided at the Cross, before you did anything good or bad. As Broome said:
“You are not defined by the worst thing you’ve ever done. And you won’t be defined by the greatest thing you ever do, because you are not the author of you. God is.”
Killing Shame Through Vulnerability
Shame grows in secrecy, but it disappears when brought into the light.
“Shame cannot exist being spoken. Once you say the shame that’s holding you captive, its weight is off of you all of a sudden.”
Real recovery starts when you stop trying to cover up your struggles to look good for others. It begins when you talk honestly with a trusted friend, counselor, or pastor. As soon as you bring hidden things into the light, the devil loses his strongest hold on your life.
You Were Saved For Something
You weren’t made to stay stuck in a cycle of relapse, regret, and secrecy. You were created for legacy, deep connection, real love, and a greater purpose.
When God pulls you out of darkness, He’s not just stopping a bad habit. He’s restoring who you really are.
“God doesn’t just save you FROM something. He saves you FOR something.”
41 Profound Truths Shared by Joshua Broome
Here is the full, organized list of the 41 truths taken straight from Joshua Broome’s story.
Don’t just read these once. Save this page, write them in your journal, and read them when cravings hit. Let these truths break the lies you’re facing.
On Lust, Addiction, and the Industry
- “Whenever we talk about lust, we jump straight to shame… But what if lust isn’t the villain that we think it is? What if it’s more like a dashboard warning light? Not the problem itself, but a little ping that says, ‘Hey, something under the hood might need attention.'” – Mandy
- “Often the things we long for or lust after are clues pointing toward our deepest unmet needs. Maybe it’s a deep longing to be chosen or to be fully known, a desire to escape reality because life is really hard, or a craving to feel something instead of being numb.” – Mandy
- “Sometimes lust is about control, because when everything else feels uncertain, desire becomes the one place where you feel powerful.” – Mandy
- “Adult movie, erotica, and even romance novels can become megaphones, amplifying our deepest longings while never actually healing them.” – Mandy
- “The pornography industry doesn’t just contain elements of sex trafficking like force, fraud, or coercion; it’s dependent upon it. It is the very foundation of it.”
- “If you can remove an aspect of your humanity—like changing your name in the industry—then this new version of you will do something that the real you might not.”
- “Your behavior is going to follow your belief… if you believe a lie to be true, it’s true to you.”
- “When you’re doing a good thing for the wrong reason, it’s no longer a good thing.”
On Shame and Vulnerability
- “Shame cannot exist being spoken. Once you say the shame that’s holding you captive, its weight is off of you all of a sudden.”
- “Vulnerability in itself is the bridge to connectivity.”
- “Before you sin, the enemy makes you believe repentance seems easy. After you sin, repentance seems impossible.”
- “If you think your story is tough or hard, ask the person sitting next to you.”
- “Before God, do not put on a facade. If you put on a facade, you’ll never say the thing that you ought to say.”
- “When we’re ashamed, we hide and cover up. We shouldn’t pray prayers that cover up the places in which we are wounded. We should pray naked, vulnerable prayers to God.”
- “Putting enough good dirt on our bad dirt so as not to look dirty may not manage people’s perception of us.”
On Identity, Grace, and the Spiritual Battle
- “Satan can’t create anything, but he loves to counterfeit everything.”
- “Satan does not want you to experience the best things in this world that God wants you to experience.”
- “Either you can allow Satan to win, or you can claim the victory that God has already won.”
- “You are not defined by the worst thing you’ve ever done. And you won’t be defined by the greatest thing you ever do, because you are not the author of you. God is.”
- “God sent His Son to die for me. Not because I deserved it, but because He loved me in spite of me.”
- “God doesn’t just save you from something. He saves you for something.”
- “The Bible is full of people who lived broken lives and made really bad decisions, and those decisions are documented… to show that everyone is broken. Our biggest problem is sin and our greatest need is Jesus.”
- “If you love God, you’ll trust that His plan for your life doesn’t get to be defined by your past actions… yes, there are consequences for your actions… but you cannot unwrite what God has written.”
- “You are so much better than the way you’ve been living.”
- “We are so conditioned to prove that our worth is attached to either our wealth or our accomplishments.”
On Mindset and Connection
- “God has created our mind in a way that what doesn’t make sense to us, we have to make sense of. We create the narrative, and when we don’t know all the information, we fill in the blanks.”
- “Whatever metric for success or happiness you set, if you reach it and it doesn’t do what you think it’s going to do, you’re going to be really hurt and disappointed, and then you raise the bar.”
- “It doesn’t matter how great your life or family dynamic is. If I see what you have, and it looks like happiness, I assume that I need something different than what I have to look like that.”
- “We spend too much time listening to ourselves instead of talking to ourselves. We need to talk to ourselves to reclaim our identity and recalibrate.”
- “We live in the most connected generation in history, but data says we’re the most disconnected and lonely generation. Because it’s easy to have the appearance of being seen but not actually being known.”
- “It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated by the life that you once desperately begged God for.”
- “Emotions are all God-given, but where those emotions take you are not always God’s destiny or destination.”
On Relationships, Family, and Legacy
- “Sex can happen without intimacy, and intimacy can happen without sex. Sometimes when we think the intimacy we need is attached to a sexual experience, we miss out on the intimacy that we actually need most.”
- “More often than not, you do not receive love the way in which your spouse receives love. But it is most natural to show love the way that you naturally receive it.”
- “Forgiveness is progressive.”
- “What you don’t say says something. Talk to your kids about sex before they are exposed to it. Sex is only weird if you make it weird.”
- “If you don’t react, but instead respond, it is going to create an opportunity for your kids to bring you difficult things.”
- “There is a significant difference between being nice and being kind. It’s much easier to beat around the bush or minimize the truth, but what’s actually kind is saying the hard thing. Telling the truth is the most loving thing you could do.”
- “Legacy is not what you leave behind for someone; it is what you leave within someone.”
On Taking Action
- “Everything is an overflow of giving God your undivided attention. It’s so easy to have disciplines that serve you instead of disciplines that serve God.”
- “If you don’t have the courage to step out of the boat, you’ll never know that you could walk on water… God is not going to bless the steps you are not willing to take.”
Wrapping Up
Reading through these truths is a sobering experience. If you are sitting here right now, bearing the burden of your own struggle, remember “God is not going to bless the steps you are not willing to take.”
Freedom doesn’t happen by accident. You can’t just drift into recovery. You don’t need to have your whole future planned out, but you do need to take one honest, brave step.
Cut the Cord
Delete the apps, install blockers, and remove the access points immediately. You cannot heal in the same environment where you got sick. Action precedes feeling.
Step Into the Light
Talk to your spouse or a trusted friend. Say your secret out loud. Remember: Shame cannot exist when spoken. The moment you bring it into the light, it loses its grip.
Surrender the Weight
Pray honestly to God, asking Him to heal the profound needs deep in your heart. Stop praying safe prayers that cover up your wounds—pray naked, vulnerable prayers.
Build the Legacy
Take a step of faith. Stop settling for a toxic counterfeit and start building a life of real purpose, deep connection, and lasting freedom. You were saved for something greater.
Editorial Note: Direct quotations in this piece are Joshua Broome’s own words, originally shared on The Mandy Show during the episode “The Real Story Behind The Adult Industry, Identity, and Freedom with Joshua Broome.”
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