While for many Christmastime offers extra time with family and friends, the producers of the Conquer Series warn that it also provides plenty of free time for potentially damaging pursuits.

Google Search Trends data for 2016 show that porn watching spiked during the week of Christmas, reaching levels only seen during the mid-summer months. The data suggest Americans are more likely to consume pornography on Dec. 27—just two days after they celebrated the birth of Jesus.

There are five “triggers” the producers say explain this phenomenon:

Trigger 1: Free Time

Those extra days off from the office may feel like paradise, but they can also become an extra source of temptation. With no one watching and a lack of accountability, the situation can quickly become ripe for those struggling with sexual addiction.

Giving the brain time to decompress and relax is healthy, but it also opens the door for pornography’s powerful temptation to enter one’s life. As DVD 2 of the six-disc Conquer Series points out:

Why is it that so many Christian men who love the Lord can’t stop their behavior? The entire battle for purity takes place within eight inches of grey matter— your brain. Knowing where the battle takes place is crucial to every man’s victory.

Trigger 2: Family

For many people, family time is a wonderful experience. Yet for others, family time increases stress, and for others still, family members have been sources of past abuse that can trigger sexual thoughts and feelings.

DVD 3 of the Conquer Series identifies these issues as one’s sexual triggers, including one’s arousal template and trauma profile (the wounded areas of his life). If family time is a major stress or temptation, it is important to be aware of it and prepare for it.

While it may not be possible to avoid all unpleasant interactions over the holidays, bracing for potential triggers offers hope. One may also need to make a quick call to a trusted friend to help recover, and to defend against the emotional low and vulnerability that may occur after a difficult family meeting.

Trigger 3: Feeling Tired

Although Christmastime can be a time of rest for some, for others it can be exhausting. As Family Strategies Counseling Center counselor Floyd Godfrey states:

Addiction is wired into the limbic area of the brain, so when you’re tired, you’re more susceptible to slips. Plan ahead to avoid getting sleep deprived. Rest when you need to so you’ll have the mental energy to fight temptation toward pornography addiction.

Trigger 4: Loneliness

For those who don’t have family and friends to visit over the holidays, Christmastime can make them feel particularly lonely and vulnerable to temptation. This can lead to seeking satisfaction in negative ways, such as viewing pornography.

DVD 5 of the Conquer Series refers to intimacy disorder as the root of sexual bondage. If true intimacy with God and one’s spouse is not accurately addressed, this lack of intimacy can express itself through other means, including increased pornography usage.

A Conquer Group—men who are holding each other accountable and using the Conquer Series resources as discipleship guides to help them grow on the path to sexual integrity—offers positive ways to discuss issues of intimacy without resorting to pornography.

Trigger 5: New Devices

Modern Christmas gifts often include electronic devices, many of which can provide greater opportunity to view pornographic images and videos. Data show, for instance, that on the day the first iPad was released, online pornography consumption increased 9 percent.

Google Search Trends metrics show searches for virtual reality porn during the week of Christmas last year. In addition to careful monitoring of children’s use of these devices, and training them how to properly use them, it should be explained to them they can come to their parents when they have been exposed to inappropriate material.

Also, installing accountability software can help protect everyone in the family.

In addition to those triggers, the producers of the Conquer Series offer three steps to defend against pornography during times of vulnerability, such as Christmastime. These are:

1. Rest: Adequate sleep and rest makes one stronger to resist temptation.
2. Redeem the Time: As DVD 5 of the Conquer Series notes, failing to plan to fight temptation is planning to fail; so extra free time should be dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others, such as volunteering to help the less fortunate.
3. Regularly Communicate with an Accountability Group: Having a friend, guide, or coach involved in one’s fight against temptation increases the chances of success, but they increase exponentially when one is involved in an accountability group—the more one can go to when needing a lifeline, the better—such as a Conquer Group. Daily communication within one’s group offers ongoing encouragement and guidance in the face of temptation.

The Conquer Series offers biblical principles and daily practices to help men conquer porn and walk in freedom. It has already helped 450,000 men in 65 countries learn to move beyond “not watching porn” to start living a transformed life.

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