Intro (00:11):
This Consider Before Consuming episode contains discussions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised studies. Today’s episode is with Selena, a former porn performer and sex trafficking survivor, who now works as an associate program director at a long-term recovery facility for women. Selena shares her harrowing journey from working in the commercial sex industry from a young age to finding the strength to reclaim her life and help others do the same. She offers us a look into the realities of the porn industry, the tactics of coercion and abuse, and her road to recovery. With that, let’s jump into the conversation. We hope you enjoy this episode of Consider Before Consuming.

Fight The New Drug (00:59):
Selena, thank you so much for joining us today on Consider. Before Consuming can you introduce yourself and the work that you do?

Selena (01:06):
Hi, my name is Selena. I have a bachelor’s in psychology, and I currently am a associate program director for a long-term facility that focuses specifically on women that have been sex trafficked.

Fight The New Drug (01:19):
Amazing. Thank you. And when did you first consider doing this work? What led you on this path?

Selena (01:27):
I think just based off of my own trauma and my own recovery, it was one of the things that the leadership had thought that would be a good fit for me. And I was like, no, I don’t want anything to do with my past. I don’t want anything to do with my trauma. I would rather define myself off of something else as opposed to a survivor or an ex porn star, or whatever label they may have of you. And so I was working in the hospital for several years kind of working my way up that clinical ladder, and I saw that there’s still that need and there’s still that vagueness behind the definition of being trafficked. And so many of the generation Z and the generation before that, it’s just normalized for them to go onto the internet and just go onto these certain specific websites and have something awful happen to them. So I think that, you know, once I became comfortable with my own recovery, my own sobriety, my own insecurities, and I knew that my story needed to stop being in the dark and come into the light,

Fight The New Drug (02:34):
And we’re so grateful that you’re here to help others learn through the experiences you’ve had that have given you a, a really unique perspective on these issues. Can we start by walking through your story a little bit? Can you share with us when did you first consider working in the commercial sex industry and what drew you to that? Initially,

Selena (02:55):
I would say I was about 15 years old, but I started pornography when I was eight. So I didn’t realize that at that time that it was a form of neglect. I was also, unfortunately, a victim of molestation at a young age, too. It was one of those memories that I didn’t really remember until well into recovery. It was kind of brought back into the surface, and so I was able to connect the dots a little bit more. But I think around 15 I started scribbling porn star on my backpack. The I think it’s the famous brand, started having the porn star logo t-shirts and tank tops. So I think that alongside just, you know, the sensationalizing pornography from what I had been witnessing and watching and consuming at age eight on, I felt that the only way that a man would ever truly love me was if I was in this industry.

Fight The New Drug (03:53):
You had mentioned you were 15 when you thought about entering the industry at that time, what did you think the, that experience would be like? What were kind of your hopes for that experience?

Selena (04:05):
Oh, definitely the glamor, the glitz, limo rides hanging out with celebrities, all the money that I was going to make. The traveling. Yeah, I, I anticipated being the next Jenna Jameson as I think almost every single girl anticipates to be. And although I did experience some of those things, they were not comparable to the trauma that I incurred.

Fight The New Drug (04:35):
And what do you remember about your first couple of shoots in the industry, and how did they compare to what you’d imagined they would be?

Selena (04:44):
I think the first shoot that I did was down in Florida, and it was for a subsidy of Bang Bros. It was, I thought it was a fun time until I saw the edited version afterwards, and I realized how they portrayed me in a way that I did not anticipate to be portrayed. So I was really disappointed by that. I don’t quite recall the second shoot, unfortunately, but I know it was in Florida somewhere, and my agent at the time said that I needed to lose some weight, but that he ultimately thought that escorting was gonna be the best route for me in terms of making money and developing the type of infamy that I really wanted.

Fight The New Drug (05:27):
And were there moments early on when you felt uncomfortable or pressured but you, you know, stayed anyway or, or felt kind of trapped in the circumstances? And how did you respond to that at the time?

Selena (05:42):
Yes. So for my very first shoot, I remember after the scene, one of the producers was in the hot tub with several of the extras and invited me into the hot tub. And it was the same ploy that if you do this for me, then I can get you a scene, or I can get you a contract or you know, this or that, and kind of just that dangling that carrot over your head. And I felt that that was very consistent throughout my time in the pornography industry, was that producers and agents were always kind of dangling that carrot, if you do this, if you do that, if you open your limits, if you, you know, lower your no list, then you’re gonna be able to have this and that, and this and that. And I was always striving to be above and beyond, which meant doing things that I did not want to do.

Fight The New Drug (06:31):
Yeah, and I think that’s a, a common misconception about the industry, right? Is that it is this thing that it’s glamorized as or glorified to be, but the actual lived experiences so often are not that. Were there any moments during filming that felt particularly traumatic or dehumanizing to you? And how did you process those experiences at the time? And I, I don’t ask to put you back in that place, but I think to help people understand who do think that you are empowered and you’re there by choice what, what is actually going on sometimes and what that could look like.

Selena (07:06):
So my very third scene was with the website called ***** Abuse. I was kind of misinformed as to the scene in and of itself and what it was going to entail. I remember I was in New York at the time, it was two days before Christmas. I did not have a lot of money, and I had wanted to visit a friend, an old friend in New York. And so I was willing to do pretty much anything at that time in order to have some money so I could go travel and be human. When I got there, it was not what I had anticipated at all. I had let them know that I had had an eye infection at the time, and so to not touch my face other than that, everything else was a go. I didn’t understand what everything else was entailing. And it ended up including a black eye being sodomized with a wiffle ball bat, having a toilet seat put around my neck, and then being forced by the male actor to shove his fingers down my throat and induce vomiting.

Fight The New Drug (08:11):
I am so sorry that you had to experience that. Is that an experience that for someone on the outside looking in who’s maybe consuming that type of content they would assume you probably had to sign a release and you probably had to, you know, you were sober and you were fully informed. How would you describe the parameters around that experience to someone who thinks that is the case?

Selena (08:43):
So I would tell the individual I actually, when I was escorting, I had, I would say 75% of my clientele base wanted to relive the abuse scene, and I would always decline and I would tell them, no, that is not something that I reenact in, in my normal daily life, my sex life or in this escorting type of life that I unfortunately got trafficked into. But I think that I was under the influence at that time. I did continue to consume alcohol throughout that set as the severity of the scene got worse and worse and worse. I would say that I did not consent to any of the things that they did to me whatsoever. I was under the influence that, you know, there may be some light choking, light slapping. I was aware that there might be a little bit of spitting, but not to the degree that it was. And then to see the edited form and to see my fan base at that time become widely large due to me being beat the shit out of it, just, not only did it traumatize me in general, but it traumatized me towards all of these men that wanted to seek my services because I never truly knew if I was safe or not.

Fight The New Drug (10:08):
Yeah, of course. You know, how could that not be the, the result of that experience? How did your understanding of the industry evolve as you spent more time in it?

Selena (10:19):
I started to realize that the agents were suitcase pimps. I started to realize that the agents had favorites. I started to learn that girls get shot out or within a year or two they get burnout and companies no longer wanna shoot them. And these are 18, 19, 20 year olds. I was 22 at the time when I entered the industry, I started to see a lot more of my friends die commit suicide, murder overdoses, especially. I started to learn more about how agents didn’t like if you took control of your own profession. But yeah, I learned that there’s a lot of deception. There’s a lot of exploitation. A lot of agents will offer one-on-ones in lieu of a scene because they still want to have sex with the girl, but they don’t wanna pay her to be on the website. And the dangling of the carrot, I, I just felt like I was always trying to reach for that string, but I could never get it.

Fight The New Drug (11:26):
Yeah, I, I can only imagine really what that was truly like for you to experience. How did those experiences on set affect you mentally and physically, both short term and long term? I know you mentioned an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Do you feel like that was a result of those experiences to some degree and coping with those experiences, or what did all of that look like for you?

Selena (11:48):
I think once I had my last scene, which was January, 2015 I started to seek recovery for drugs and alcohol because I wasn’t aware that the deeper underlying issue was molestation and being sexually trafficked and all of those things. I had been dabbling with drugs beforehand. I started to use drugs a lot more frequently. I started to intravenously use drugs. I started to hang out with affiliations that I would never hang out with before. I was trying to do anything really to kill myself at that point. And it wasn’t until about three years into going in and outta psych wards and rehabilitation centers that I finally grasped the concept of recovery and found a good long-term restoration program that got me to where I am today.

Fight The New Drug (12:43):
Yeah. And I’m so happy to hear you were able to find that and, and grateful that you’re able to be at in the place that you are today to have this conversation with us. I do wanna talk about your recovery a bit more. I have a couple more questions about kind of what led you to that journey of recovery looking at your time in the industry. At what point did you start to feel like it was no longer in your control?

Selena (13:09):
Yeah, so once I started doing escorting pretty much full-time and then I was still booking shoots on the side when I was starting to book shoots that were kind of not the types of shoots that everybody else would film, I guess you could say, because I was, at that point, once I done the abuse, it opened up the door for a multitude of scenes that I was uncomfortable with. And so I was starting to do fetish work bondage work, things that that could be very dangerous with the wrong individual, especially if, you know, they’re not professional. And so I started to put myself in dangerous situations and I started to utilize alcohol, especially alongside stimulants to be exact. And that blurred my vision and also fueled me to continue going. And I knew at that point I was, I could not, I could not escape this person that I had created.

Fight The New Drug (14:05):
Yeah. Wow. Were there times when you felt like you wanted to leave, but you were just kind of trapped in this set of circumstances? And what do you think kept you there? If so?

Selena (14:15):
So the first time that I tried to leave I was staying with an agency at that time. They had a mansion out in Woodland Hills, and I was lucky enough that I was able to kind of come and go as I please and stay in one of their houses. And initially I was doing one-on-ones with the individual, the owner, until he realized that I was no longer going to do that with him. And he still provided a place for me to stay. I went on a really bad bender. I was blacked out for about five days. They sat me down, they bought me a phone, they sat bought me a plane to get back home to Arizona. They told me to get sober, get well, and then, you know, reach back out. And so that was the first time that I realized that, you know, I had a problem. And I think it just went through intervals. So I would have sobriety for eight weeks at a time, I think, and then I would get antsy and I would go right back to LA or Miami or New York or wherever was, had the most opportunity for me at that time. And it was just kind of that continuous up and down, up and down until I was able to not only recognize I had mental illness, but recognize that this pattern of behavior was just getting worse and progressively worse and worse.

Fight The New Drug (15:38):
So it sounds like you were really experiencing, you know, when you were outside of the circumstances and had a chance, you could experience that sobriety, but then because you weren’t able to really identify the root of what was driving all of this, you were just kind of on this rollercoaster for a little while. At what point were you able to finally leave and you know, when did you make the decision to no longer work in escorting or pornography? Was that kind of an all at once decision? What did that look like?

Selena (16:09):
So I was I started getting sloppy due to my addiction. I went with an agency that I had no knowledge of prior suitcase Pimp. They ended up not being the nicest people in the world, and I I escaped them and they sought retribution, and I stopped escorting that day. And that was July 13th, 2013. I still did porn because I felt safe doing porn especially with producers that I had shot with previously in the past. The last scene that I did, I think it was January 22nd, 2015, and I was addicted to heroin pretty badly at that time. I had shock marks all over my arms. And we went to go do the sex scene and he put on a wig. And I had seen this producer several times already, so we were very familiar with one another. And I was like, why are you putting on that wig? And it started to tra like, trigger me, traumatize me, make me think that he might be trying to do something malicious. And so midway through the scene, I stopped and I said, you know what? I can’t do this anymore. I’m gonna declare it today. I will never shoot another porn scene. And as I was declaring that he was putting the camera on my arms and he was asking me about my track marks, so I knew then and there the exploitation was over and the healing journey needed to begin.

Fight The New Drug (17:41):
Wow. Well, congratulations on, on being able to make that choice. I’m so sorry you had to experience all of those terribly difficult things along the way that nobody deserves to have to be put through. But I am so grateful that you’re, you’re willing to talk about these experiences so that others can really learn what, what’s actually happening behind the scenes that so many people are unaware of. It sounds like after making this choice, obviously you were no longer in the industry, but what did that look like for you in terms of pursuing sobriety?

Selena (18:19):
So it took me about two to three years. IW well, yeah, it took me from the time I quit escorting up until the time I actually entered my long-term program, it was about three years. I went to 10 different institutions psych wards, 28 day programs that doesn’t include detoxes. I was trying so hard to fix the bandaid and I wasn’t trying to fix the root, and I didn’t understand that I needed to fix the root before I could rip off the bandaid.

Fight The New Drug (18:50):
And, and what has your healing process looked like since then?

Selena (18:54):
Oh, man. Just being , being accountable making sure that I have a really good support system, not allowing negative people into my life, keeping my circle small. Not being on social media still to this day is very important for me because we, not only did I have an addiction to drugs and alcohol, but I had an addiction to attention and I had an addiction to sex, and those were things that I had to work on concurrently. And I also have two kids since I’ve gotten sober, and those are the light of my life, and I would do anything for them, including never going back into that industry or never touching a drug again.

Fight The New Drug (19:38):
That’s amazing. And you mentioned that you started consuming pornography at the age of eight. What what has your relationship with that consumption looked like throughout this journey?

Selena (19:50):
So it got pretty bad while I was in the pornography industry, but I think a lot of it was because I knew so many of the sets, I knew so many of the actors and actresses. I knew what was going on behind the scenes. I knew when they were messed up. I knew when they didn’t wanna be there. I just, it was hard for me to consume as a consumer, so I had to really dig deep for, for certain videos, I guess for me to consume. As I have gotten into recovery, I’ve been able to quite, like, slowly reduce it to nothing. I have had some relapses in consumption. One of ’em was when I was pregnant. My husband wasn’t home at the time and I told him about it. And I think I had another relapse of consumption about a year ago, and it was something really menial. Like I went on YouTube to look for something that was pg and I still told my husband about it because he’s also anti-consumer. And I think just being accountable about it is the best route for me to be.

Fight The New Drug (21:02):
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. You mentioned that you’re a mom and you’re married. Tell us a little bit about what life looks like for you now and what are you the most proud of?

Selena (21:13):
I wanna say the most proud of is not being in the industry anymore. And to be here today to be able to finally share my story and not to hide my story anymore, and to bring it to light to everybody. I got my degree in psychology. I was recently accepted into a neurobiology program, which I’m really excited about. It dumbfounds me that I came from this intravenous drug using escort to this woman who has been able to, you know, obtain her her education, obtain her goals, obtain her dreams, and still strive towards them. And to be able to tell people, you know what, I went through X, Y, and Z and it was horrific and I had a struggle to get to where I am today, but if I can do it, that means anyone else can. And I truly believe in that.

Fight The New Drug (22:08):
Yeah, and you should be so proud. It does take so much courage to, to dig deep and, and do the healing work that you’ve done and, and to be able to be here sharing your story today. So I, I hope you are proud and congratulations on where you’re at now in your life. There

Selena (22:25):
Is a there’s a song by Jelly Roll called Unpretty, and he talks about how his past may be un pretty, but it defines who he is today. And I really take that to heart because my past is really unpretty and there’s gonna be that talk with my children when someone shows them a video and says, you know, this is your mommy, and I’m gonna have to own up to it and be like, you know what, mommy made some mistakes back in the day, but mommy’s a very different person now. And I think just knowing that I can turn my past into a positive thing and not just hide it and skirt it under the table and pretend that it’s not there, bringing it to light and using it for the purpose of the better, I think that’s, that’s what life is all about.

Fight The New Drug (23:21):
How do you feel like all of your experiences will shape the way you talk about pornography with your children, unrelated to your own experiences?

Selena (23:30):
It’s, I’ve been thinking about this so often because they’re both on tablets now. I have parental controls. I know that that can’t last forever, although I would like it to. I think just having that one-on-one conversation with them about, you know, there are certain dangers out there and there are certain chat sites and being on PlayStation headsets and there are different types of applications for children, and you just have to be careful the information that you give out because our society has grown into this like mass social media where everybody has to know what you’re doing and where you are at this exact moment in order to remain relevant. And that is far from the truth. And I want my kids to not be dependent on social media the way that I was when my space first came out, because that’s how old I am .

Fight The New Drug (24:28):
Yeah, I think that’s so important to, to think about, you know, everyone regardless of any past personal experiences, who becomes a parent, this is a topic that’s inevitable, you have to address it. And I think it’s probably encouraging for any parents out there who feel unprepared to know that even someone who knows this industry so well is grappling with how exactly to have the conversation with your own kids. Beyond just what kids know, what do you wish more people understood about the realities of the porn industry?

Selena (25:03):
That it is sensationalized, that it is not what it looks like. It is not real depictions of sex. That the positions that may look good on camera are actually very painful for us performers, and we have to take a lot of breaks. Sometimes the other actor that we are working with may stink, may be mean, may not be someone we are attracted to, and yet we still have to sleep with them and we still have to make it look good. And we still have to pretend we’re attracted to them regardless if they didn’t brush their teeth or if they didn’t wash their penis. We still have to go through with it. And I think that being forced to sleep with somebody that you don’t want to sleep with, I think that’s the worst and it’s coercion at its best.

Fight The New Drug (25:59):
And what are some things that you wish more people understood about the realities of sex trafficking?

Selena (26:05):
I think that people have a misconception of trafficking. I think that they default to law and order SVU, they think of the girl in fishnets on the street corner with a pimp that’s watching a few miles away. I think trafficking has become a lot more sophisticated than that within the last two decades, especially with the birth of the internet. I think women don’t necessarily understand trafficking because they see movies and they see TV depictions, but they don’t actually look up the definition, which is by force fraud or coercion. And I think that it can be difficult for them to wrap their heads around and or admit that they had been trafficked. And I was one of those girls, I was the stubborn girl that did not wanna admit she had been trafficked for at least five months into recovery.

Fight The New Drug (26:54):
And what was that experience like for you when you did acknowledge that that was what you had been through?

Selena (26:59):
I think it was very eye-opening. I think I was working with someone at that time who worked specifically with sex trafficking survivors, and I was, I trusted her. She had been a very good confidant and still is today. And we had been going through this book where it talked more about that pimp as that pimp life. And I didn’t relate to that. I said, well, I did pornography and then ended up escorting. You know, that doesn’t relate to me. And she is like, but you were trafficked. And I was like, no, I did it on my, on my own accord. I’m the one that signed up for it. And I stuck to that story for a while until I started to really dig deep and do the trauma work and realize, oh shit, I was trafficked. And not only was I trafficked, but I was treated horribly and I had horrific things happen to me during that time, and I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.

Fight The New Drug (27:55):
That’s so important to acknowledge because so many people do experience that same thing, right? It’s, I went into this thinking it was empowering and I did sign the release. So even if everything that happened after wasn’t what I agreed to, or, or I thought it was going to be in, if there was a commercial sex act induced by forced fraud or coercion, which so often is happening in pornography and escorting in these industries it is sex trafficking. But I think the individuals who are experiencing this much like you did, are saying, well, no, no, this was my choice. I did this. And I think it’s important that people really understand what’s happening, you know, just because a yes is only a yes if no is a valid option, right? Informed consent means informed consent and, and you should be able to revoke that at any time. So I think it’s so important that we have these conversations to remind people that even if they’re in situations like this, it’s not their fault and they didn’t deserve this. And it, it doesn’t mean that you have to suffer in the consequences of something that you didn’t actually fully decide. and even if you did fully decide it, it doesn’t mean that you should either. So I really appreciate you sharing that with us.

Selena (29:12):
Yeah. And to kind of piggyback off of that too, one of the things that I had to learn in order to come to the realization that I had been trafficked was that I had stated, I came to this on my own accord. And my confidant at that time said, well, you started consuming porn at what age? And I said, eight. She said, well, where were your parents? They were partying. Oh, so you were neglected. Yeah, you could say I was neglected. She’s like, so you didn’t have a choice? And I was like, but I did have a choice. She’s like, no, you didn’t like everything that happened to you before the age of 10. You didn’t have a choice. You were set up for this. And I think that’s what really hit like the, the grand slam out of the ballpark. And I finally had that light bulb moment where I realized it was outta my control. It wasn’t my control at all.

Fight The New Drug (30:09):
Thank you for sharing that. We’ve, we’ve also heard from individuals who speak about, you know, I had no choice because I had to had money to feed my kids. I had to have money to pay my rent. It’s like, well, is it really a choice if your circumstances are kind of trapping you in this being the only option? and for so many people that’s, that’s true as well. So I think that’s such an important thing to note. Thank you. If you could say anything to those who are still in the industry who feel trapped, what would it be?

Selena (30:38):
I would say that there’s always hope. I would say that there are advocates out there. I would say that it takes time and healing to leave the industry. It’s not like you are just gonna leave the industry and all the money that you made and all the drugs that you were doing out in la go back home to Oklahoma and then suddenly be normal again. It’s gonna take a lot of time, it’s gonna take a lot of humility. It’s gonna learn how to budget. You have to reframe your whole thought of thought process of how you make money, how you budget money, how you interact with men, the types of boundaries that you set. All of those things once you leave the industry. And it’s hard work to be able to go through all of that and fix all of those things. But that is not to say that you are forever dubbed a porn star just because that content is on the, the internet who gives a shit about the internet. It’s all about you.

Fight The New Drug (31:39):
It’s perfectly said. Could you share a little bit about you mentioned that you’re married and just now you talked about the way that you interact with men being something you have to work on. What was that experience like for you in transitioning in, in being in the relationship that you’re in now?

Selena (31:57):
So I decided to finally take the advice of my elders. I was very staunch in 12 steps in aa. I was told not to have a boyfriend for a year, and I was one of the girls that would go to a 28 day program and come out with a boyfriend, go back right on drugs, of course. So this time around I decided to actually take that advice and wait, I think 10 months I waited. And there was another gentleman that was also in a long-term program and we waited to talk to each other for 10 months and waited to go on a date for a year. And then I waited 10 dates before I was willing to disclose him my past because I wanted to see if he was going to be the one.

Fight The New Drug (32:44):
That’s amazing. Thank you for sharing that with us. Is there anything else that we haven’t had a chance to talk about today that you were hoping to share?

Selena (32:53):
I think in terms of trafficking and pornography, part of my personal story was that yes, I was trafficked, but I was also trafficked overseas and I was left there with not a penny to my name and I had to go to a brothel in order to by my way, back to America to the states. And that is when one of the people that I worked for, they sought retribution after me. And I think that I was, you know, obviously forced, coerced and fraudulently, you know told that I would be making all this money. It was through this modeling agency. I was very well aware that it wasn’t a modeling agency and it was an escort agency. I just wasn’t aware at how unhinged it was, and I didn’t think about the what could happen and what could happen did happen. And even though I was strong when I came back to the States, I was being threatened in the other country and as soon as I came back to the states, the they came to fruition. And so I think that you can get yourself into some deep shit with the wrong people because a lot of people in the pornography industry, unfortunately, are affiliated with different gangs. And that is something that these girls really need to keep in mind when they are working for these men and consuming their drugs and not being in control of their mind or their body. Because anything can happen. If it happened to me, it can happen to you.

Fight The New Drug (34:35):
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I think it’s an important reminder that everything is not always what it appears to be, especially within this industry. And something that seems simple like a modeling agency, really the depths to which that can go to. And I’m so sorry that you had to experience that. If you’re comfortable sharing we often hear from individuals who speak to the experience of what Pornography’s influence is in brothels or within those environments. Is that something you can speak to at all?

Selena (35:09):
Yeah, absolutely. So the part of the, the brothel experience once you took a John back into a room was that pornography was already playing, or if they were waiting to see a line of girls and they happened to have a suite, pornography was already playing, so it was already setting up the stage for them to, to have sex, you know, and I had a John and we were inside one of the suites and my friend that had overdosed and my other friend both showed up onto the, the the screen and I just, I wanted to well up, but I couldn’t. And it was just really hard to know. Like those were my friends. They’re not here anymore. I think the guys in prison and the girl died probably 12 years ago. But it plays a huge part in the brothel atmosphere.

Fight The New Drug (36:05):
It is, it’s so devastating to hear like even if someone is no longer here, their exploitation is still just being displayed for consumption endlessly because of of the way that this industry functions. Is there anything else we haven’t touched on yet that you were hoping to speak about today?

Selena (36:24):
Just the fact that I now work for an anti-trafficking long-term restorative care program. It’s called Hope Rising Arizona. I’m hoping that, you know, we can get some of these ladies that have been in the pornography industry where I know what they’ve been through, I know how to treat them. I’m working on my license right now and I wanna be able to help as many women as I can, whether it’s through my story, whether it’s through speaking, whether it’s through this organization and this program that I’m working for, however I can be of service to these women.

Fight The New Drug (37:04):
Yeah. Thank you. And if someone is looking for resources for Hope Rising, where would you like to direct them?

Selena (37:11):
Hope rising az.com.

Fight The New Drug (37:13):
Amazing. Thank you so much. And I wanna wrap up asking you what brings you the most hope as you continue on this journey?

Selena (37:24):
I think knowing that my chapters just begun. Yeah, I think that gives me the most hope and seeing my, my kids grow and become beautiful little adults and to know that I was in the right age, the right stage, and the right mentality to be able to give all of me to them.

Fight The New Drug (37:47):
Yeah. That’s so beautiful. Thank you Selena. It has been so amazing to get to speak with you and I am really honored that you have taken the time to share your story with us. And I hope you are so proud of the incredible healing you’ve done to be able to share so vulnerably. And I’m excited for this next chapter for you to get to pursue your program you were accepted into and be an incredible mom and pursue your work at Hope Rising. And I look forward to seeing the rest of your journey.

Selena (38:21):
Thank you so much for having me on this podcast. I know that I had written in six years ago and I was still too scared and I wanted to remain anonymous, but I’m so glad that I was able to do this today and to help bring to light with confidence and security that this story hopefully will impact even if just one person, then that’s one person.

Promos (38:55):
If you’ve enjoyed listening to Consider Before Consuming, consider making a one-time or recurring donation to support the podcast, your contribution, whatever the amount helps support our efforts to educate individuals on the impacts of support pornography, help keep this podcast going by donating to Consider before consuming today at ftnd.org/support. That’s F-T-N-D.O-R-G/support.

(39:24):
How can pornography impact you, your loved ones in the world around you? Discover the answer for yourself in our free three-part documentary series, Brain Heart World. In three 30 minute episodes, this docuseries dives on how pornography impacts individuals, relationships, and society with witty narration and colorful animation. This age appropriate series shines as a hopeful light on this heavy topic. In each episode, you’ll hear from experts who share research on poems, harms, as well as true stories from people who have been impacted personally by pornography. Stream the full series for free, or purchase an affordable screening license at brainheartworld.org.

(40:09):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of Consider Before Consuming. Consider Before Consuming is brought to you by Fight The new Drug. Fight The New Drug is a non-religious and non-legislative organization that exists to provide individuals the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding pornography by raising awareness on harmful effects, using only science, facts and personal accounts. Check out the episode notes for resources mentioned in this episode. If you find this podcast helpful, consider subscribing and leaving a review. Thanks again for listening. We invite you to increase your self-awareness, look both ways, check your blind spots, and consider before consuming.