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Michael's Bio
Michael Schweiger is a Licensed Professional Counselor and founder of Restore to Life Counseling, where his mission is to help people experience freedom, healing, and a restored life.
Michael has 15 years of experience serving in mental health groups, addiction recovery, youth organizations, churches, school counseling, and private practice. He holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary and is Prepare-Enrich Certified.
His counseling approach is integrative and holistic and includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, EFT, Attachment Theory, Emotion Focused Therapy, and Christian Biblical Counseling.
Michael's areas of specialty include Christian Biblical Counseling, anxiety, depression, adolescent challenges, trauma, chronic illness, pornography addiction, and other addiction issues.
Episode 87 Summary
What if pornography isn't really about sex—but about what we're trying to find through it?
In this deeply personal conversation, Ed Squire sits down with Licensed Professional Counselor Michael Schweiger to talk openly about pornography addiction, shame, relationships, faith, and freedom.
Michael brings years of professional counseling experience to the conversation, while Ed shares his own decades-long struggle with pornography and the journey that ultimately led him toward freedom.
About This Episode
Pornography is often treated as simply a sexual behavior that needs to stop. But what if something deeper is happening?
Ed and Michael explore the emotional and relational needs that can exist underneath pornography use—including loneliness, shame, stress, the desire for connection, and the need to feel wanted or valued.
Michael offers four powerful questions for anyone struggling with pornography:
Why did I get into it?
What am I wanting?
What do I think it's giving me?
What is it stealing from me?
Ed also shares one of the most personal parts of his story: being exposed to pornography as a child and struggling with it for decades.
After years of trying to become free, a friend asked Ed a simple question:
“What can I pray for?”
Ed finally told him the truth. The prayer lasted about 15 seconds.
What happened afterward became one of the most significant moments in Ed's journey toward freedom.
This conversation isn't about condemnation or pretending recovery is easy.
It's about understanding what's underneath the behavior, bringing what has been hidden into the light, and believing that freedom is possible.
This Episodes Challenge
If pornography—or another hidden struggle—has become part of your life, take some time and ask yourself:
What am I really looking for when I turn to this?
Don't stop with the behavior. Look underneath it.
Are you lonely? Hurting? Stressed? Looking for connection? Trying to escape?
And then consider doing something that can be incredibly difficult:
Tell someone you trust.
A counselor. A pastor. A mentor. A close friend. You don't have to have everything figured out before you begin.
Shame wants secrecy. Healing begins when we stop hiding.
New episodes every week. Real stories. Real transformation.
Michael Schweiger
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Breaking Free From Pornography
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