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"People don't take pornography addictions very seriously, but it is devastating on relationships and careers," said the Lansing counselor, who also is an MSU adjunct psychology professor. While there is debate about whether porn can be addictive, many say it impacts society, relationships, jobs and body images. On Wednesday, an MSU Christian group sponsored a discussion at the Auditorium about porn's negative effects on college students. "We want people to be able to view themselves positively and have more positive relationships without being affected by pornography," said Ashley Landis, a marketing freshman on Campus Crusade for Christ's outreach team, which sponsored the event. College students are twice as likely to become sexual addicts than other adults, according to an Internet survey conducted by the nonprofit organization Bravehearts, which aims to teach people about sexual addictions and help addicts recover. "With the availability, affordability and anonymity of pornography, it has led 18 (million) to 22 million people in the United States to be addicted to it," said Michael Leahy, Bravehearts' founder and executive director. McPhail said most of the sex addicts he treats are men — students, pastors and local residents. Some come in after losing their jobs or family relationships because they couldn't control their online porn viewing, he said. Others were referred to a counselor by their frustrated girlfriends. "The true indicator is when they can't control it," McPhail said. "It's a sign when students are viewing pornography until 2 or 3 in the morning, not going to class and doing poorly on exams." Ben Meiser, a zoology senior, said porn isn't addictive. "Porn is not a physical addiction like smoking," he said. "It is more of a mental thing." Meiser, who said he sometimes watches porn, said the media has created a very sexually oriented society — and porn is part of that. Chelsea Greer, a counseling graduate student, said she wouldn't be OK in a relationship with a boyfriend who watched pornography. "It would feel like a replacement," she said. "Most women would feel that they were not good enough." McPhail said porn can be very hurtful to women who might think "if they were prettier, sexier or someone else, their boyfriends or significant others would not have to watch pornography." He added that pornography addictions can tamper with relationships. "It gets to the point that pornography destroys the excitement of a relationship," McPhail said. "It gives an idealist view of women." Leahy, a former sex addict himself, spoke at Wednesday's presentation. Ten years ago, Leahy was addicted to Internet porn and was cheating on his wife. "Because of my sexual addition, it cost me a 15-year marriage, a partnership in a business and my kids not wanting to talk to me," he told The State News on Wednesday. His decades-long obsession with porn ended only after a friend intervened while his marriage was falling apart. Leahy has been in recovery for 10 years, and for the past three years, he has traveled to colleges, educating students about the effects of porn. "My life became unmanageable, and I couldn't stop even if I wanted to," he said. In 1999, a confidential support group for men with sexual addictions was created in Lansing. The group, Dunamai Men's Ministry, meets weekly at Lansing's Mount Hope Church. "The goal of the Dunamai is for men to find freedom of their sexual addiction through a relationship with Jesus Christ, accountability and renewing the mind through Bible study," said Joe Henika, the group's facilitator. Henika said the group has helped hundreds of people. "For some men, this is a last-ditch effort," he said. "They are on the verge of losing everything — their family, children and marriages."