With the growth in technology, more people are exposed to pornography, especially on social media sites. While randomly watching porn might be harmless, excessive exposure to porn can negatively affect one’s life. Most people begin watching porn for fun but later start using it as an unhealthy coping mechanism for stress or a replacement for a healthy sexual life.
What is Porn Addiction?
Pornography addiction is a compulsive need to watch pornography despite its negative consequences. A person suffering from porn addiction will often spend a significant amount of time watching porn at the cost of completing essential tasks or interacting with people.
They often do not think about the time of the day or place they are watching porn. They might also be unable to engage in healthy sexual relations without first viewing porn. In extreme cases, a person addicted to porn might experience compulsive sexual aggression or engage in unhealthy or destructive behavior.
Porn addiction can be compared to drug addiction because the person affected has lost their power over viewing porn. These individuals may feel guilty about watching porn, yet they cannot change or modify their viewing habits.
Signs of Porn Addiction
There are a few signs that can alert one of porn addiction. They include the following:
- The inability to stop watching porn even when one strives to avoid it
- Feelings of immense guilt and shame after watching porn
- Frequent neglect of work, interactions, or other duties to watch pornographic material
- The inability to enjoy sex without first watching pornography
- Loss of attraction to a partner because they are unable to meet the unrealistic pornographic expectations
- Lack of sexual satisfaction
- Constant craving to watch porn may lead one to sneak to a secret place and watch it
- Using porn to cope with other problems
Steps to Overcoming Porn Addiction
Porn addiction can drain one mentally, physically, and psychologically, causing their life to decline. For this reason, it is essential to find ways to overcome porn addiction or seek help at an addiction center if the habit persists.
The following steps can help one to undertake the journey from porn addiction.
1. Acknowledge the problem
Acknowledging that one has a porn addiction is the first step to recovering from it. The process of recognizing the problem of porn addiction opens one up to the idea of getting help, thus kick-starting their recovery journey. Most people fear acknowledging their porn addiction problem because they fear being judged and thus end up not getting the help they need.
2. Being clear on why you need to stop
For most people, watching porn is a way of distracting themselves from a real issue. For instance, one may watch porn because they have marriage issues and do not want to confront them because they are depressed or because they want to satisfy themselves without being in a committed relationship. This means that porn comes in the way of a person getting a solution to their problem.
For this reason, one needs to acknowledge why they are quitting porn. These reasons will keep one grounded and make them accountable when they feel tempted to watch. For example, one can decide to quit porn to work on their relationship, focus the time spent watching porn on building themselves, or for spiritual reasons.
3. Discard all pornography
After acknowledging the need for help, the next step would be to discard any pornographic content. It is crucial to install filters that block all pornographic content and sites from one’s phone or other devices to keep them from viewing.
4. Replace watching porn with a healthy habit
After watching porn, most people masturbate, causing the body to release endorphins and other feel-good hormones. Getting an activity that has the same effect as watching porn and masturbating can help one overcome porn. Such activities include cardio, cycling, and swimming.
Any time the urge to watch porn rises, engaging in one of those activities can help counter it.
5. Join a support group
Support groups are also significant in helping one overcome porn addiction. These groups provide a safe and judgment-free environment where one can talk about their struggles with porn and learn a thing about overcoming the urge to watch it from their group mates.
Additionally, these groups remind one that they are not alone in this journey and keep them accountable to each other.
What to Expect During Porn Addiction Recovery
Porn addiction recovery does not happen overnight, so it is essential to be patient and trust the process. One is bound to face a couple of challenges and fallbacks on the way. When this happens, one should avoid beating themselves up and remind themselves why they started.
Below are several things to expect during the porn addiction recovery:
Sudden mood swings, irritability, and depression
Since most people with porn addiction use it to cope with other negative emotions, these emotions might likely resurface during the first days of sobriety. As a result, one might experience irritability and depression.
Desire to substitute porn with another form of addiction
People trying to recover from pornography addiction may find themselves seeking some other destructive addiction to fill the space of pornography. Some may turn to drugs and alcohol, while others binge eat to suppress the urge to watch porn.
Loss of libido
People who find it impossible to get intimate with a partner before watching porn may experience a loss of libido in the early stages of porn recovery. They may initially not get sexually stimulated, but with time the person will begin to recover and enjoy intimate sex without the help of porn.
Get Help for Porn Addiction with Steps to Change
While pornography addiction is a debilitating and complex condition, one can overcome it with effective treatment programs. Unlike alcoholism and drug abuse, there is little research on porn addiction, meaning the treatment methods might vary. Since other issues are embedded in porn addiction, the treatment must be evidence-based and client-centered to confront those other issues.
At Steps for Change, we have qualified and compassionate therapists dedicated to assisting clients to become their best versions. Our treatments are evidence-based and client-centered, and we also accept insurance. We have treatment options available to people struggling with porn addiction.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help.
