How Long Does It Take To Break A Porn Addiction
The answer depends on many factors, including whether you have outside help and support in trying to stop the behavior. Mental health professionals can advise on ways to change your behavior and thinking, and support groups or loved ones can help keep you on track to your goals.
Mental health professionals can also help get to the root of why youre compelled to seek out porn in the first place, and help address those issues.
As with most addictions and compulsions, most people are never cured, but they can learn coping mechanisms to deal with urges and stressful situations for the rest of their lives.
Make Viewing Pornography Inconvenient
Once we tell someone, we can mistakenly believe its up to that person to do the work to get us out of this mess. Thats simply not true. In accountability models, we often base freedom on being caught and forget to focus on how to prevent being tripped up by sin in the first place. To experience true freedom, you need to stop relying on someone catching you and start taking steps to prevent it.
Some people take this idea to the extreme and say, Get rid of your computer! Get rid of all of the technology in your possession! This is the 21st-century interpretation of Jesus instructions to gouge out your eye if it causes you to sin. However, for many of us, completely avoiding any form of temptation is going to be impossible. We work in a tech culture that almost mandates the use of technology and access to the internet. If youre able to limit or even eliminate your tech, thats great, but a better strategy is to make viewing pornography incredibly inconvenient.
Were creatures of convenience. Thats why pornography is such a prevalent and pervasive struggle. We literally carry it around in our purses and back pockets. Its right there, all the time. Sometimes, we turn to it simply out of boredom. It becomes a brain-dead, disengaged habit.
- Enable restrictions on your phone
- Install an internet filter
- Use technology in public places
- Get rid of your headphones so everyone has to hear what youre listening to
But What About Christians
Christians are not immune to the allure of pornography. A 2014 pornography survey done by Proven Men, a group that helps men overcome porn addiction, found that the number of Christian men viewing pornography nearly mirrors the national average:
- 97% have viewed pornography
- 64% view porn at least once a month
- 37% look at porn several times a week
Further, according to Covenant Eyes :
- 1 in 5 youth pastors and 1 in 7 senior pastors use porn on a regular basis and are currently struggling. Thats more than 50,000 U.S. church leaders.
- 43% of senior pastors and youth pastors say they have struggled with pornography in the past.
- 64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they watch porn at least once a month.
- Only 7% of pastors report their church has a ministry program for those struggling with porn.
However, according to the Barna research group, which conducted a survey in 2015, Practicing Christians are more than three times less likely to use porn than other teens and adults .
Regardless of the exact numbers, its obvious that porn has an allure that many peopleincluding Christiansstruggle to say no to.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Furthermore, porn hurts our relationship with God. In a 2017 study entitled Seeing Is Believing: How Viewing Pornography Shapes the Religious Lives of Young Americans, researchers found:
But God will never forsake you.
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What Does Porn Addiction Look Like
And there are some common signs across the board that indicate you have an addiction to pornography or youre developing an unhealthy relationship with it:
Ignoring Responsibilites:
You frequently ignore other responsibilities in order to watch porn.
Feeling Ashamed
You feel ashamed or frustrated after viewing sexual content but still continue to watch it.
Many people who suffer from porn addiction may feel embarrassed by their obsessive use and often lie to their friends or loved ones about watching it. They also tend to lie about what they are doing in order to continue watching it.
Need Extreme Porn
You have to keep finding more and more extreme porn in order to get the same release.
You can start watching some erotic movies or so-called soft porn. Then, you may stumble upon some hard-core examples. The pleasure you get from the hard-core porn may exceed the one you get from soft porn and you may start to seek excessive examples of exploitation of adult stars.
Spending Too Much Money on Pornography
Youre spending large amounts of money on pornography consumption, and neglecting other expenses in your life.
The Internet may seem to offer free sexual imagery whenever you search for it. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. To satisfy yourself and your eyes, you will start to seek different types of movies or genres.
Taking Risks to Watch Porn
Youre taking risks in order to watch porn in inconvenient places.
Less Satisfied by a Partner
Relationship Issues
Other Factors Influencing Porn Addiction
Biological
- You may have a genetic predisposition to impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, or sensation-seeking behavior.
- You may have a predisposition to other characteristics that are associated with sexual addiction, like anxiety or depression.
- As you might expect, higher levels of sex hormones like testosterone or estrogen can affect libido.
- If you are inclined towards impulsive behavior and have high levels of sex-related hormones, you may be more likely to engage in excessive or compulsive porn watching.
Psychological
- Early-life environmental factors, including adverse events like abuse or exposure to sexual content, can contribute to some of the underlying traits involved in porn addiction behaviors.
- Mental health:
- Other mental health issues might contribute to porn addiction behaviors.
Social
- Rejection in relationships and social circles can lead to other, less healthy ways to find sexual gratification.
- Social isolation:
- Not only does social isolation increase ones likelihood of seeking inappropriate ways of being sexually gratified, it also leads to a host of other problemslike depression and physical maladiesthat can contribute to porn addictions or unhealthy sex behaviors.
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Understand What Drives Your Behavior
What are your triggers? Are you more likely to relapse when you get stressed about exams, feel lonely after attending weddings, or after you argue with difficult friends or family members?
Try your best to notice the patterns in your behavior. When you notice the patterns, then youll be better able to look after yourself during those stressful moments. There isnt a foolproof way to completely prevent stress, but it always helps to be aware of what presses your buttons.
How You Can Quit Watching Porn Today
Want to quit porn? If you have a porn habit, but want a way out, youre not alone. Weve got tips that can help you start your porn-free journey today.
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This article contains affiliate links. Fight the New Drug may receive financial support from purchases made using affiliate links.
Fight the New Drug is a non-religious and non-legislative awareness and education organization hoping to provide access to resources that are helpful to those who need support because of issues related to porn. Included in this article are lists to other resources that educate on porns harms. Including links to these resources does not constitute an endorsement by Fight the New Drug.
So you want to quit watching porn?
If you have a porn habit, but find yourself wanting a way out, youre not alone. Maybe you found it for the first time on accident, years ago, when you were browsing the internet. Or maybe you found it in your parents room as a kid, and that jumpstarted an obsession.
Regardless of how much this habit has become something youre trying to get control of, we think its important for everyone to know the facts about the realities of pornography as one of the first steps to ditching it for good.
Including its addictive or compulsive potential.
Not everyone is addicted
Lets get one thing out of the way right up fronteven if you habitually view porn, you may not be addicted to it.
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The spectrum of compulsion
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Dopamine: An Anticipation Of Pleasure
Dopamine is one of the major chemicals that powers the reward system. Think of the reward system as the engine behind most of our decision making and dopamine as the fuel that powers up that engine. Dopamine is known as the craving neuro-chemical that sends out a message saying you HAVE to have it NOW!. This it may be food, sex, heroin, cocaine or your next porn video on a Tube website.
What Is Pornography Addiction
Pornography addiction is a compulsive need to view pornography despite negative consequences. While many health and psychiatric professionals do not consider compulsive porn use a true “addiction,” the signs and symptoms are often strikingly similar to those of behavioral addictions.
What separates a porn addiction from a keen interest in porn is the negative consequences of the behavior. With porn addiction, you spend an inordinate amount of time watching porn instead of interacting with others or completing important tasks. The behavior persists even if it harms your career, relationships, or state of well-being.
As the American Psychological Association notes, experts don’t agree about the effects of pornography. Proponents suggest that it can help people improve their sex lives and provide a safe outlet for desires. Opponents believe it damage relationships, contributes to sexual aggression, and creates unhealthy or destructive behaviors.
This article discusses the symptoms and causes of porn addiction. It also covers some of the treatment options that may be helpful.
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Worried You May Have Ocd
Take our 3-minute Obsessive Compulsive Disorder quiz to see if you may benefit from further diagnosis and treatment.
To date, the studies researchers have conducted on pornography addiction have not given us enough empirical evidence to definitively say: Hey, this is an addiction disorder! It goes in the same bucket as gambling and alcoholism, and therefore we can treat it the same way. .
Theres still a lot we dont know about the behavior and nature of problematic porn consumption for a scientific consensus to lean one way or another. And based on this lack of empirical scientific evidence, the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists , in its position statement, says members of its group are extra careful about pathologizing porn addiction in and of itself as a mental disorder.
I would never look at it in terms of an addiction, says AASECT-certified sex therapist and licensed psychotherapist Joe Kort, PhD, LMSW, MA, clinical director and founder of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health based in Royal Oak, Michigan. A problematic relationship with porn can be a symptom of another issue going on, and we work with clients to help them understand what exactly that is.
Admitting Your Powerlessness Over Porn Addiction
In the first step, you have to admit that you are powerless over your addiction, that your life has been so affected that you have lost complete control. Your addiction has started to harm your relationships, career, and overall health.
The good thing is that the minute you start thinking, I need help for porn addiction, you have already taken a major step.
To strengthen your commitment, it is recommended that you take a powerlessness inventory. Write down all the ways porn addiction has affected your life. Add examples of the harm it has caused you and how you have harmed others.
This can even be an ongoing process throughout your recovery as revisiting the fact that you are powerless over this addiction would work as a motivation for you to strive harder to get that control back over your life.
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Moms Raising Sons To Be Men
Mothers of boys have the special calling to shape future men of God. Popular speaker Rhonda Stoppe, mom to two sons, knows this opportunity is a challenge, a joy, and probably the most important work of a womans life. Drawing from years of experience, this inspirational resource will revive the faithfulness and fortitude a woman needs to partner with God as they shape the character and heart of a future godly man.
Reward Circuits: Seeking Pleasure And Avoiding Pain
At its most basic level, the reward circuit allows us to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. Our very survival depends on the avoidance of pain and the repetition of pleasure. To this end, the reward circuit encourages us to engage in activities that either further our survival or the survival of our genes. These activities include sex, eating, bonding, achievement, play, novelty and taking risks.
We literally do not make a decision without consulting our reward circuit. The reward circuit emotionally justifies what we do like and what we dont like. When you are addicted to something, your reward circuit is out of balance. This affects your mood, your perception and your decision-making powers.
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Porno Addiction Risk Groups
Although anyone can develop this dependence, certain risk factors can increase the chances of falling into this addiction. These are listed below:
- Genetics play a role in increasing or decreasing the risk of being addicted to porn by altering the ways in which the brain and body perceive and experience something.
- Having other mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, stress, bipolar disorder, and other psychological disorders also increases the risk.
- Going through some emotional trauma might increase the risk of this compulsive addictive behavior.
- Environmental factors such as neglect or abuse during childhood can also translate to adopting this addiction later in life.
- Early and inappropriate exposure to adult content may also increase the risk of being addicted to it.
- Poor parenting and lack of supervision can also increase the risk.
- The easy and widespread accessibility of pornography through the internet has greatly increased the risk of developing its dependence.
Definition Of Porn Addiction
Porn addiction, which is a subset of sex addiction, can refer to a range of behaviors that are done in excess and negatively impact ones life. Porn addiction is not an official diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V . However, an addiction to porn can lead to serious consequences in many aspects of ones life.
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What God Has Given You Is Strong Enough To Overcome Your Addiction
Audrey says, Theres nothing you can do to completely wipe this out, but every day that God gives you the opportunity to choose Him. That you make the choice to chose Him. The devil may bring that feeling to you of wanting to do something that you dont want to do. Every day when you wake up, read your Word. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. What God has given you, is your faith, and what God has put inside of you is strong enough to overcome it. You are not alone. There is nothing wrong with you. God loves you. Your name is written on the palm of His hand and youre important to Him. You can overcome it but choosing God, every day.
What Is Porn Addiction
First of all, an addiction is when someone abuses substances such as alcohol or drugs to the point where their body becomes overly dependent on the substance to function.
Overtime this dependence could turn into cravings for the substance and eventually the body will become unstable without it.
It is undeniable that the abuse of addictive substances will only harm the body in the long-run.
Nevertheless, non-substance related addictions can be as harmful to a persons mind and body.
Many people do not consider porn addiction as a real addiction and that the minds of those who view pornographic material obsessively do not behave the same way as the mind of drug users.
However, there are many studies that argue that it can be considered a very real addiction.
There are people who become consumed with sexual thoughts and behaviours that their impulse to watch pornography can be comparable to that of a nicotine addict needing a cigarette.
Although porn addiction may not be a physical disorder, it is labelled as a behavioural disorder that can impact a persons relationship with the people around them and the way they act in their daily life.
Porn addiction is when the brain becomes dependent on pornography to experience dopamine surges, therefore, it will cause a lack of control over their sexual behaviour.
The obsessive consumption of pornography is the brain demanding stimulus provided by watching pornographic material.
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