A Guide To Recovering From Porn Addiction
This Page was last reviewed and changed on December 15th, 2020
Content Overview
Do you find yourself obsessing over porn? Is pornography getting in the way of your relationships? Perhaps you notice changes in mood if youre unable to watch porn for a certain period of time? If this sounds familiar, weve created this article to help you break away from the negative cycles of porn addiction.
Porn addiction recovery is always possible with the right help and support. For some, recovering from porn addiction requires a deeper understanding as to what lead to addictive patterns of behaviour in the first place. Its very common for those struggling with porn addiction to show signs of other addictive behaviours, such as Gambling or even Alcoholism.
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What this means is porn is a symptom, rather than the cause of your addiction. Porn addiction recovery is more than just giving up porn. It may require you to seek treatment for deep rooted psychological issues manifesting as a result of trauma or abuse.
Keep an open mind about what were saying here, porn addiction is no different to any other addiction. The following signs and symptoms of porn addiction can be applied to any addiction, whether that be alcohol, drugs or other behavioural addictions such as gambling.
Make A Game Plan Against Possible Temptation
We need to take our fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil seriously. A good athlete studies his opponents on film and replays his own defeats, trying to find moments of weakness he can learn from and strengthen.
We should be as crafty as we can formulating strategies to fight acting out on lust. Brainstorm what lies you have believed and counter them with truth. Analyze your life and common times you are susceptible to temptation, and structure your life in a way that allows you to fight back. In Christ, you are not a slave to sin but have everything you need for living a godly life and overcoming temptation .
Break The Cycle Of Porn Addiction In 5 Easy Steps
He sat there in his suit and wept. “I’ve stopped going out. I’m scared I’ll get discovered doing it at work. I don’t even want to see my girlfriend! It’s ruining my life!”
Jeremy wasn’t talking about alcohol or crack cocaine or marijuana. He was talking about the porn addiction that had been dictating his work and social life, even the amount he was sleeping. “Honestly, it’s as if I am being held ransom by the need to look at the stuff!”
Porn addiction is as real as any other chronic dependency. Sure, you’re not injecting or ingesting anything into your body. But chronic porn viewing does have a physical effect . And the time spent ‘ingesting’ porn is mind-numbing and leaves you exhausted. After hours of viewing porn on his computer, Jeremy couldn’t ‘switch off’ his mind enough to sleep.
Internet porn addiction, like online gambling, is easier to fall into, because what once involved going out and meeting others face-to-face can now be done easily and covertly at the click of a button. This availability makes it all the more potentially devastating. So why does porn addiction happen?
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You Have Guilt And Self Hate From Using Pornography
This is often what stops people from seeking treatment for porn addiction in the first place. Due to the nature of the subject, you may be afraid to talk to someone about your addiction. Also, like an alcohol or drug addict, you may have a sense of self-loathing after using or while in a refractory period. This psychological and emotional distress can make living with a porn addiction extremely difficult, and it can lead to depression and feelings of isolation. You may think that if you tell someone, they will hate you as you hate yourself.
The Signs & Symptoms Of Porn Addiction
While the manifestation of the addiction is pornography, the actual underlying cause is no different from any other addiction. The overuse of Pornography is the symptom of a misunderstanding of how to cope with life. The obsession will be somewhat similar to drug and alcohol addiction, without the physical part, even though at times it has been reported as feeling like a physical compulsion to spend time viewing pornography.
It is common for people who suffer from porn addiction, to have been in the past addicted to other substances or struggling with substance dependence or cross addictions.
Pornography addiction while creating sexual urges in the process, doesnt always lead to explicit sexual behaviours, more the obsession and fantasy of them. Releasing dopamine while seeing pornographic images activates a feel-good neurotransmitter.
The obsession with porn is no different from the obsession with drugs for the drug addict, or alcohol for an alcoholic. Porn is only the symptom, as is alcohol or drugs.Things to look out for if you think you or someone you love is struggling:
Any or all of the above could be signs you are struggling with this addiction, if you need confidential and non-judgemental help, feel free to speak to one of our trained advisors, we understand for various reasons this can be a shaming experience reaching out for help, but help is possible and a full recovery is often reached.
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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.
Spend More Time With Others
Some people may masturbate because they feel lonely or have nothing else to fill their time with.
Spending less time alone reduces the opportunities to masturbate. Spending time with others will not only keep a person occupied, but it might also redirect their focus.
There are several ways to decrease solitude. People can meet up with friends or family, take a class, or join a gym to stay socially engaged with others.
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The Habit/addiction Can Get Worse
Addictions can always get worse. Eventually, they end up consuming more of your time and energy than they did at first. Itll also mean that every negative effect porn has on your brain will be increased as the addiction gets worse.
Your self-confidence, your level of appreciation for others, sexual dysfunction and so on, will all get worse as the addiction does. Stop watching porn now, and rid yourself of the addiction whilst its only mild.
How To Help Prevent Your Child From Developing A Porn Addiction
As a parent, it is crucial to have open communication with your child. It is not recommended that you avoid the topic of sex, as your child may have many questions pertaining to sexual relationships and development. There are some important factors to consider when attempting to prevent your child from developing a porn addiction:
- Maintain a communicative and honest parent-child relationship.
- Provide sex education and guide them to appropriate resources.
- Utilize parental controls and carefully monitor internet use.
- Lead by example and limit your own technology usage.
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How Desensitisation Occurs
To understand desensitisation, you must understand how individual nerve cells communicate. Dopamine-producing nerve cells affected by desensitisation originate from the beginning of the reward circuit and make connections with other nerve cells in the reward centre. Nerve cells send messages using chemicals such as dopamine. Nerve cells bond to each other to form a reward pathway.
Messages associated with Internet porn travel via reward circuit nerve cells. Nerve cells send these messages by releasing dopamine into the space that separates adjacent nerve cells. Once released, dopamine races to the next nerve cell in the chain of the reward pathway. Desensitisation causes a decline in the amount of dopamine available for transferring messages from one nerve cell to the next.
You Live A Double Life
Porn addiction can be hard to hide. Like substance abuse disorder, you may have to lie to make sure you are not found out by work or a partner. Eventually, every addict is revealed. So, if youre serious about getting help, its important to start opening up about your issues. You can start with a friend or family member you trust or a trained healthcare professional.
Through interacting with other people online, addicts can form complex emotional attachments that can directly interfere with their everyday lives. It can manifest in prioritizing relationships with chatroom friends or falling in love with someone online.
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Turning Over Your Life And Will To The Higher Power
In order to successfully stop watching porn, you need to be highly committed to your recovery plan. This step is linked with the first step.
After admitting that you need help to break the porn addiction, you have to give the control of your life to the higher power. This step is about showing your willingness to make positive changes in your life.
To help you with this step, it is recommended that you keep repeating the following prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
You must have complete belief that the higher power will assist you towards the right direction and transform your life for the good.
Staying Away From Porn
There are many things you can do after your graduation from rehab to help you stay away from pornography, however, our hope for you is that you dont need to do this. Rehab is not a behavioural modification, it is a whole new understanding of how the human mind works, this means that you wont have to avoid situation and behaviours, because you will be free.
This happens quicker for some and longer for others, should you need to adopt the approach of avoiding temptation then the following steps can help you out:
- Porn Blockers/Filters you can block sites of a certain type or that contain pornographic material on your web router/firewall to stop temptation.
- Get a non-smart phone so when temptation is present, you can call someone instead of accessing instant gratification.
- Set up a support network of people you can call when you feel vulnerable.
- Attend 12 step programmes in order to stay present within your life and aware of your addiction, and keep a focus on recovery and what is on offer.
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Youll Start To Hate Your Body
Theres a reason why famous porn-stars look the way they look.;First, they were chosen, and then they go through a lot of makeup, surgery and Photoshop edits to finish the look.
When you watch porn, you start to compare yourself with the actors, and in most cases that probably wont make you feel good about yourself. But its silly to compare, because a lot of what youre seeing isnt natural.
Youve Started Paying A Lot For Pornography
Like substance abuse, an addict may begin paying more and more to satisfy their addiction. If youre starting to pay for more and more pornography, you are running the risk of suffering from financial distress. According to CNBC, Every second $3,075 dollars are spent on adult content, more than 28,000 Internet users are viewing it, 372 Internet users are typing adult terms into search engines to find it, and every 39 seconds a new pornographic video is produced in the United States.
If your addiction is affecting your work, this risk is increased as you could lose your job. By allowing the cycle of addiction to continue, the likelihood of participating in risky behavior in order to satisfy your addiction will be heightened.
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Altered Stress Response Due To Porn Addiction
Now we shall discuss the last major brain change caused by an addiction to Internet pornography. This refers to the altered stress response you will experience when you become addicted to Internet pornography. This means minor stress leads to cravings and/or relapse.
When you attempt to withdraw from watching Internet porn, a stress response is activated via your brains stress systems. This stress response causes withdrawal symptoms and relapse. Researchers believe stress activates sensitised reward pathways and also inhibits our frontal lobes that would otherwise give us the willpower to ignore these cravings for Internet porn. This is why many relapses can be attributed to stressful events. This also explains why stress reducing strategies such as meditation, exercise and socialising are so helpful at preventing relapse.
Signs Of A Porn Addiction
After watching X-rated movies for some time, many people ask themselves if they are addicted to porn? So, when does watching porn become a problem?
Its important to define what porn addiction is, and how it differs from regular or moderate pornography consumption.
Just because someone regularly views adult materials does not mean that theyre addicted, or that they need to seek treatment.
To understand the addiction to erotic movies or magazines, one should understand its resemblance to other addiction types.
For example, common signs of addiction to any substance would include:
- Constant craving for the substance
- Unsuccessful attempts to stop
- Increased tolerance to the substance
- Compulsive behaviour leading to lack of control
- Continually being preoccupied with the activity
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What Is A Porn Addiction
In order to understand what is porn addiction, we must know what addiction means.
Any kind of addiction means to become compulsively preoccupied with the habit or activity in order to achieve the desired effect. The same rule applies to porn addiction as well.;
Pornography addiction unofficially falls under the spectrum of sex addictions, and even though still not recognized as a mental disorder, many have gone through the challenges and consequences of being dependent on porn.;
Before answering the question of how to stop porn addiction, lets understand what it is, how it develops, and what side effects of porn can a person have.
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How To Stop Porn Addiction
5. You must recognize that willpower is not the answer. At a weak moment, your will may fail you. By admitting that you are in need of Gods help, you open access to His supernatural intervention in your life. You must yield your will to Gods will. Thats when He can begin a new work in your life.
6. Study the Word of God concerning sexual purity. Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word implanted, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21
7. You must destroy any pornography in your possession. You cant wean yourself off pornography. Think of the hidden pornography in your home as a ticking time bomb that will ultimately destroy your family and marriage.
8. You must learn to flee temptation. Self-deception may enter when you think you can play with fire without getting burned. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it. Turn away from it and pass on. Proverbs 4:14,15
9. Give yourself time to work through the process of recovery. More often than not, God chooses to take us through a learning and growing process, that can be very painful. Victory over addiction should be viewed as a marathon, not a sprint.
10. Its cliche, but you must approach your addiction one day at a time. Look for little victories and rejoice in the progress youre making. Recovery is a cinch by the inch, but a trial by the mile.
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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.
Dopamine: The Fuel For Wanting
Scientists believe dopamine does not equate to pleasure or enjoyment. Instead, dopamine fuels our sense of wanting, seeking and craving. Dopamine is primarily released just before we engage in an activity that makes us happy, such as before we eat our favourite desert or before we have sex.
The final reward or feelings of pleasure arises;due to the release of chemicals known as opioids. These are opiate-type chemicals produced in the brain. For instance, an opioid release occurs when we orgasm or once weve eaten a great meal. Even the relief we feel when we drink water involves opioids. Essentially, opioids make us feel satisfied to prevent our seeking and craving.
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