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The internet has made porn more widely available than ever. It’s relatively easy to access porn of a wide variety, in pictures, videos, stories, and other forms of media. People have access to porn that closely matches their preferences more than ever before.
Generally, porn isn’t a bad thing. People have been using porn and creating pornographic imagery as long as we’ve created art. There’s a reason we engage with this kind of content, and regardless of our stance on it, that’s okay.
But, the wide availability of porn and the wide range of porn leaves us more vulnerable.
Porn addiction is a condition where the person spends more time engaging with porn or pornographic material than is healthy or good for them. It’s largely individually identified, but sometime the people around you might notice the problem or talk to you about how much porn you’re watching or the kinds of porn you’re watching.
While porn addiction isn’t the same as other forms of addiction in that you’re not putting potentially harmful substances into your body, it can have many harmful social and psychological effects and may even impact your sex life and ability to have enjoyable and fulfilling sex.
People of all ages are potentially vulnerable to porn addiction, but some groups are at greater risk. We’ll talk about that more a little later on.
Before we continue, it’s also important to acknowledge that not all experts agree that porn addiction is real. Some experts argue that the idea of porn addiction might come from specific worldviews and values rather than objective science or the lived experiences of the people who’ve been labeled porn addicts.
At the same time, some people identify themselves as porn addicts and identify porn as a harmful and addictive influence in their lives.
This article is for you regardless of where you fall on that spectrum of believing in porn addiction and thinking that porn addiction is an exaggeration if you’re worried about yourself or a loved one’s porn viewing habits.
We’ll talk about the signs of porn addiction, how to get help, and why having a porn addiction might leave you more vulnerable to other forms of addiction.
The Signs Of An Addiction To Porn
There are a lot of possible signs of porn addiction. Remember, since this form of addiction is controversial, it’s very important to let people evaluate their symptoms and situation for themselves. If you’re worried about them, you can use these signs and symptoms to help them see what’s happening, but you can’t realize they’re dealing with addiction for them.
It’s also important to note that the signs of porn addiction are mostly psychological and behavioral. Unlike other kinds of addiction, there usually aren’t significant physical or health-related signs of porn addiction.
That said, here are some of the most common signs of porn addiction:
- You feel like you need porn to engage in physical intimacy
- Your porn use is escalating, either in the kind of porn you engage with or the amount of porn you engage with.
- Porn is becoming more and more important to you, or you find yourself thinking about porn at inappropriate moments (more common and normal as a teen or young adult)
- You feel guilty about your porn use – but can’t seem to stop engaging with porn or even change the type of porn you use.
- You blame your partner or the people you’re attracted to for your porn use.
- You feel like you wouldn’t need porn if you got better sex (it may also be a sign that something isn’t working in your sex life but blaming others for this problem isn’t normal.)
- You feel more angry or irritable and agitated when it’s been longer than normal since you consumed porn.
- You feel like you need porn to relax or to climax
- You feel like you need to hide your porn use or hide the kinds of porn you engage with
- You’ve stopped doing other things you used to enjoy in favor of watching or reading porn instead.
- You’ve started using porn in inappropriate locations, like work or school, despite the risk of discovery
You don’t need to have all of these signs and symptoms of porn addiction to have an addiction. Like other forms of addiction, there are a lot of signs, and not everyone who deals with the addiction will feel all of these things about porn or their behavior.
There’s also no clear line where engaging with porn is an addiction. Some people can watch or engage with a LOT of porn without it causing distress or becoming a disruption for the rest of their lives. Whether you have an addiction or not is largely about how disruptive or distressing your porn habit is becoming.
If you feel like several of these signs and symptoms describe you and your relationship with porn, you might consider that porn is becoming a disruptive problem in your life and that you could be dealing with porn addiction.
If you’re here because you’re worried about a loved one and see them on this list, remember that they need to see what’s happening as a problem before you can help or get support for porn addiction.
There are also other signs of porn addiction that we couldn’t include here.
If you feel like you need porn or feel like engaging with porn is distressing but also something you can’t stop doing, you might be dealing with an addiction.
Even if you don’t see yourself in these symptoms, if your porn use is distressing to you in any way, that may be a sign that something is wrong and that you might need help and support to change your porn use.
The Side-Effects Of Struggling With Addiction
Porn addiction doesn’t have permanent physical effects, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.
One of the primary side effects of porn addiction is struggling to feel fulfilled or enjoy your real-life sex and intimacy.
Porn is highly produced, choreographed, and often more about what looks good than what feels good. Those differences can lead people to have unrealistic expectations of sex and to feel dissatisfied when real-life intimacy doesn’t meet their expectations.
The effects can also be physiological. It may be harder to get turned on by things in real life, and you may find that your sexual preferences change to be closer to the body types and images in porn, many of which aren’t realistic or sustainable in real life.
You may also notice declines in your performance at work and school. Declining performance is especially common if you think about or use porn in inappropriate moments.
When you’re busy thinking about people getting busy, it’s a lot harder to be productive and give the amount of mental energy you need to your work or education.
Can An Addiction To Porn Lead To Another Addiction?
Another unfortunate reality of porn addiction is that the people who deal with porn addiction might be more vulnerable to other kinds of addiction.
Porn addiction might not lead directly to substance use, but it can if your addiction leaves you looking for other sources of pleasure and relaxation. Like many addictions, people with porn addiction may not even enjoy the porn they consume. They feel like they need to watch it, even if they don’t enjoy it, and that gap can lead to substance use and substance use disorders.
But, more commonly and worryingly, addiction is often a sign that someone doesn’t have the social safety net they need or that other things are going wrong in their life and are out of control. Mental health disorders, trauma, loss, and periods of high stress are all common triggers for addiction and addictive behavior. The same problems that led you to develop a porn addiction can lead to other addictions.
Worse, the guilt and shame that often comes with porn addiction may aggravate those other problems, making other kinds of addiction more likely.
How To Get Help If You’re Struggling With An Addiction
If you feel like you might have a porn addiction, it’s important to know that you’re not alone, it’s not your fault, and there are resources for people like you.
This addiction might need a little more research and legwork on your part to find resources. Your primary care doctor might have some options for you, but they’re likely not to know much about porn addiction or the local resources.
Addiction treatment centers are one of the better options for people dealing with porn addiction. Treatment centers focus on the causes of addiction and helping people identify and overcome their triggers and learn new and better coping mechanisms for a happier life.
Porn addiction, at the end of the day, is just a different presentation of the same symptoms and psychology that leads to other types of addiction. Treatment centers are well positioned to help.
If you’re ready to get help with your porn addiction or are looking for somewhere for a loved one to go for help, Heights Treatment can help. With locations in Houston and Los Angeles, we’re ready for anything and have a wide range of treatment options and techniques to help you in the best way.
Contact us to learn more about treatment options, what treatment looks like, and the intake process for porn addiction.
Sources:
- AASECT. AASECT Position on Sex Addiction | AASECT:: American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Accessed October 4, 2022. https://www.aasect.org/position-sex-addiction
- Balestrieri K. 10 Signs of Porn Addiction That Might Be Harming You. Modern Intimacy. Published August 25, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2022. https://www.modernintimacy.com/10-signs-of-porn-addiction-might-be-harming-you/
- de Alarcón R, de la Iglesia JI, Casado NM, Montejo AL. Online Porn Addiction: What We Know and What We Don’t—A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2019;8(1):91. doi:10.3390/jcm8010091
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