Addiction to pornography

Author :

Editor Odess

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This article goes through the different aspects of pornography addiction, from its similarities with other addictions to its consequences on daily life and relationships. It explains the journey to addiction as well as some signals to recognize the warning signs and recommendations for overcoming this addiction. On the other hand, it presents an innovative and ethical alternative to diversify the sexual experience.

1. What is porn addiction ?

Pornography addiction manifests itself as compulsive use of pornographic content in all its forms, which tends to worsen over time. Although compulsive pornography use is not yet included in the latest disease classifications, recent research shows that at a neurological level, the basic patterns of substance addiction and pornography addiction are the same.

2. How does the addiction process work ?

Watching porn causes a burst of dopamine and then lights up areas of the brain related to motivation, affecting our brain like alcohol or drugs. That’s why pornographic images can have a powerful impact on our visual system and lead us to addiction. Getting used to such factors may result in the desire to look for more and more extreme porn videos. This is where pornography addiction gets dangerous. In a blink, watching adult content may turn into compulsive behavior. And this, in turn, can make us learn to regulate unpleasant emotional states like anger, sadness or depression.

3. When can I consider myself of a porn addict ?

There is only a fine line between regularly viewing pornography and developing a pornography addiction. Regularly consuming pornography does not automatically make a person addicted to it. However, if over time you consume it more intensively and you feel some difficulty stopping or simply regulating, this may be a warning sign of some form of addiction. In this case it is advisable to examine your behavior as well as monitor the following symptoms :

Impossibility to stop

Regular consumption of pornographic materials can cause strong desires to consume more to the point of disrupting your daily life, particularly by invading areas of your life where you thought it should not appear, such as the professional environment, family relationships, social and emotional life.

Negative impact on relationships

Pornography addiction can negatively impact our relationships. For someone prone to this type of addiction, sex and relationships in the real world may become less and less appealing. When sexual partners fail to meet expectations taken directly from pornographic films, it causes a feeling of frustration. Pornographic images can also influence the perception of ourselves as less desirable individuals and less important.

Unrealistic sexual expectations

Watching pornographic videos can create unrealistic expectations for sexual activity. As we turn more and more to pornography, the content we previously watched becomes boring, so it becomes natural to look for more extreme types of pornography to feel climax. This may leads to significant changes in your sexual behavior towards your partner, resulting, for example, in becoming more dominant, aggressive or devoid of emotion.

Mental health disorders

Most porn addict develop mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Quickly coming to the conclusion that to improve their mood, for example to relieve stress, they should turn to porn. Provoking a feeling of shame or increased guilt, without encouraging them to stop or regulate their consumption.

Physical health disorders

Too frequent masturbation can lead to health problems as :

  • erectile dysfunction – the persistent inability to achieve or maintain penile erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance ;
  • delayed ejaculation – is a problem where a man may be able to achieve an erection while finding it difficult or impossible to reach sexual climax ;
  • genital desensitization – a temporary numbing or neuropathy caused by over-stimulating the nerves of the genitals during masturbation.

4. How to quit pornography?

If after reading this article you are concerned that you may have problem with porn, here are some quick actions to do that can help you in breaking the circle of porn addiction :

  • Use parental control software : You can ask someone you trust to install parental control software on your device to block access to pornographic websites. These software often offer adult content blocking features.
  • Stay away from triggers : Identify the situations or emotions that trigger your desire to watch pornography, then avoid them as much as possible.
  • Find alternative activities : Try to find an activity that stimulates dopamine production and replaces watching pornography (reading, meditating, exercising, or learning new skills).

 

If none of the tips mentioned above help you, it may mean that you need the support from other people. If you prefer to remain anonymous, there are virtual support communities online that provide a space to discuss pornography addiction, problematic sexual behavior, as well as loneliness and relationships. If you need face-to-face contact with other people, joining support groups or individual cognitive behavioral therapy may be a great idea.

In summary, due to the ease of access and anonymity of pornography, more and more people are watching more and more adult content. Visual stimulation has a very powerful effect on creating arousal, and the rapid release of this tension is very tempting.

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