It’s not always a negative thing to watch pornography. 40 million people in the United States watch pornography on a daily basis. For some people, porn viewing can lead to bad repercussions and leave you asking how to stop watching porn.
Porn addiction, on the other hand, alters brain activity in a manner similar to that seen in patients suffering from substance abuse problems. A porn addict’s brain reacts in the same way a drug addict’s brain does when they see drug paraphernalia: negatively.
What Is Porn Addiction?
A porn addict isn’t born, it’s made, it’s just through watching porn. When your daily life suffers as a result of your pornographic watching, you have a problem with porn addiction. Mental health doctors concur that porn addiction is genuine, despite the fact that it is not officially recognized as a psychiatric illness.
Signs of a porn addiction include the following:
- Unwelcome Ideas. Even while you’re engaged in other activities, you’re thinking about pornography.
- A Rise in Adoption. As you spend more time watching porn, it seems like there is not enough time. In order to view more porn, you give up other activities or neglect your duties, such as work or school. You may even find yourself watching porn while at work or other times when it’s not proper for you to be.
- Hiding. To avoid offending those close to you, you keep porn out of the public eye.
- Dissatisfaction. Watching porn leaves you wanting more. Porn may be the one thing that makes you happy in your sex life or relationship.
- Debt. The amount of money you spend on pornography is rising, and you may even be in debt as a result.
- There is a greater demand for it. To have the same release, you have to watch more and more intense porn in addition to watching more and more porn.
- The inability to give up. Even if you’ve tried to stop watching porn, you can’t. You’re well aware of the detrimental repercussions of your pornography. Even though it makes you feel guilty and ashamed, you can’t seem to stop yourself from doing this.
Pornography addiction isn’t caused by a single factor, according to mental health experts. Rather, a combination of circumstances is more likely to be the cause. An underlying mental disorder, neurological disease, and/or a chemical imbalance are all possible causes.
Pornography addiction is a mystery, but mental health specialists believe that certain characteristics increase the likelihood that you will become hooked. Included in this list are:
- Accessibility. The internet has made it lot easier to get your hands on pornography than it was in the past. It’s at your fingertips at all times.
- Conflicts that have occurred in the past. Conflicts in your personal life or in your former relationships.
- The Story of My Family. Personal or family drug misuse or abuse of any kind, past or present.
- Perceptions of sexuality. Having or acquiring negative thoughts on sex as a child.
How Porn Addiction Can Negatively Impact Your Life?
In the same way that other addictions and mental health issues can have a detrimental impact on your life, pornography addiction can do the same.
You should seek help for a porn addiction when:
- Additional problems with mental health arise. Addiction-related mental health disorders are caused by the guilt or shame you feel about your addiction. For example, if you’re constantly watching pornography, you may develop melancholy as a result.
- What You’re Doing Is Dangerous. It becomes progressively difficult to achieve the same level of emotional release without taking greater risks. This could include watching pornography in places where you know you’ll be caught, such as at work, where you know you’ll be caught. If you want to acquire the same effects while watching porn, you might also abuse alcohol or other drugs.
- You’re putting your finances in jeopardy. You’re unable to satisfy your financial obligations, such as paying your bills, since you’re splurging more and more money on pornography.
- You Damage Your Friendships. Because you’re trying to keep your addiction a secret, you’re ignoring others around you. Or if your partner is aware of your desire to watch pornography and does not approve of your actions. They might even feel horrible about themselves as a result of it.
- You Don’t Keep Your End of the Deal. You are putting your job at jeopardy since you are unable to complete it because of the amount of time you spend watching porn. So, if you’re viewing porn, you might as well quit doing the things you used to like or hanging out with friends.
- It’s Impossible to Put a Stop to It. You’ve tried and failed to stop yourself from seeing porn, but you just can’t.
When Does Watching Porn Become a Problem?
Using porn can have a severe impact on a person’s self-esteem and ability to carry out their most important duties and obligations. Watching porn is a common pastime, but it can become problematic if it begins to interfere with your daily activities.
If any of the following apply to your pornographic viewing habits:
- If you suffer from anxiety or depression, it can help you cope.
- Reduced enjoyment in relationships and sex
- Avoid sex and closeness with your lover at all costs.
- Keep on watching porn despite the consequences (relationship discord, potential ending of a relationship)
- Absenteeism from community activities due to a preoccupation with pornography
- It’s worth the risk, even if you’re at work (i.e. giving into the urges so it interferes with other parts of life)
- Prioritizing sex with a spouse over pornography
When Is Watching Porn Not Problematic?
To a large extent, the debate over whether or not pornography is harmful hinges on the concept of moderation. Watching porn can be a good method to relieve stress, improve the sex lives of couples, and give a short-term distraction while feeling overwhelmed.
When used in excess, pornography may be necessary for couples to become sexually aroused or reach orgasm, according to world-renowned researchers and clinical psychologists John and Julie Gottman.
5 Steps To Stop Watching Porn
When you view porn, your brain gets a dopamine rush, which is a pleasant sensation in the brain. Over time, you develop a craving for and an expectation of the dopamine rush. Because your body begins to normalize what you’re seeing and your brain doesn’t respond the same way, you must watch more porn or more intense porn to obtain the same dopamine response.
This is the process by which a person becomes addicted.
You may be able to take back control of your porn viewing without the help of a professional therapist.
Try these five steps towards self-sufficiency in quitting:
- Remove all the Pornography. On all of your electronic devices, delete and block pornography and pornographic websites. Even better, have someone else install password-protected blockers on your devices after you’ve done this. You don’t have access to the passwords. Toss out any hard copies of pornography you have lying around.
- Decide on a Project. Keeping yourself occupied can assist you avoid thinking about losing out on the dopamine rush from pornography. Start thinking about something else to do instead of watching porn when you’re tempted to do so. It doesn’t matter if you’re working out or listening to music; dopamine gets released. Make a strategy for what you’ll do instead of watching porn when you get the urge.
- AVOID TRIGGERS. Avoid watching porn when you’re feeling particularly triggered by certain situations. Even if you usually get on to watch porn at night, avoid doing so this time. Have a plan in place in case you are unable to prevent a trigger. Like in the previous example, it’s beneficial to envision an alternative healthy activity you can do in its place.
- Keep your feet firmly on the ground, and you’ll be fine. When you’re tempted to view porn, consider the detrimental impact it has on your life. What are the consequences of this addiction on your life? Consider writing about your experiences, how you’re coping, and what you hope to achieve in life outside of addiction in a notebook.
- Get the Help You Need. Your partner or a close friend can help you overcome your pornography addiction and hold you accountable for breaking out of the loop by enlisting their support.
If you are unable to break your pornography habit on your own, or if you suspect you may be suffering from other mental health difficulties, you should seek treatment from a professional.
10 Tips for How to Quit Porn
The good news is that there are a variety of ways to avoid looking at pornography. We all have different reasons for why we are addicted to pornography, but there are strategies to stop using the material. Reframing the way you communicate to yourself, prioritizing values, acknowledging the challenges of change, dealing with underlying stressors, finding an accountability partner or group, and having a back-up plan in case of setbacks can all help you maintain a non-porn lifestyle.
Porn consumption can be reduced or eliminated by following these ten simple steps:
1. Plan Ahead
A lack of planning is much like intending to fail when it comes to quitting porn, as is the case with many other things. It is possible to play the role of your “ideal self” even while you are tempted to observe. Remember that a craving is not the same as a relapse. In order to return to your comfort zone, your body sends you signals that it is ready to do so.
Learn to recognize your own personal triggers. Just because you’ve made the decision to stop using porn, doesn’t mean you won’t experience cravings, temptations, and self-doubt. This is why it’s so important to have a backup plan in place.
2. Try Meditation
When you practice meditation, you learn to detach yourself from your thoughts and feelings. When you’re in the early stages of quitting porn, it might be quite helpful to have a tool that is accessible to everyone.
A person can observe that thoughts can arrive, but they don’t need to be acted upon by redirecting their attention to their breath (and will usually leave quicker when in a more relaxed state).
3. Engage in Physical Activity
Being physically active can have a good effect on the brain’s reward center, which in turn improves general well-being. Exercise has been shown to promote both physical and mental health by reducing the reward impulse, which may explain in part why it is so effective at reducing internet dependence. 4 5
4. Join a 12-Step Group
12-step meetings can give a secure place to discuss your addiction to pornography in a judgment-free environment, which many people find vital in overcoming their addiction. 6 There are additional benefits of accountability and support for those who are embarking on a path toward a porn-free living. If you’re looking for a specialist in porn addiction, an online directory can help you discover one.
5. Change your Surroundings
Don’t undervalue the impact of one’s surroundings on their susceptibility to getting triggered. It is possible to perform a task on autopilot if it has been practiced for a long time. What may have started out as a coping mechanism is now being maintained out of habit in the same way that pornography is. What can you do to alter the course of events in your immediate surroundings?
6. Install a Porn Blocker
You may want to consider installing a porn blocker on your digital devices in order to keep yourself from succumbing to the temptations that arise when you’re most vulnerable. Using a porn blocker appears to be the greatest way to buy some extra time to reevaluate desires and instead focus on values. If you do this, you’ll be more likely to follow through on your intentions of watching less porn and eventually cutting down or quitting altogether. 6
7. Try ACT Therapy
In CBT, a technique known as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) stresses accepting one’s thoughts and feelings while also pledging to do actions that are more in line with one’s core values. 7 Developing a more positive relationship with one’s thoughts, feelings, and drives is possible when one learns to stop fighting, denying, or avoiding them. ACT has been shown to reduce problematic pornography watching by over 90% after 12 sessions, making it one of the few treatments with evidence backing it up. 8
8. Accept Yourself
The more you resist, the more difficult it becomes to overcome any obstacle. Permanent change requires that you accept who you are right now and have a crystal-clear vision of who you want to be in the future. In order to close this chasm and make better decisions when faced with difficult options, it is critical to create a new self-identity (and to document it).
9. Have a Plan B & a Plan C
Relapse prevention cannot be achieved just through the use of willpower. The ability to live a life devoid of pornography requires constant substitutions. On the road to recovery, new hobbies, meetup groups, and pre-planned back-up measures are essential. Additionally, volunteering might help you fill your time in a rewarding and productive manner. Volunteermatch.org makes it simple to find a volunteer position that works with your schedule.
10. Prioritize Your Values
Maintaining this new way of life requires a strong sense of values. According to research, values play an important role in sustaining progress. A porn-free lifestyle requires much more than simply deciding to stop watching porn. The idea is to focus on what you want to turn toward rather than what you want to avoid. When you decide to live a life free of pornography, your core values will guide your behavior in this new role.
When it comes to quitting porn, it is all about making the long-term decision rather than succumbing to the short-term, instinctive, habitual, and impulsive impulses. Rather than rushing away from your feelings, you choose to slow down and experience them fully. Back-up plans must be aligned with what is most essential and meaningful to you. Rather than seeing quitting as a failure, reframe it as an opportunity for personal growth and learn to be compassionate with yourself along the way.
Final Thoughts on Quitting Porn
For many, the desire to live a life free of pornography is the ultimate goal. Although giving up porn can be difficult, you are not alone in your endeavor. Having a clear picture of what your future life without porn would look like is essential. Every day, remind yourself of your destination. Acknowledge that you’re going through a difficult time, but don’t let it get in the way of your goals.
