Porn addiction is quite misunderstood among behavioral addictions. Due to this, porn addiction continues to experience stigma, which makes it even more challenging to identify and treat it.
Whether psychologists classify porn addiction under actual behavioral addiction or not, it is a genuine condition affecting 5-8% of adults.
The diagnosis of porn addiction is not official by the American Psychiatric Association. But it’s vital to look for the signs and symptoms to move towards a healthy treatment plan.
Identifying Porn Addiction
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of porn addiction is controversial, as many psychologists and therapists do not acknowledge it. Some counselors also believe that pron addiction stems from compulsive behavior.
But they collectively agree that porn addiction is unhealthy and can become problematic when it interferes with your professional and personal life.
Here are some of the problems pornographic addiction can cause.
- Negatively affects an individual’s sex life
- Increases aggression
- Promotes distorted beliefs about relationships and sexuality
- Promotes isolation
- Results in poor self-esteem
Signs of Porn Addiction
If you want to identify your pornographic addiction, here are several indications of the problem. Some common signs include:
- Feeling emotionally unavailable
- Loss of interest in sex with your partner
- Neglecting personal care
- Having intrusive thoughts and fantasies
- Excessive viewing
- Inability to stop
- Intense urges to watch porn
- Feelings of aggression and irritation when unable to view porn
Let us discuss the signs of pornographic addiction in detail to help you figure out whether you have a porn addiction.
1. Intense Urges to Consume Pornographic Content
Porn addicts experience intense urges to consume erotic material. These urges lead to excessive viewing of porn which causes the progression of addiction and then dependency.
When porn addicts increase the time spent watching graphic content, they start to have more intense and more frequent urges. As a result, they have to consume more graphic and violent content to have the same effect.
2. Low Sex Drive
Porn addiction causes an individual to lose interest in sex. In addition, excessive consumption of pornography makes people believe in unrealistic sexual fantasies and expectations.
As a result, they feel sexual dissatisfaction, making them aggressive and irritable. Naturally, this reduces their sex drive.
3. Risky Behavior
Engaging in risky behavior is another common symptom of porn addiction. People who excessively consume pornographic material may watch porn at school, in public places, in workplaces, etc. This behavior puts them at disciplinary risk.
4. Negative Feelings
Porn addicts often feel ashamed, frustrated, and guilty. These negative feelings stem from their inability to stop or excessive urge to continue consuming erotic material. Yet, despite these negative feelings, porn addicts continue to engage in risky behavior by watching porn.
5. Inability to Stop
Having difficulty stopping watching porn is the most common symptom of porn addiction. Sometimes, people find it impossible to stop, no matter how much they try to limit themselves.
Porn addiction can make people recognize their obsessive-compulsive behavior, but they cannot stop it. Their failed attempts further indicate their inability to stop.
If you notice that you’re unable to stop consuming pornographic content, it’s imperative to seek professional help.
6. Spending a Lot of Money
Numerous free porn sites let you access pornography. But with the development and progression of addiction, people become desensitized to graphic content.
When this happens, people can only achieve stimulation through premium personalized content. Premium porn is inexpensive, but the costs increase with time.
Becoming indifferent to the same type of porn makes you crave more intense graphic content for excitement. As a result, you may overspend money on pornographic content.
7. Becoming More Demanding
Porn addiction makes an individual develop unrealistic ideas about body image and sex. As a result, porn addicts become more demanding, which causes frustration.
Such people start alienating their partners, who become emotionally and physically uncomfortable. Besides this, porn addicts may engage in risky behaviors during sex which can result in exploiting their partner.
8. Physical Pain
Constantly consuming pornographic content has adverse effects on health. Obsessive-compulsive behavior regarding porn results in eyestrain, wrist pain, neck pain, and back pain due to the frequent use of screens.
Besides this, psychological effects such as constant masturbation, increased aggression, irritability, and mood swings result in physical strain and fatigue.
Moreover, porn addiction in teens is risky as their brains are still developing. They have higher levels of hormones than adults, and they are more likely to become dependent on porn for stimulation.
9. Unable to Cope With Life Problems
Porn addicts use pornography as a distraction to cope with their life problems. Whenever they feel stressed by a situation, viewing pornography helps them stay distracted. Unfortunately, they fail to resolve life problems that continue to affect them personally.
When they spend more time neglecting their responsibility, the addiction starts impacting their personal and professional life.
In addition, porn causes various mental health disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression, narcissistic personality disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Can You Overcome Porn Addiction?
Porn addicts have an increased brain reaction when presented with erotic graphic content. As porn addiction can cause various problems in your life, it’s imperative to identify the signs and symptoms of your addiction.
The first step in overcoming porn addiction is recognition. If you think you are addicted to erotic material, you can use a porn addiction test.
Next, you can seek professional help for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to overcome your addiction. Fortunately, various treatment plans are available to help you cope with porn addiction.
People who view porn as a distraction can also seek medical help, as numerous FDA-approved medicines help cure underlying issues that stem porn addiction.
Key Takeaway
As porn is powerfully addictive, you need to recognize the signs of addiction before you engage in compulsive behavior. Porn addiction can cause turmoil in your life. Therefore, it is best to consult a therapist to reach out for help.
Therapy will help you develop a healthy coping mechanism and guide you about alternatives to overcome porn, so it does not affect your personal and professional life.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
