Porn addiction
It’s easy to brush pornography addiction under the carpet and not take it seriously. After all, isn’t watching porn just a bit of harmless fun? But the truth is that porn addiction is a real and dangerous problem that affects people of all ages across the UK. Porn addiction can have a serious impact on your life, but due to social stigma, it often goes unreported.
What is pornography addiction?
Porn addiction is a behavioural addiction which is characterised by an uncontrollable urge to watch pornography and masturbate even though it interferes with your life. Those addicted to porn may find themselves watching it for hours at a time, or feeling unable to stop even when they want to. Porn addiction can lead to relationship problems, job loss and financial difficulties. It can also cause anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
Technology has made accessing pornography far easier than in previous decades. The rise of the Internet means that every imaginable type of porn is just a click away and with the advent of smartphones, it can be accessed anywhere any time. In fact, visits to the world’s number one porn site, Pornhub, via mobile phone have increased by 1,424% since 2010*.
When someone with a pornography addiction tries to quit porn, they may experience porn addiction withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, and cravings as their brain and body have become dependent. These symptoms can make it difficult to stick to a porn-free lifestyle. However, there are many resources available to help people overcome their addiction and with treatment, recovery is possible.
*Data taken from Pornhub traffic insights
How does porn addiction develop?
On a physical level, watching porn affects the brain’s dopamine levels in a similar way to other addictive substances. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate pleasure and motivation. When you watch porn, your brain releases dopamine, which gives you a pleasurable feeling. Over time, your brain becomes used to this frequent release of dopamine and starts to produce less of it on its own. With frequent porn abuse, you will begin to develop a tolerance where you need to watch more and more porn to get the same dopamine hit. This can lead to pornography addiction, as you become reliant on watching porn just to feel “normal”.
Am I addicted to porn?
Sometimes, it can be difficult to know whether you have an addiction because you become so used to a certain behaviour that it becomes a normal part of your everyday life. This is certainly true for porn addiction as watching pornography has become more socially acceptable and is something that a large proportion of people do. However, watching porn and being addicted to porn are two different things. The fact that you are reading this page suggests you may be concerned about the amount of porn you are watching but are you addicted to it? Here are some questions to ask yourself which may suggest you need porn addiction support:
- Do I spend more time watching porn than I do on previously enjoyed activities?
- Have I tried to stop watching porn but experienced porn addiction withdrawal?
- Does my porn habit make me feel ashamed, embarrassed, or guilty?
- Has my use of porn increased over time?
- Am I hiding my porn use from others?
- Am I using porn as a way to escape from problems or pain in my life?
- Have I lost friends or opportunities because of my porn use?
- Do I plan my life or schedule my responsibilities around my porn use?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may need porn addiction help. Sanctuary Lodge is a leading treatment centre for porn addiction, offering comprehensive treatment programmes. Our experienced team can help you with your porn addiction, repair damaged relationships and start a whole new life free of pornography.
Who is most at risk of becoming addicted to porn?
Porn addiction can affect people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. While anyone can become addicted to porn, there are certain groups of people who are at increased risk. This includes people who:
- engage in frequent porn abuse
- have certain social or behavioural conditions
- experienced childhood trauma
- were exposed to sex or pornography from an early age
- are suffering from mental health conditions such as loneliness, anxiety or depression
- are addicted to sex or have an unhealthy relationship with sex and love
Young people are also at particular risk of becoming addicted to porn due to their impressionability, still developing brains and the amount of pornography they watch. Research has found that 80% of people between sixteen and seventeen years old watch porn with the average viewing time around two hours per month.
What are the effects of porn abuse and addiction?
People who are addicted to porn are often consumed by their condition, spending so much time watching and thinking about porn that they neglect their responsibilities such as work and school. This can lead to failing grades, job loss and a number of other associated problems.
Porn addiction can also trigger and exacerbate new and current mental health conditions such as depression, low self-esteem and social anxiety. These co-occurring disorders can make porn addiction recovery particularly difficult as the two conditions can make each other worse, resulting in an endless cycle of porn abuse and addiction.
Porn addiction can also damage relationships and lead to trust, communication and intimacy issues. Many people who engage in porn abuse regularly also develop a distorted view of the reality of sex and what their partner may or may not be comfortable doing. They may also feel inadequate about different aspects of their bodies because porn has given them an unrealistic impression of what people look like.
Additionally, porn addiction can have financial consequences, as addicts may spend large sums of money on porn sites or subscription accounts like Onlyfans.
How can porn addiction affect your sex life?
Some people who watch a lot of porn find that they are hyper-sexualised and want to have sex all the time. Conversely, there are many people who are addicted to porn who are unable to have or are uninterested in having real sex. This may be due to erectile dysfunction, low self-esteem or loss of libido due to frequent masturbation.
Porn can also affect perceptions of healthy of respectful sex, particularly in children and teens who have not had real sexual experiences. As 88% of pornography now contains physical aggression (almost all towards women), there are major concerns that young people will imitate this believing that is what sex is supposed to be like.
Lies that your porn addiction will try to tell you
It’s important to understand that your porn addiction doesn’t want you to recover – it wants to convince you that there’s no problem so that you don’t seek porn addiction help. To do this, it will tell you various lies to keep you stuck in the cycle of porn abuse and addiction forever. A crucial step in overcoming porn addictions is seeing the reality behind these lies. Here are some of the most common:
“Everyone watches porn so it can’t be addictive”
The truth is that just because something is common doesn’t mean it can’t be addictive. In fact, extensive research has shown that pornography can be just as addictive as other substances like drugs and alcohol. What characterises porn addiction is the compulsive need to keep watching it, either though it is causing you harm in some way. If this is your experience, you need professional porn addiction support.
“Watching porn is fine because it doesn’t affect you physically like drugs and alcohol”
The truth is that while pornography may not physically harm you in the same way as drugs or alcohol, it can still have a serious impact on your life. Pornography abuse and addiction have been linked with mental health problems like anxiety and depression and it can also cause relationship problems, financial issues and problems in work and education.
“Everyone will judge you if you undergo treatment for porn addiction”
The truth is that there is nothing to be ashamed of if you need help to overcome an addiction. Seeking treatment shows strength of character, not weakness and there are many people who understand the difficulties associated with overcoming an addiction. At Sanctuary Lodge, we have successfully treated many people with porn addiction, most of whom felt some level of embarrassment when they first contacted us. They soon realised that nobody at Sanctuary Lodge, not our staff or the other residents had a single judgemental thought about them. Everyone is in the boat paddling together and supporting each other for a common cause: recovery.
What is the best porn addiction treatment?
Inpatient rehab is the most effective treatment for porn addiction because it provides around-the-clock care in a safe and supportive environment. The goal of treatment is to help the individual develop healthy coping mechanisms and to identify and address the underlying causes of the addiction.
At Sanctuary Lodge, we provide a range of therapies in our porn addiction treatment programmes including addiction therapies such as:
- One-to-one therapy
- Group therapy
- CBT
- DBT
- Meditation
- Yoga therapy
- Family support therapy
By including all of these different therapy approaches, we can address every aspect of your condition and give you the best chance of overcoming porn addiction.
After you leave Sanctuary Lodge, you will be provided with one year’s free aftercare consisting of weekly group therapy sessions. This is an important part of treatment as it helps to prevent relapse and provides continued support long after you have returned home.
To find out more about treatment for addiction at Sanctuary Lodge, get in contact with us today.