Porn Addiction

Table of Contents

This page contains the following information:

• Signs and Symptoms of Porn Addiction.
• Causes of Porn Addiction.
• Treatment Options for Addiction to Porn.
• Impacts of Porn Addiction.
• Teenage Porn Addiction.
• Husbands Addicted to Porn.

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Definition of Porn Addiction

Porn addiction, which is a subset of sex addiction, can refer to a range of behaviors that are done in excess and negatively impact one’s life. “Porn addiction” is not an official diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-5). However, an addiction to porn can lead to serious consequences in many aspects of one’s life.

Pornography Statistics

• 40 million adults in the U.S. visit internet pornography sites on a regular basis.
• 1 in 5 internet searches on a mobile device are for pornography.
• Men who are happily married are 61% less likely to look at porn.
• 20% of men admit to viewing pornography at work.
• 88% of porn scenes contain physical aggression. 49% contain verbal aggression.

Is Watching Porn Healthy?

This is a topic for debate–there is no clear answer. Some individuals, experts, and communities will contend that watching porn to any degree will have negative effects on one’s life. However, others will suggest that there are healthy dosages, and types, of porn to consume.

This video shows Ran Gavrieli and the 3 reasons why he stopped watching porn. He explores the issues surrounding porn and cultural damages influenced by porn, as well as ideas on sex and intimacy.

Signs and Symptoms of Porn Addiction

• Excessive viewing of pornography.
  • The definition of “excessive” depends on what you consider healthy, or it is the point at which pornography starts to have a negative impact on some aspect of your (or someone else’s) life.
• Watching pornography interferes with normal daily behavior or responsibilities.
• More time spent watching pornography, or searching for more stimulating types of pornography, is needed to get you aroused or to climax, i.e., you develop a tolerance.
• There is a sense of emotional distress, or feeling of withdrawal, when porn use is stopped.
• Continued use pornography despite serious consequences (e.g., loss of relationship or job, contraction of a sexually transmitted disease or “STD”).
• Compulsive masturbating.
• Sexual dysfunction (e.g., impotence, premature ejaculation).
• Use of pornography negatively affects your relationships, for example:
  • It is more difficult to become aroused by your partner.
  • Romantic or sexual behavior between you and your partner changes (e.g., becomes more aggressive, dominant, or emotionally disconnected).
• You watch porn as a way to alter your mood (e.g., obtain a “high”) or avoid other unpleasant feelings, like anxiety or depression.

It is always recommended to speak with a healthcare professional if you are seriously concerned about your behavior. A healthcare professional will be best suited to help you understand your behaviors and treatment options.

What Causes Porn Addiction?

Porn addiction, like other substances or “things” that people can become addicted to, can be understood through principles of “operant conditioning.”

This is where a certain behavior, watching porn in this case, is “reinforced,” or rewarded, which in turn makes you want to do it again (and again).

Lots of different things can be reinforcing, and thus influence our behavior, but porn can be especially reinforcing because the reward taps into a very basic instinctual drive–sex. Therefore, it is very easy to become addicted to porn–it is accessing a fundamental (and very enjoyable) natural drive. It is also much easier to obtain than going out and finding a “mate” to fulfill this drive.

The problem occurs when seeking sexual pleasure becomes excessive, impulsive, or comes at the expense of other valued behaviors. Then we might say that one has a porn addiction.

Other Factors Influencing Porn Addiction

Biological

• You may have a genetic predisposition to impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, or sensation-seeking behavior.
• You may have a predisposition to other characteristics that are associated with sexual addiction, like anxiety or depression.
• As you might expect, higher levels of sex hormones like testosterone or estrogen can affect libido.
  • If you are inclined towards impulsive behavior and have high levels of sex-related hormones, you may be more likely to engage in excessive or compulsive porn watching.

Psychological

• Early-life environmental factors, including adverse events like abuse or exposure to sexual content, can contribute to some of the underlying traits involved in porn addiction behaviors.
• Mental health:
  • Anxiety.
  • Depression.
  • Personality disorders.
  • Poor impulse control.
  • Performance anxiety.
  • Other mental health issues might contribute to porn addiction behaviors.

Social

• Rejection in relationships and social circles can lead to other, less healthy ways to find sexual gratification.
• Social isolation:
  • Not only does social isolation increase one’s likelihood of seeking inappropriate ways of being sexually gratified, it also leads to a host of other problems–like depression and physical maladies–that can contribute to porn addictions or unhealthy sex behaviors.
• Peer influence:
  • If others around you are doing something, you are more likely to do it, too. Having a friend, or a group of friends, for example, who engage in excessive porn viewing can influence your behavior.

Video: The Science of Porn Addiction

Treatment for Porn Addiction

It is important to seek treatment or support if you feel that you are struggling with an addiction to porn or an addiction to sex. Different types of treatment are described later on this page, including individual, group, 12 step, couple’s, and inpatient therapies.

If you are struggling with an addiction to porn, call to speak with a treatment support specialist and start your recovery process today.

Effects of Addiction to Pornography

Physical

• Sexual dysfunction.
  • Impotence (inability to form or maintain an erection).
  • Premature ejaculation.

Psychological

• Preoccupation with sexual thoughts throughout the day.
• Guilt, shame, confusion.
• Ambivalence about stopping, or cycles of stopping/restarting.
• Tendency towards other impulsive behaviors.
• Depression, anxiety, or other co-occurring psychological disorders.

Social

• Not wanting to seek person-to-person (real life) sexual contact, or diminished patience for sexual contact (e.g., wanting to have sex right away, or fantasizing or obsessing about sexual contact with random strangers).
• Decline in romantic or sexual interactions with partner, such as:
  • Inability to become aroused.
  • Increasing need for more aggression or dominance.
  • Emotional detachment.

Porn Addiction in Teenagers

Due to the accessibility of sexually explicit material on the internet, porn addiction is becoming a growing concern in teenagers. With the click of a button they can be exposed to endless pages of adult content.

Porn Statistics in Teens

• 9/10 boys are exposed to some form of pornography before the age of 18.
• 6/10 girls are exposed to pornography before 18 years old.
• On average, a male’s first exposure to pornography is at 12 years old.
• 71% of teens have done something to hide what they do online from their parents.
• Teenage boys, 12-17 years old, have the highest risk of developing a porn addiction.

Viewing pornography can have negative consequences on teenagers down the line, affecting both their psychological and physical wellbeing. These ramifications include:

• Increase in high-risk behaviors.
• Skewed view of the world.
• Decrease in ability to build healthy relationships.
• Normalization of sexual violence.
• Increase in aggression towards women.

Research reveals that teenagers exposed to sexually explicit websites are more likely to be promiscuous and more likely to have used alcohol or other intoxicating substances during their last sexual encounter. This puts them at a higher risk for developing a substance abuse disorder or mental health disorder.

Is My Husband Addicted to Porn?

Pornography addiction does not only affect the addict. It can also negatively impact the wellbeing of the individual’s wife or girlfriend. The addiction can cause the following feelings within the wife of a porn addict:

• Rejection.
• Betrayal.
• Depression.
• Abandonment.
• Isolation.
• Loneliness.
• Humiliation.
• Anger.

The majority of the women married to husbands addicted to porn meet the criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a serious mental disorder, and require treatment.

Can Porn Addiction Be Treated?

Yes. Porn addiction, like other addictions and mental health issues, can be treated through a number of different approaches.

Individual/Group Therapy

Individual or group therapy with a qualified mental health professional is always a safe approach. Individual therapy will usually consist of 30-60 minute sessions, focusing on your behaviors related to porn addiction and any related issues.

Group therapy will allow you to be in a community of others who are struggling with a similar experience.

Cognitive-Based Therapy (CBT)

CBT is based on the concept that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all related, and when these become “dysfunctional” or overwhelmingly negative, it leads to serious consequences in our lives.

CBT will often focus on negative thoughts about oneself, others, and the world (e.g., “I will never stop watching porn”) and work to change these into more positive, or functional, thoughts (e.g., “If I work at it, I will be able to stop watching porn”).

Structured assignments and careful self-observation will guide individuals on the path to recovering.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

An MI approach will work on “meeting you where you are at” in your current addiction and help you make your own decision when, and if, you are ready to make a change in your life.

MI is a less confrontational approach between the therapist and patient, but it can have a powerful, dramatic, and long-lasting effect on one’s behavior.

Mindfulness-Based Therapies

Mindfulness-Based Therapies incorporate “mindfulness” as a key ingredient in treatment. Mindfulness is the cultivation of attention that is present-focused and nonjudgmental.

Mindfulness-based approaches help individuals gain more awareness over their thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and behaviors, and help them “relate” to these experiences in a different way. This allows these “temporary” and “fleeting” experiences to rise and pass away instead of letting them control one’s behavior.

Examples of mindfulness-based therapies include:

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
• Compassion-based practices, like Compassion-Focused Therapy, are related to mindfulness-based approaches.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy works under the assumption that unconscious drives, conflicts, and memories are influencing our behavior. This therapy will traditionally explore early-childhood life events and their contribution to creating habits or “patterns” in one’s life; however, it can also be present-focused and help the patient identify what is currently keeping them “stuck” in a certain behavior, in this case porn addiction.

12-Step Recovery

12-step recovery programs, like Sex Addicts Anonymous, are typically group-focused and are similar to other recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. They stress the importance of acknowledging one’s “powerlessness” over their addiction and asking God for help in their recovery. However, not all 12-step programs are centered around religious material.

Couples Therapy/Counseling

Couple’s counseling can be very important for partners when one, or both, individuals watch porn in an unhealthy way. This type of counseling will focus on both resolving individual addictions or behaviors, and improving communication, relations, and healthy sexual functioning between the two partners.

Medications for Porn Addiction

The FDA has not approved any medication solely for the purpose of treating porn addiction. Some research of different medications has revealed promising results in decreasing the symptoms of porn addiction but there is a lack of randomized, controlled trials.

Porn addiction and related sexual dysfunctions oftentimes co-occur with mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. These mental health issues can be treated using antidepressants (such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or “SSRIs”) or related drugs, which can reduce sexual cravings associated with porn addiction.

If a patient doesn’t respond well to antidepressants or experiences unpleasant side effects, there are a couple alternatives:

• Naltrexone, a medication typically used to ease withdrawal symptoms in alcoholics and opioid addicts, has shown a decrease in sexual compulsions.
• Anti-androgenic medications can help to decrease sexual urges by reducing the amount of male hormones present in the body.
  • There is not an adequate amount of research concerning anti-androgenic medications and severe side effects have been revealed.
  • The effects of anti-androgenic medications lack permanence; hormone levels will return to normal once the drug is no longer taken.

These medications have only been used to treat those with paraphilia (a condition in which a person is sexually aroused by atypical or abnormal behaviors).

Although some research has been conducted, conclusive recommendations cannot be made due to a lack of reliable evidence.

Mental Health Disorders

Evidence reveals a high correlation between porn addiction and psychiatric conditions, specifically mood, anxiety, and personality disorders.

Studies have indicated that pornography viewers have higher levels of depressive symptoms and a poorer quality of life. This explains why antidepressants can be effective in treating porn addiction.

Clinical depression, which porn addicts commonly suffer from, is a severe mental health illness that requires professional treatment. Typical symptoms include:

• Suicidal thoughts or attempts.
• Irritability.
• Restlessness.
• Feelings of guilt or worthlessness.
• Fatigue
• Inability to concentrate.
• Sleeping too little or too much.
• Loss of interest in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyable.
• Continuous sad, anxious, or empty mood.

If you are addicted to porn and think you suffer from clinical depression, contact your medical provider immediately. It is vital that your treatment plan addresses both your depression and sex addiction.

Substance Abuse

Research indicates that the use of pornography can cause sexually compulsive and dependent behaviors, which can lead to the development of a sex addiction as well,. There is also a significant correlation between sexual addiction and substance use disorders.

• According to some research, an estimated 40-64% of sex addicts also have a substance abuse disorder.
• Alcohol abuse is most common, present in 30-40%, followed by marijuana abuse, present in 18-21.7%.

Furthermore, teenagers who view sexually explicit material are more likely to have used alcohol or other illicit substances during their most recent sexual encounter. The earlier someone begins using a substance, the more likely it is that he or she will become addicted. Therefore, teens who develop a porn addiction are at a greater risk for developing a substance abuse disorder as well.

One study has revealed that frequent use of pornography by boys aged 18 years old has been associated with co-occurring problematic behaviors such as consuming alcohol more often and selling sex.

Treating co-occurring addictions is a complex process. Medical professionals must assess the pattern of drug use and pornography viewing and how they relate to each other. Once the interaction of both addictions is assessed, then appropriate treatment can be administered.

If you think that you have issues with both porn addiction and substance addiction, it is critical to your recovery that you find a treatment center that can cater specifically to your needs. Call today.

Is My Child is Addicted to Porn?

There is no official medical definition of pornography addiction but there is extensive medical literature focused on the topic. That being said, there are some behavioral signs that often co-occur with excessive porn use:

• ADHD symptoms:
  • Impaired concentration.
  • Easily distracted.
  • Struggle to follow instructions.
  • Does not seem to listen when spoken to.
• Anxiousness:
  • Mental distress or unease.
• Withdrawn or isolated.
• Anger and impatience.
• Seems depressed.
• Avoids previously enjoyed pursuits.

Additionally, there are some signs associated with computer use that a parent should be aware of when evaluating for porn addiction:

• Your child spends large amounts of time online (especially at night).
• Your child turns off the computer or quickly changes the screen when you enter the room.
• Your child locks the door while on the computer.
• Your child lies about computer use.
• Your child erases his or her search history.
• You find pornographic pictures on the computer.

What Should I Do if My Child is Addicted to Porn?

Due to the increased accessibility of porn on the internet, children and teens are at a higher risk for developing an addiction to porn than in the past. Porn addiction is especially traumatizing for children and teens, as their brains are still developing. It can cause emotional disturbances and mental health issues if left untreated.

If you suspect that your child is addicted to porn, you may want to approach them in a calm and nonjudgmental fashion. You can begin by asking your child the following questions:

• Have you ever viewed internet pornography? If so, when did you begin viewing it?
• How often do you watch it and for how long?
• Why do you watch internet pornography/
• When was the last time you viewed internet pornography?

It’s extremely important to maintain open communication and to make sure your child feels comfortable talking to you about his or her addiction. This will ensure a positive healing environment for your child or teen.

If you are worried about a sudden change in your child’s behavior and suspect that it is related to porn use, there is hope for recovery. Call to speak to a treatment support specialist and learn about treatment options for your child.

Porn Addiction Treatment Options for Teens

Although the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-5) does not list porn addiction as a diagnosable condition yet, there are a few treatment options that cater specifically to teenagers suffering from a porn addiction.

• Outpatient therapy:
  • Extensive therapy in which the teen can still live at home, attend school, and participate in any other activities.
• Residential treatment centers:
  • Overnight facilities in which the teen can escape his or her everyday, sexualized habits and focus on developing more positive behaviors.
• Peer support groups:
  • Teen-focused support groups create a safe and healing environment in which the teen can express him or herself openly.

How to Help Prevent Your Child From Developing a Porn Addiction

As a parent, it is crucial to have open communication with your child. It is not recommended that you avoid the topic of sex, as your child may have many questions pertaining to sexual relationships and development. There are some important factors to consider when attempting to prevent your child from developing a porn addiction:

• Maintain a communicative and honest parent-child relationship.
• Provide sex education and guide them to appropriate resources.
• Utilize parental controls and carefully monitor internet use.
• Lead by example and limit your own technology usage.