Overcoming an Addiction to Porn

Porn addiction is more than viewing erotic materials for personal enjoyment or as something shared with a partner to add some variety to one's love life. A porn addict uses this medium as a way to space out to deal with stress, worries, or emotional upset, or in an attempt to get a "high" from seeing images that feed into their sexual fantasies.

What is Porn Addiction?

Porn addicts either accumulate large collections of pornography or spend a lot of time viewing Internet porn. Typically, they isolate themselves while watching, and they may spend hours or days in this activity. Despite wanting to stop or being told they need to stop by their partner or a concerned friends or family members, they are unable to give up their porn habit.

Signs of Porn Addiction

Person who is addicted to porn may be doing these kinds of activities as part of their addiction:

• Choosing viewing porn over work or family commitments
• Devoting a large amount of time to thinking about pornographic images they have seen, and planning the next time they can view porn
• Spending blocks of time on a regular basis looking at porn
• Spending money on pay-per-view pornography or using a webcam to see real-time images
• Watching porn in secret or lying about their activities
• Visiting strip clubs or adult book stores

Causes of Addiction

For some porn addicts, the root of the problem starts in childhood. The person may have been exposed to inappropriate images as a child and started spending time fixating and fantasizing about what they have seen. Others start using porn as a way to cope with physical, emotional or sexual abuse they had experienced in childhood.

Help and Treatment for Porn Addiction

A person who is wondering how to quit using porn has treatment options available to them. They can get help from a therapist who works with clients individually, or investigate rehab centers that provide treatment programs for porn addicts. In some cases, an inpatient stay is appropriate, but therapy can be provided on an outpatient basis as well.

Beyond Quitting: Porn Addiction Recovery and Rehabilitation

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