Even today, when we start the topic of porn, murmuring and a huge ruckus take place. Talking about sex, doing it for fun, engaging in self-pleasure activities, or even understanding what our body might like is considered dirty and shameless.
And this leads to one of the many things—porn addiction. Porn addiction is a real thing that happens when there is no proper awareness or knowledge provided to teenagers. It leads to severe mental health difficulties, which might seem like the child’s fault when, in reality, society is to blame.
But no more. Here is a well curated guide for teenagers, parents, and the general public to understand how porn addiction harms an individual, how to spot it in its early stages, and most importantly, how to handle it with care and maturity.
What Is Porn Addiction?
Porn addiction is a hypersexual disorder that can affect an individual’s life and cause the person to compulsively watch porn, even if it is negatively affecting their life. Their behaviour starts to show porn addiction symptoms and it can be deeply disturbing for them in the long run.
Although there are no medications designed to specifically treat porn addiction symptoms, psychotherapy does help to a major extent. However, you would know a person is addicted to porn when they show symptoms, like watching porn almost 24x7, when their thoughts revolve around that topic only, and when they have no social or professional life because of this.
To understand if you are a victim of porn addiction, it is important to understand the symptoms associated with it. Now, let us examine the specific symptoms of porn addiction.
Most Common Porn Addiction Symptoms
Watching porn is normal but within a certain limit, if it goes out of hand, it can lead to serious consequences. To understand how to identify that, here are some of the most common porn addiction symptoms, as follows.
1. Thoughts about porn
Recurrent thoughts about porn or not being able to focus on other aspects of life can be major signs that you are getting addicted to porn. It is best to consult a sex therapist on time before this gets out of hand.
2. Urge for more
Engaging in sexual activity or watching porn is fine but getting the urge to do it more often or watch more of it can come off as unhealthy and is a sign of porn addiction.
3. Unrealistic sexual demands
When, as a partner, you demand or expect unrealistic things as shown in porn, it is unhealthy and can create a deep hole in your relationship and make your partner feel isolated from you.
4. Inability to let go
When you are not able to view porn as simply a pleasure activity and view it as an integral source of pleasure, it can become unhealthy for you. It can even create a sense of attachment, which can further lead to the inability to let it go.
5. Interferance with other things
Watching porn becomes extremely unhealthy when it starts to interrupt other life things like your social life, professional life, or personal life. It starts affecting you mentally and physically, often leading to depression, anxiety, or even loneliness.
6. Mood swings
Watching porn and sitting in the room alone can start to reflect on your mood, like anger, upsetness, distress, irritation, or even becoming distant. This might also show up in the way you present yourself, like getting rude all of a sudden, shouting at people, or having no respect for anyone.
7. Defensive nature
When your close ones try to talk to you and help you, you might start becoming defensive by saying things like, “You do not trust me," “Everything is fine; it is just work stress," or “Who do you think of me as?” which in-turn can make your parents feel guilty.
8. Change in behaviour
There is a sudden shift in the behaviour of people who are addicted to porn, as watching such content can make you rowdy, angry, aggressive, and build a nature of dominance.
9. Anger issues
Watching porn can make you angry as it fills you up with unrealistic expectations and lustful desires, and keeping this all in your head can make you angry and frustrated.
10. Negative aura
Watching porn can bring a shift in your aura and make you seem unapproachable and negative, which can further affect your social life, professional relationships, and even your image of yourself.
Causes of Porn Addiction
Now that you have understood the signs of porn addiction, let’s see what the major causes are.
- Experienced stress/trauma in early childhood
- Getting exposed to sexual content in childhood
- Suffering from anxiety
- Displeasure in relationship
- Intimacy issues
- Higher levels of sex hormones
- Media influence
- Peer pressure
- Social isolation
- Genetic history of depression or anxiety
Effects of Porn Addiction
Now that you have a better understanding of how to spot signs of porn addiction, it is important to see what their effects are if not given the right treatment at the right time.
Here are some of the effects of porn addiction:
1. Difficulty maintaining relationships
When you get too much into watching porn, it can lead to difficulty maintaining relationships and often lead to breaking apart from family, friends, romantic partner, and even your co-workers.
2. Sexual dysfunctional issues
Watching too much porn and masturbating can lead to sexual dysfunctional issues like erectile dysfunction, the inability to get aroused, and premature ejaculation.
3. Loss of interest in other activities
When you get knee-deep into watching porn, it starts to affect your other areas of life, making you lose interest in things or hobbies that once made you happy. All your time goes into watching porn and spending time alone, leading to other severe mental health issues.
4. Work performance issues
Not showing up at work or not being consistent with your deadlines can create friction between you and your manager, leading to conflicts, demotion, or even firing you from your position.
5. Mental health issues
Spending time alone watching porn all day can lead to severe mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, sexual problems, and even social anxiety because of loneliness.
6. Legal issues
Watching porn illegally can cause legal issues that might hinder you and your life badly.
Anything in excess can harm the human mind. And when it comes to porn addiction, it not only hinders the person physically and mentally but also creates friction in other aspects of life. So when you start to show porn addiction signs, do not delay it any further and connect with a therapist as soon as possible.
Treatment for Porn Addiction
If you know someone who is going through such difficulty and is showing porn addiction signs, even if it is you, it is important to seek help in due time. Connecting with a therapist or a sex therapist will help you understand the root cause of this addiction properly.
Even though there is nothing wrong with watching porn and exploring yourself and your body, doing all of this within a certain limit is what is healthy for the mind and body. Therefore, it is important to understand your limits by connecting with a therapist, who can help you find ways to get rid of your porn addiction symptoms steadily.
While there are certain types of techniques therapists use, you can even do self-help things like reading books that help you understand the deep intricacies of such behaviour, meditation exercises to calm your mind, leaning on your friends and family and being upfront with them about this, and most importantly, joining a support group where you can connect with people with similar experiences to not feel alone in your healing journey.
A Word From Now&Me
If you are looking for a therapist or a sex therapist to understand the symptoms of porn addiction and how to get rid of them effectively, then you can talk to Now&Me experts starting at Rs. 30 only.
Now&Me experts will help you navigate through this journey in a smooth and effective way by giving you proper guidance and a customised plan. Along with this, you can become a part of the Now&Me community, where you can connect with like-minded people and talk about such issues anonymously to get better clarity and guidance on them.
Not only this, but you can also inculcate some self-help techniques in your daily life with our thoroughly vetted content and get rid of porn addiction signs at your own pace. So start your healing journey by downloading the Now&Me app from your Play Store today.
Sources
Porn Addiction Symptoms: 6 Common Symptoms of Porn Addiction in Men. Sean Galla. https://mensgroup.com/porn-addiction-symptoms/
Porn Addiction Symptoms. Claire Rimmer. ://www.priorygroup.com/addiction-treatment/porn-addiction/porn-addiction-symptoms
Now&Me articles are written by experienced mental health contributors and are purely based on scientific research and evidence-based practices, which are thoroughly reviewed by experts, including therapists and psychologists with various specialties, to ensure accuracy and alignment with current industry standards.
However, it is important to note that the information provided is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual circumstances vary, and it is advisable to consult with a qualified mental health professional for personalized advice and guidance.