Porn Addiction: How to Stop Watching Porn in 10 Steps
If you've found your way to this page, it's likely that you feel that your porn-watching habits—or, should we say, your addiction to porn—have gone out of control, and that you're looking for ways to help you restore control of your life and the relationships in it.
It is essential that you be aware that this does not constitute a problem of mental health. It should come as no surprise that a large number of young guys go to porn as a guide to learn more about sex and explore their sexuality since porn is so easily available online and young people have little access to open, honest sex talks.
Just as there is nothing wrong with sometimes indulging in alcoholic beverages, there is also nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in pornographic entertainment. On the other hand, if it starts to become a regular part of your life and you discover that you can't function normally without it, you may be suffering from a pornographic addiction.
You have found the proper spot if you feel that you may be addicted to porn and want to or feel that you need to cut down on the amount of porn that you watch. This post will give you with resources that will assist you with discontinuing the viewing of pornographic material.
What you should know about porn addiction
Before we begin, it is important to understand that porn addiction is not currently a medically diagnosable behavioral addiction, and it does not exist in the DSM-V, the current diagnostic manual for mental illnesses and diseases.
Because of this, if you think you have a porn addiction and are looking for ways to stop watching pornographic content, it is essential that you understand that this is a self-diagnosis based on a feeling of helplessness over your undesirable behaviors. If you want to stop watching pornographic content, you must first realize that this is a self-diagnosis.
Surprisingly, there are some mechanisms and patterns of addiction that may help explain how porn can become so addictive. These mechanisms and patterns include:
Dopamine, the aptly titled 'happy hormone,' is released into the brain when you view porn, much like it does when you ingest narcotics like cocaine and heroin. This is the same hormone that is released when you use drugs, drink alcohol, have sex, or engage in any other form of rapid and instant gratification. And that sensation of ecstasy is very natural as our bodies have evolved over the years to find such impulses addicting, making us crave and want more of the same.
IIt would seem reasonable to conclude that humans are hardwired to engage in acts that result in a surge of dopamine for themselves. And not all activities that produce dopamine are considered to be "bad" for you. Dopamine is released in the brain as a result of a variety of pleasurable experiences. Some of them include physical activity, receiving hugs, and listening to music.
The majority of people turn to addictive behaviors as a means of coping with negative thoughts, feelings, and sensations. They depend on the quick and easy bursts of dopamine release that these behaviors provide in order to feel better.
If a specialist in mental health cannot identify your addiction to pornography, how can you determine whether or not you are addicted to pornography, and even more importantly, how can you quit viewing pornography?
Ten ways to know if your porn viewing habits are problematic
- Excessive frequent thoughts about porn
- Financial problems caused by watching porn
- Being secretive about your porn-related actions
- Seeking out opportunities to watch porn everywhere you go
- Increase in other risky behavior
- Your relationships are beginning to suffer
- Getting desensitized to conventional sexual imagery
- Getting desensitized to conventional sexual imagery and porn
- It is affecting your work or job
- You are unable to keep your commitments
1. Excessive and recurrent thoughts about sexually explicit material.
If you are continuously interrupted by thoughts and cravings to view porn while engaging in entirely other activities, such as hanging out with friends, working, or eating, this might have an effect on your ability to function normally on a day-to-day basis.
2. The impact of seeing porn on one's financial situation.
If you discover that you are spending more money on porn than you can afford or if you are already in debt as a consequence of it, this is a warning sign that your porn consumption is having a detrimental influence on your life.
3. Keeping your pornographic activities and relationships a secret.
People who suffer from addiction often exhibit revolting behaviors as a defining trait of their condition. Therefore, if you discover that you are always seeking for methods to conceal the fact that you watch pornographic content, your habit may be getting out of hand.
4. Looking for ways to indulge in pornographic entertainment no matter where you are.
Another indication that you are dependent on pornographic media is when you realize that, even when you are away from home or traveling, you often find yourself thinking and developing alternate methods in which you might indulge in gratifying your pornographic addiction.
5. Participation in more dangerous activities.
Do you remember what we said before about the surge of dopamine? It may easily become addictive. And, over time, porn, or any other habit that releases dopamine and is repeated on a regular basis, leads the brain to produce less dopamine since it has grown to anticipate what is coming and is seeking for something new to get a pleasure from. This is true regardless of the habit.
This makes it more likely that the individual will engage in other risky activities, such as gambling or drug usage. Therefore, if you have suddenly become more reckless in your conduct, it is probably time for you to cease consuming pornographic content.
6. Your relationships are starting to get more strained.
If consuming pornographic content is causing problems in your personal or professional life, you need to cut it out. This might be ignoring the needs of your family and friends because you are too consumed with determining when you will be able to access pornographic content again, or remaining home and viewing pornographic content instead of going out.
*While it's not a problem to make this selection once in a while, the issue occurs when porn watching becomes a consistent top priority.
7. Getting desensitized to traditional sexual images
If you find that you are not getting aroused as easily as you did in the past with your sexual partners or if you find yourself wanting to try out and experiment with more intense sexual experiences, this is a sign that you are becoming desensitized to conventional sex and that you are on a clear path to sexual dissatisfaction.
8. Becoming desensitized to traditional depictions of sexuality and pornography
It is an indication that your addiction is becoming worse if you find that you are often going further down a rabbit hole of progressively severe and fetishized porn, to the point that ordinary sexual images and porn no longer offer that dopamine and high as they did in the past.
9. It is having an effect on the work that you do or your job
If the only thing you do all day and every day is watch porn, and the thought of not watching causes anxiety, to the extent that it begins to affect your concentration and focus at work, this is a sign of addiction, and you need to address it before it gets worse and causes more problems. If you only watch porn all day, every day, and the thought of not watching causes anxiety, to the extent that it begins to affect your concentration and focus at work, this is a sign of porn addiction.
10. You are unable to maintain your obligations
Are you skipping out on responsibilities such as work and appointments so that you can remain in and watch porn? Or, you just forget about your tasks since your attention is entirely concentrated on porn; this is a sign that your pornographic behaviors have reached a problematic level in your life.
Top 8 ways to stop watching porn
Are you considering porn addiction treatment? Or are you wondering how to help someone with a porn addiction? If you've made the decision to stop watching porn, or to help someone with a porn addiction, here are eight practical techniques to get started.
- Admit you have a porn addiction.
- Recognize what you're attempting to avoid.
- Find other methods to explore your sexuality.
- Make use of adult content filters on your browser (Turn on Safe Search).
- Make use of focus-aiding browser extensions.
- Identify your triggers and stay away from them
- Change the habit.
- Participate in a support group or seek porn addiction treatment.
1. Admit that you have a problem with being addicted to porn.
Recognizing that you have a problem and accepting that you are addicted to porn is the first step in beating the addiction. This is due to the fact that in order to start healing and looking for a solution to a problem, it is necessary to first recognize that you have said issue.
The majority of individuals who are addicted to pornography are aware that they have a problem, which is why they try so hard to keep their addiction a secret from everyone else in their lives. Because of this, the first step is really the simplest one to do.
2. Recognize what it is that you are trying to steer clear of.
A common factor in the development of addiction is the attempt to suppress uncomfortable feelings. This indicates that in order to stop watching, you will need to conduct some introspection and find out what it is that's bothering you or what caused the void in your life that you are attempting to fill with pornographic content.
This is not going to happen immediately since it is a process that takes a lot of time. Nevertheless, doing so is essential if you want to take control of your life and put an end to letting your pornographic addictions to dictate how you live it.
Either you may try to accomplish this on your own by keeping a record of your thoughts and trying to peel back the layers of protection that your mind has certainly and rightfully wrapped itself in, or you can seek the assistance of a mental health expert. Either way, you have two options.
Keep in mind that there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to pornographic media consumption, and if you feel the need to seek therapy, you should be permitted to do so.
3. Look for other ways to investigate your sexuality.
There are a lot of individuals that use porn to shape and educate their sexuality. What individuals like and don't like about sexual encounters is often reflective of the kinds and subgenres of porn they are most drawn to seeing.
Check with your companion to see whether they are open to doing new things with you if you have one. In the event that they are reluctant, it is quite reasonable for you to investigate on your own using your own body. You may, for instance, learn how you like to be touched by experimenting with your own hands or with various sex toys in order to find new methods to climax.
Without resorting to porn, you may get a much-needed hit of dopamine from having an orgasm, whether you instigate it alone or share it with a partner.
4. If you use a web browser, install filters that prevent access to pornographic or adult material.
Software firms have been making efforts to combat the ease with which one may browse the internet in order to provide users with the ability to filter content that they do not believe is appropriate for them to have access to for a variety of reasons.
One example of this kind of software is known as a porn filter or a porn blocker. This program will stop known pornographic websites from loading into your computer, so erecting a physical barrier that you will not be able to overcome in your hunt for such websites. Because no one's willpower can be so strong, despite the fact that you may have a great desire to think that you are powerful enough to constantly resist it.
You should also check that the "Safe Search" option is selected whenever you use Google.
5. Make advantage of browser add-ons that might help you concentrate better.
Web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox have introduced App Stores, which make it possible for any developer to create software that solves specific issues faced by users of those browsers. These add-ons for web browsers are known as browser extensions, and the Chrome Web Store presently has more than 300,000 of these kinds of browser extensions.
There are a number of time-wasting prevention and focus-assisting Chrome extensions, for example, that can be found in the Chrome Web Store. These extensions are meant to keep you on target and prevent you from wandering off or browsing certain kinds of websites. These are add-ons that assist you in avoiding distractions and make it possible for you to concentrate on the job at hand. Some even restrict the amount of time you may spend on certain categories of websites on a daily or weekly basis, such as the Just Focus extension for Google Chrome.
It is a smart approach to get started lowering the amount of time you spend porn-watching if you use these "watcher" applications to either stop yourself from spending time on pornographic websites or at least restrict the amount of time you spend there. One such app is Just Focus.
Applying these "watcher" apps to prevent or at least limit your time spent on porn sites is a good way to start reducing your porn-watching time.
6. Identify your triggers and stay away from them.
An fascinating study on smokers and the things that prompt them to smoke was carried just a few years ago. The smoking ban in enclosed public spaces in the United Kingdom went into effect in 2007, but as was to be anticipated, this did not reduce the desire that smokers had to light up.
It was found that smokers who had previously smoked in pubs while holding a drink in their hand looked for cigarettes if they were put in the same position again but this time with a drink in their hand. People who wanted to stop smoking discovered that it was easier to avoid being in this scenario as a consequence of this.
The same may be said about pornographic material. Pornography may become addictive since there are triggers for it everywhere in society. It is to your advantage to look for a place or a circumstance that would prompt you to fire up your computer and start searching for pornographic content.
Once you have recognized these keystone behaviors, you should do all in your power to steer clear of the areas or circumstances in question. If you find that viewing sexually suggestive dances on Tiktok sets off your anxiety, for instance, you should instantly scroll away from any video that you come across that involves material of that kind.
People who are battling with sexual addictions may find that the formation of this habit loop is beneficial to their situation.
7. Change the habit.
Because they are a regular part of our life, our triggers aren't always going to be easy to ignore. It's possible that you simply need something to occupy your time other than watching pornographic content.
Because of this, it is highly recommended that you replace your pornographic habit with another activity. It may be anything as simple as going for a stroll, getting some exercise, or playing video games; it should be something that brings you joy and is easy to accomplish.
And the good news is that, according to Charles Duhigg's book 'The Power of Habit,' it is much easier to replace a habit than it is to remove or create a new one.
8. Participate in a support group or seek porn addiction treatment.
It is not necessary for you to do this task on your own. Because of the way your life has been turned upside down by your pornographic viewing habits, you could feel embarrassed or even alone. You are not the first person to fight with addiction, and you will not be the last person to struggle with addiction. In most cases, addiction is not the consequence of negative intent but rather ineffective methods of dealing with stressful situations.
If you go to treatment for your porn addiction or join a support group, you will meet other people who are going through something similar to what you are going through and who can provide you support.
In more extreme circumstances, counseling for an addiction to porn may be the most effective treatment option.
Watch this lecture by Eli Nash about overcoming an addiction to pornography that was given at TedX:
Conclusion
When attempting to beat a porn addiction, one of the most challenging and uphill battles is to get over the recurrent cravings to consume pornographic content. Because some days may be harder than others, it is essential to be patient and gentle with yourself during the process.
Just because you made one mistake does not mean you are doomed to fail; offer yourself forgiveness and move on. Please seek the aid of a professional if you consider that you are unable to complete the work on your own.
Also, keep in mind that the fact that you are reading this essay and making an effort to kick your habit already constitutes a courageous first step, so be proud of yourself.
You have more ability than you give yourself credit for, so take things one step at a time and give yourself permission to make errors as you go along. On the path to a life free of pornographic material, you will gradually but surely begin to witness changes and reclaim control. However, if none of these solutions work, you should get medical help as soon as possible.
