Porn addiction is a topic that is often ignored and rarely recognized. Porn addiction develops early, particularly in young men. Usually, it begins when puberty sets in and sexual attraction is a brand new feeling. Porn becomes the default method for dealing with these foreign feelings at that age and generally sticks around.
Most people do not understand the severity of porn addiction and the negatives that come with it. It is often overlooked and gets less attention than other addictions, but it is one of the most common.
Watching porn, especially in excess, changes the chemical complexity of your brain. The neurotransmitter dopamine connects sensations of pleasure in your brain to certain behaviors and experiences, linking them together. Your brain regulates the release of dopamine. The release of too much dopamine is unhealthy, as it creates a chemical imbalance that affects your mood throughout the day.
Using pornography can lead to the release of extreme levels of dopamine. The dopamine levels reached while watching porn are similar to those achieved while doing drugs. The problem with this is that you never will achieve the same “high” as you did the first couple of times you used it. As time goes by, you become more and more desensitized sexually and then in life.
En route to chasing that high, porn addicts tend to watch more porn videos with shock value to help achieve that high again. To find out if you’re already addicted to porn, you can try taking a porn addiction test.
Lack of motivation is a common characteristic of porn addiction. This is related to the effects of porn on dopamine. When you abuse your brain’s way of rewarding you for completing a task, you no longer feel the same excitement or happiness when doing something productive. Watching porn destroys your brain’s chemical balance and ruins your will to do anything worthwhile.
How can you free yourself from porn addiction? There are a couple of ways to combat it and break the habit. First, you need to ask yourself, “How much time do I spend watching porn?” That usually will put things into perspective. Consider how exactly you could spend that time elsewhere. Finding a hobby is usually the most common method when trying to quit using porn. The best recommendation I can give is to start lifting weights or running. Exercise creates a dopamine rush similar to porn, except you have to earn it.
It is common for porn addicts to feel disgusted with themselves after watching porn, causing low self-esteem. The dopamine rush from porn only lasts for about 15 seconds at its peak and then quickly turns into a depressing feeling. However, that is not the case with exercising. Physical exertion creates a nice sustained feeling of happiness and self-pride for pushing through. It contributes to self-discipline and is an act you can be proud of.
Web filtration software is another option if finding a hobby or exercising does not seem to do the trick. Web filtration software could be an extension attached to your browser or a different browser you can use when trying to quit porn. The software essentially blocks anything on the internet that could be considered pornographic. Most users of filtration software are parents trying to keep their children’s internet experience safe, but it is just as effective if you download and use it yourself.
There are many accountability software products to choose from. They all are pretty much the same as they meet the objective of filtering out porn. Downloading web filtration software allows you to forget about watching porn because it makes it impossible to do, provided the software is installed on all of your devices. Downloading this software takes the “out of sight, out of mind” method and is definitely an effective way to quit using porn.
As I said before, porn addiction is criminally overlooked. Exercise and porn-blockers are the most common and effective ways to drop the habit. It starts with asking yourself questions and recognizing that you have an addiction. Breaking the addiction starts small, focusing on yourself one day at a time to lessen the urge to look at porn.
About the Author: Eric Zuzack empowers executives living with porn & sex addiction to break the habit and live a life of integrity. Powerful Eric is the host of the five-star rated podcast “Porn Talk.” Porn Talk is not just about breaking addiction; it is about breaking belief systems.
If you are someone you know is trapped in the world of sex/porn addiction, then reach out to Eric for a free consultation.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
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