Porn addiction doesn’t happen overnight. You probably won’t get addicted the first time you watch porn. But if it becomes an activity you can’t control or quit, it may be time to explore porn addiction treatment options.
Many people experiencing porn addiction feel shame surrounding the issue and fear about opening up. But left untreated, porn addiction can consume your life and damage your relationships, finances, and career. There are effective methods of porn addiction treatment that can pinpoint the root of the addiction and help you heal.
Understanding Porn Addiction
Pornography addiction is when a person becomes emotionally dependent on porn to the point that viewing it becomes compulsive and uncontrollable, affecting their everyday life.
How do you know if you have a porn addiction and should consider seeking help? If you want to stop and have repeatedly tried but have been unsuccessful, you may be experiencing porn addiction.
Other symptoms of porn addiction include:
- Increased porn viewing
- Feeling guilty about watching
- No longer enjoying sex
- Spending a lot of time viewing pornography
- Constant craving for more
- Experiencing mood changes if you can’t view porn
- Increased tolerance for more extreme or violent porn
- Neglecting responsibilities or sleep to view more
- Feeling like you need a porn “fix”
- Continuing to view porn, even if it harms relationships
- Lying about porn viewership
- Low self-esteem
- Denying the adverse effects of pornography
- Experiencing sexual dysfunction
So, what causes someone to become addicted to porn? Answering this question means understanding porn addiction and the brain.
In short, unresolved emotional trauma often results in addiction. Leading sex addiction expert, Dr. Patrick Carnes, found that “97% of people with sex addiction suffered emotional abuse in childhood or adolescence, while 81% suffered sexual abuse.”
Specifically, people who have experienced childhood trauma are more likely to have addictions later in life. When a child experiences trauma, it shrinks the part of the brain responsible for processing emotion and memory. Trauma also affects other parts of the brain, like those associated with decision-making, self-regulation, and fear processing.
Trauma in childhood doesn’t go away if left unprocessed. It’s not unusual for adults to still experience symptoms of childhood trauma.
Trauma that happens in adulthood also can result in addiction.
Regardless of when the trauma occurs, an individual may use pornography to deal with emotional distress. When porn makes them feel better, their brain remembers that response and wants to repeat the activity, which eventually results in addiction and an inability to stop.
Porn addiction is unlikely to disappear without treatment. You need help uncovering and healing from the root cause of the addiction. Then you can address the behavior.
Ed Tilton, President of Begin Again Institute, said porn addiction treatment helps re-establish healthy coping skills and true intimacy.
“This is best done by a professional who can see patterns, traumas, and behaviors for what they are,” he said.
Risks of Untreated Porn Addiction
If left untreated, porn addiction can drastically affect your everyday life and physical and mental well-being.
Untreated porn addiction can have effects on:
- Lifestyle. When porn is your constant habit, it can replace responsibilities at work or day-to-day tasks.
- Behavior. Because people often feel ashamed of porn addiction, they may lash out or become secretive around others, even those trying to help.
- Physical Well-Being. Your brain changes while addicted to porn. The brain’s reward system is hijacked, and parts of your brain can shrink. Porn addiction can also cause sexual dysfunction or the inability to perform sexually with a partner.
- Emotions. Porn addiction often causes shame, guilt, and low self-esteem, which can lead to depression and anxiety.
- Relationships. People experiencing porn addiction may have unrealistic expectations of beauty or sexual performance and may pressure their partner to do risky sexual acts. They might also seek sexual fulfillment outside their relationship. Porn addiction can also cause secrecy, shame, and sexual frustration in relationships.
- Society. Escalation is typical in addiction. To get the next fix, some people may resort to illegal or exploitative measures, which impact those in contact with them.
Why Seeking Treatment Is Necessary
Porn can easily suck you in because of the “triple-A” impact: accessibility, affordability, and anonymity. Despite being a private or intimate activity, almost anyone anywhere can access porn whenever they want. Its widespread availability makes it easy to access with one click. While some porn sites charge a subscription, many operate for free or low cost. With private browsers and a quick “erase history,” records of porn use are gone, making it easy to hide from others.
If you’ve ever tried to stop watching porn, you know how impossible it can feel. Like any other addiction, you will experience cravings, a compulsive need to keep coming back, and withdrawal symptoms. It’s a vicious cycle that’s challenging to handle by yourself. That’s why seeking treatment is likely necessary for overcoming porn addiction.
Benefits of seeking treatment for porn addiction include:
- Discovering and Treating the Root Cause. Porn addiction often stems from unprocessed trauma. With help from a mental health counselor, you can uncover the addiction’s root cause and begin healing from your trauma.
- Gaining a Support System. When entering a treatment program, you’ll meet other people with similar experiences who understand the challenges of porn addiction. You can build a support system of friends and mental health professionals to hold you accountable and empower you on your journey.
- Healing Your Relationships. Porn addiction doesn’t just affect you. It also affects loved ones who have suffered from the addiction. By taking the first step toward recovery, you’re showing a commitment to change, and you can begin to repair your relationships.
- Learning Vital Skills to Deter Impulses. Relapse is always a threat. You can overcome the urge and resist temptations by practicing healthy habits and learning vital skills to deter impulses.
- Removing Adverse Symptoms. Porn addiction can have debilitating effects on your life. Removing the adverse symptoms and harmful behaviors can improve your well-being.
- Overcoming Controlling Behavior. It can be frustrating, confusing, and exhausting to feel as if you have no control of your behavior or impulses. By taking hold of your addiction and starting the recovery process, you regain authority over yourself, your actions, and your happiness.
Seeking Porn Addiction Treatment
Getting professional help for porn addiction can help institute healthy coping mechanisms and increase your chances of a successful recovery. There are many types of treatment to help porn addiction.
Porn addiction treatment options include:
- Psychotherapy. With the help of a mental health counselor, you can understand the past events that led to your addiction. Over time, you can recognize maladaptive behaviors, determine your unmet needs, and implement coping strategies.
- Intensives. Intensives help you become steeped in the work of recovery for a short, intensive healing period.
- Group Therapy. Talking to people with similar experiences can be extremely validating, empowering, and healing. It can diminish the shame often accompanying porn addiction, increasing self-esteem and a willingness to heal.
Each person’s situation is different, so it’s best to research, self-reflect, and determine which treatment option is best for you.
When seeking treatment for any type of sex addiction, look for a treatment center that is trauma-informed, said Sako Barbarian, Primary Therapist at Begin Again Institute. This need is because trauma is the root of most addictions, he said.
Sako also said an intensive, like the 14-Day Men’s Intensive, can help jump-start recovery.
“Treatment provides new and more effective tools for combating urges to act out, deep healing through intensive trauma work, and an incredible running start into a lifetime of recovery,” he said. “Effective addiction treatment encounters the brain, body, and emotions. Mere education is not enough.”
You Have Control of Your Future
Recovering from porn addiction isn’t easy. It takes time, discipline, and determination. By seeking porn addiction treatment, you can find healing and regain control of your life.
At Begin Again Institute, we recognize the courage it takes to start your recovery journey. Our treatment programs offer 24/7 support to keep you on track with your goals and help you heal. Contact us today to learn about the porn addiction treatment options we offer.
Having been raised outside the US, Sako knows what it’s like to look at things from a different lens. His Armenian culture has fostered a love of close relationships where the messiness of human beings and all of their “stuff” is considered to be a part of the joy and experience of life. Sako identifies connection, compassion, humor, and growth to be his core values, which he brings into all parts of his life, especially his professional work.
