Rehab for Porn Addiction
Pornography addiction is behavioral addiction characterized by an obsessive compulsion to view pornographic material, which can interfere with normal daily activities and relationships. Giving into this compulsion can lead to feelings of shame, guilt, and low self-esteem. It can also cause psychological distress and physical changes in the body.
Symptoms of pornography addiction can include an increased need for the material, an inability to control the urge to view it, preoccupation with the material, viewing it for longer periods of time than intended, and withdrawal symptoms when attempting to abstain.
While there can be benefits to watching pornography for reasons such as self-exploration and even sexual education, addictive viewing habits can negatively affect your life and well-being. Watching pornography is extremely common for both men and women, and it is important to examine how it could potentially impact your life and take a look at the risks.
Risks of Watching Pornography
A negative result of porn consumption is the impact it can have on your romantic relationships. If your pornography consumption has become a concern, you might feel dissatisfied in your sexual relationship or have decreased interest in your partner. You might be more focused on your own pleasure, dissociating and fantasizing more often during intimate moments, which can be damaging to your partner’s self-esteem. When you are not present in the moment, it can be hard to feel a sexual or emotional connection to your partner.
If you find yourself watching pornography as a way to escape or cope with negative feelings (i.e. anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, etc.), it may become a compulsive behavior that distracts from the root cause of why you turned to it in the first place. Addiction to porn can alter chemical balances and create changes in your brain. Similar to other addictions, pornography can affect your brain’s reward center, impacting your levels of dopamine, which is responsible for controlling cravings and sense of pleasure. Regularly viewing sexual content may cause your brain to rely on that same level of stimulation in order to be satisfied with your partner, creating an inability to engage in a healthy sexual relationship.
Children and Porn Access
With the rise of iPhones, iPads, laptops, smart TVs, and apps like Snapchat, the internet is easily accessible to children at a very young age. This in turn creates the opportunity for them to be exposed to pornography and sex, putting them at risk to become victims of child predators or sex trafficking. As a parent, it is essential to have open lines of communication with your children. Curiosity about sex is a natural and important part of development, but porn can skew that curiosity. Openly talking about sex with your children in healthy, age-appropriate ways is important. This communication can lead to conversations about consent, violence, and sexual assault, as is developmentally appropriate. In the meantime, using filters, blockers, and accountability software on their devices can help prevent early exposure.
Signs of Porn Addiction
Indicators that you may be struggling with an addiction to porn:
- Your need to watch it might interfere with your daily life and responsibilities
- You may engage in risky sexual behavior
- You experience feelings of shame after porn use
- Past attempts to quit have not been successful
- You hide your porn habits from a partner or others
- If you feel that your use of pornography is negatively impacting your life and relationships, you may want to consider seeking professional help.
Questions To Ask Your Provider
If you suspect you have an addiction to porn, it is essential to be open with your provider as a first step to seeking treatment. Some questions that you can ask your provider include:
- What are the signs and symptoms of porn addiction?
- What are potential causes or triggers for my addiction?
- What are my treatment options?
- What’s the goal of treatment?
- What should I do if I experience urges or cravings during treatment?
Treatment for Porn Addiction
Oftentimes, porn addiction can go hand-in-hand with co-occurring disorders like sex addiction, substance use disorders, anxiety, or depression. Whether you are dealing with a co-occurring disorder or porn addiction on its own, reaching out for help to a mental health counselor can be beneficial. Counselors will use evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help rewire distorted thoughts, and psychodynamic therapies that help get to the root cause of the addiction. Just as with addictions to drugs or alcohol, attending a treatment program for porn addiction through a rehab facility can be an effective option. Rehab programs can look like:
- Outpatient: individual or group counseling 1-2 times per week
- Intensive outpatient: individual or group counseling 3-5 times per week for several hours at a time
- Partial hospitalization program: full day treatment for 5-7 days per week
- Residential program: live-in treatment in a residential facility or home-like setting for up to 90 days
- Inpatient program: live-in treatment at a residential facility or hospital
Wellness retreats can also be a great way to clear your mind and reset, while also addressing your concerns.
Finding Support
Books and literature: There are books and self-help resources that focus on understanding and overcoming porn addiction that can provide insight and strategies to help you recover. Recovering from porn addiction is a process that often requires ongoing support and commitment. Remember that addiction to porn can be overcome with the right treatment and support systems.