Are You Suffering From Porn Addiction?
Porn addiction is a type of mental health disorder that involves excessive, repetitive viewing of sexually explicit content, even in live through a sex webcam. The condition can lead to a host of negative consequences in a person’s life, including relationship difficulties, academic challenges, and financial struggles.
The underlying cause of porn addiction is usually related to the use of pornographic material as an emotional outlet or as an escape from feelings of sadness and anxiety. Many people turn to this type of material as a means of finding happiness and sexual fulfillment. Unfortunately, for some it becomes a problem, and they need to treat it to prevent it from becoming an addictive or harmful behavior.
Struggling with porn addiction
If you’re struggling with porn addiction, seek help as soon as possible. Treatment can help you overcome the compulsion and learn to live a more normal life.
Mental health professionals commonly use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat addiction patterns, mood disorders such as depression, and other anxiety conditions. It focuses on minimizing dysfunctional thought patterns and developing healthier stress coping skills.
Depending on the underlying issue, your therapist may recommend counseling sessions. These sessions can help you understand how and why your porn obsession began in the first place. Counseling can also help you develop coping mechanisms for the negative thoughts and behaviors associated with your porn addiction.
Sense of shame and guilt
A person with porn addiction can often feel a sense of shame and guilt over their compulsion. This is especially true when it affects other areas of their life. They might also have difficulty controlling the compulsion and removing it from their life.
Recognizing whether you’re addicted to pornography can be difficult, but it’s important to seek professional help if you experience the following symptoms:
Do you spend a lot of time watching porn? You can’t stop thinking about what you’re going to watch next. You notice that this behavior negatively affects your relationships and other responsibilities, especially if you’ve tried to cut down on it and failed.
Does your sex life become unfulfilling? Your sexual partner feels jealous and unappreciated because you focus so much on porn. You start to feel depressed or anxious when you don’t have sex.
Are you avoiding intimacy with your spouse or significant other? You tend to be distant or controlling in your relationships. Or you are unable to admit that you have a problem with the other person.
You are obsessed with masturbation, sexually explicit content and other pornographic materials. You have a hard time sleeping, eating, working and spending quality time with friends or family.
Have you lost interest in other things in your life? Do you have a lot of spare time that you use to consume pornography? Are you using more of your free time to view porn than you do with your regular hobbies?
These are all signs that you’re suffering from porn addiction. If you believe you or someone you care about might be struggling with this problem. Contact a mental health professional for help. You can also check out resources online to get started on a path toward recovery.