Porn Addiction: Signs, Symptoms, and Getting Help

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The vast majority of people who have viewed pornography saw no harm from it. For a select few, though, it can really disrupt their lives. Porn overuse and addiction has grave impacts on the mental and physical well-being of many people, especially young men. While both women and men view porn, usage by men, especially young men, is nearly universal. Roughly 9 out of 10 men report watching porn regularly.

While porn addiction is not an official clinical diagnosis in the U.S., the World Health Organization does recognize “compulsive sexual behavior disorder” as an issue that can include overuse of porn. Additionally, many people are recognizing that it can be just as damaging as many other mental disorders.

When we talk about mental illness, what we really are asking is, how does the issue negatively affect people’s lives? Porn addiction disrupts people’s daily lives, interferes with their relationships, and can contribute to other mental illnesses like anxiety and depression.

What are the signs of porn addiction?

People who overuse porn so much that it hurts their lives suffer in a number of ways. Porn is not like real life, but watching excessive amounts of it can lead to unrealistic ideas about sex and relationships. This can disrupt intimacy and emotional connections in some cases. Though these aren’t hard and fast rules, they are warning signs to look for as part of a bigger picture.

Sex changes

The first thing to look out for is when sex becomes less pleasurable. Viewing extreme levels (and this level is different for everyone) of porn can lead to desensitization, where previously stimulating things becomes less effective. This can lead people to seek more extreme material to achieve the same level of arousal.

Some people can become dependent on porn for arousal. They come to need the instant gratification porn provides. The emotionally fulfilling parts of real-life intimacy are no longer satisfying. Some porn addicted men even experience porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED). They struggle get an erection without the unrealistic scenarios and extreme stimulation in porn.

Impaired relationships

In the same vein, people who overuse porn can withdraw from their relationships. People feel emotionally numb or disconnected from real-life connections. They can develop unrealistic expectations in their relationships, especially regarding how they view intimacy and consent. Porn objectifies women, and viewing too much of it can influence that same kind of thinking. This is especially damaging in men who begin seeing their partners as objects rather than individuals with their own desires and boundaries. Untreated, this can truly disrupt and end relationships.

Work issues

Another common sign of addiction is problems at work or school. People who use porn excessively may find themselves watching it whenever they can, even in places where it is inappropriate. This can lead to serious problems if they get caught watching porn in public. They could get fired from their jobs or face expulsion from school. They may even run the risk of being charged with a crime depending on their behavior and who else is affected.

Can you really be addicted to porn?

Whether porn addiction is an official mental illness is up for debate. Regardless, though, it can still have serious impacts on people’s lives. That is without question. In principle, addiction drives people to consume substances and engage in behaviors even though they’re dangerous and harmful. People struggling with addiction have fight overpowering urges and feel unable to limit their behavior, even when they want to stop.

Most people associate addiction with drugs, but that’s not mandatory, such as with gambling disorder, where the addiction is just a behavior instead of a substance. Porn use can fall under this same umbrella. In fact, new research is shedding light on how overuse of porn can affect peoples’ brains in the same way that drugs do. Brain scans of men who reported problems with porn use showed their brain motivation pathways activated much more than normal for cues associated with porn. Higher activation was related to higher porn use and excessive masturbation.

This is not to say that viewing porn will ruin your life. If it did, we’ve have even more problems than we do already. The simple point is that, just like alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, or gambling, some people can take things too far while others are able to moderate their use.

Help for porn addiction

When porn addiction becomes a problem, it can be hard to reach out for help. That’s at least partially because porn addiction isn’t an official diagnosis so there are no official guidelines defining what constitutes overuse. Additionally, it can just be an embarrassing thing to admit to anyone else.

Porn addiction is likely to become a problem in the context of a relationship. A partner may notice intimacy or communication problems and think that their significant other’s porn use could be a cause. It’s difficult to define a hard limit for home much porn use is too much. Instead, look at the problems that it’s causing.

This is best explored in individual therapy and couples therapy. The therapeutic environment is a good place for exploring feelings around sexuality and intimacy and delving into how extreme use of porn can affect those things. There are plenty of therapists that specialize in these areas, as well. Unfortunately, there is no evidence supporting the use of any medications for porn addiction. However, there are some practical methods for metering porn use such as self-imposed site blockers or setting up parental controls on one’s own devices.