WHAT IS PORN ADDICTION?

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From a young age, people learn that watching pornography is taboo. Though most people are exposed to porn in their teen years, it’s made clear by teachers, parents, and media that viewing it is shameful. Porn isn’t inherently evil. Not everyone watching porn will get addicted. But for those who become obsessed with watching porn, it can have devastating consequences. 

The stigma surrounding porn addiction may make it difficult to seek help and get treatment. What is porn addiction? It’s when you find that you can’t stop watching porn and it’s disrupting your life. Millions of people worldwide experience porn addiction. There are effective methods of treatment for porn addiction that can pinpoint the root cause of the addiction and help you heal.

What is Porn Addiction?

Porn addiction is when a person compulsively views porn to the point that they become emotionally dependent on it. They can’t stop, and their pornography habit affects their everyday life. Porn addiction is a hypersexuality disorder, which refers to an obsession with sexual fantasies or urges. 

Watching porn frequently doesn’t mean you’re addicted. You’re experiencing porn addiction if it becomes a major focus in your life, interferes with your daily life, and you can’t quit, despite trying. If porn has disrupted your relationships, finances, or work, it’s time to get help.

Like other addictions, porn addiction operates through the principles of operant conditioning. The more you watch porn, the more the behavior is reinforced. You experience pleasure from watching porn which keeps you coming back for more. You become dependent on the “reward,” which influences you to continue the behavior. 

People don’t commonly discuss porn addiction, but the rates of those affected are climbing, estimated to be anywhere from about 4.5% to 10% of people. So, what makes porn addiction so easy to fall into? It comes down to the “triple-A” impact: accessibility, affordability, and anonymity. 

Despite being a private or intimate activity, almost anyone anywhere can access porn whenever they want. With one click, you can connect to endless content. 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. 

Why People Use Pornography  

The draw to watching porn doesn’t just stem from wanting to feel aroused for some people. Pornography can be a coping method a person uses to soothe or calm themselves in stressful or challenging situations. It serves as a temporary escape, but it fails long-term. The longer your porn use continues, the more difficult it is to stop because this adverse coping mechanism rewires your brain.

Experts say the same brain activity is triggered by porn addiction as drug or alcohol addiction. Pornography connects the circuits in your brain associated with reward, motivation, and memory. Much like those experiencing substance addiction, people addicted to porn experience intense cravings. You become absorbed by the anticipation of watching porn. But when you finally get your fix, it’s not all you thought it would be. You can become irritable or hostile until you get your next hit. It’s a vicious cycle holding you hostage. 

Reasons for pornography include:

  • Coping. When you experience an orgasm from watching porn, your brain gets a “high.” You feel a release of endorphins and opiates and attach them to the image of porn. That release feels good and blocks pain receptors. If you are experiencing an imbalance of these chemicals due to depression or other mental illnesses, porn can make you feel better. But it’s not a permanent solution. The longer you continue using porn as an artificial medicine, the higher your tolerance becomes until you eventually can’t experience the same pleasure you did before. The “solution” becomes the addiction. 
  • Avoiding. Those who use porn to avoid feelings of intimacy may have difficulty forming or maintaining intimate relationships. You may feel disconnected during sex or irritated that real sexual acts don’t match your fantasy world. It can cause distress and strife in relationships if you blame your partner for issues, even if it stems from your porn addiction. Detaching from true intimacy and preferring porn to real life is at the core of avoidance. 
  • Escaping. Someone who experienced abuse, neglect, bullying, or other trauma in their childhood or adult life may use porn to escape the trauma. Porn is a fantasy world. Watching porn can make you feel desired, wanted, powerful, or even loved. If you haven’t experienced these feelings naturally, it can be freeing to escape to the virtual world of porn. It feels safe.  

Spotting Porn Addiction 

Watching porn can quickly escalate from a habit to a debilitating addiction. There’s no official amount of how much porn is too much, so reflecting on your habits will help you determine if you should seek treatment. 

If watching porn intensifies to the point of compulsive, uncontrollable behavior, it can cause long-term damage that takes time and effort to repair. When porn gets in the way of day-to-day activities and plays a central role in your life, it may be time to get help, especially if you find you can’t stop on your own. 

If you’re concerned about your porn consumption habits, there are signs you can look for to determine if you’re experiencing porn addiction. 

Signs of porn addiction include:

  • Increased porn use
  • Feeling guilty about watching 
  • Inability to control your urges
  • No longer enjoying sex
  • Watching porn in inappropriate settings
  • Spending excessive time watching porn or money on porn
  • Feeling an insatiable need
  • Increased tolerance for more extreme or violent porn
  • Consuming thoughts of porn
  • Neglecting responsibilities to view more porn
  • Feeling like you need a porn “fix”
  • Experiencing low self-esteem
  • Losing sleep 
  • Having difficulty controlling your emotions
  • Losing track of time due to watching porn 
  • Hiding your porn watching from loved ones
  • Lack of interest in socializing 
  • Experiencing sexual dysfunction

Porn Addiction and the Brain

It’s more than just pleasure bringing you back for more. In fact, many people with porn addictions say they don’t enjoy watching porn but still can’t stop. That’s because watching porn affects your brain’s neurochemistry. 

When someone has a porn addiction, it hijacks their brain’s reward system. The reward system processes dopamine, one of the body’s neurotransmitters. Porn hardwires your brain into thinking continuous dopamine stimulation is normal. The next time you watch, the brain remembers that stimulation and reacts accordingly. The more you watch, the more reinforced the behavior becomes. Your reward system becomes trained to expect porn and expect it often. 

Additionally, oxytocin and vasopressin, hormones related to memory, tie the memory of viewing porn to sexual pleasure. Repetition of the behaviors means these chemicals are continuously released. It’s difficult to stop something that feels good to your brain.

When you continuously experience bursts of dopamine, the brain goes into overdrive, overproducing more dopamine than it can handle. It starts to become desensitized to normal stimuli, meaning you need more extreme porn to get the same fix. You’ll start to experience downregulation, which is when receptors make your brain and body less receptive to the substance you’re seeking. Essentially, you build tolerance by shutting down the receptors in your brain.

You begin to develop cravings, and they’re impossible to control. The brain forms a chemical dependence and tolerance for these cravings, and they increase compulsively. It’s all about recreating that initial dopamine high and satisfying your cravings.

When you repeatedly expose your brain to porn, it causes the frontal lobe to shrink. This portion of the brain is responsible for decision-making and willpower. It becomes more difficult to recognize the negative impact porn has on your life and take action against it. 

To fulfill your cravings, sexual behavior can escalate. The typical porn that used to make you feel good doesn’t do the trick anymore. You might seek out more explicit or violent porn. This response can lead to acting out risky sexual behaviors in real life. Suddenly, the problem isn’t confined to your computer screen but has real-world consequences. 

Repercussions of Porn Addiction

Porn addiction is a multifaceted problem that can devastate many aspects of your life. It’s clear how quickly the addiction can escalate out of your control and take a toll on your relationships, health, and well-being. 

Effects of pornography addiction include:

  • Physical Health Issues. Porn can quickly take priority over basic care, like getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, or performing basic hygiene. It also can negatively affect your ability to perform sexually, including causing erectile dysfunction.
  • Altered Self-Esteem. Those experiencing porn addiction often feel guilt and shame about it. It can cause serious distress to your emotional and mental health and deprive a person of their self-esteem and self-concept.
  • Mental Health Issues. Aside from issues with self-esteem, pornography addiction also can result in or exacerbate other mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.
  • Damaged Relationships. Porn addiction can harm your relationships with loved ones. Hiding or lying about your addiction affects trust with your partner. It builds a wedge in your relationship by causing intimacy issues or infidelity. Porn addiction can also affect friendships. Some people may feel as if they are living a double life, making it more difficult to form honest friendships. They also withdraw from others, harming relationships.
  • Legal and Financial Problems. Addiction only gets more intense. As their need for more porn increases, so does the risk, which is why some people turn to expensive or illegal porn to fulfill their needs.

Determining the Root Causes 

So, what causes someone to become addicted to porn? Like most addictions, there isn’t always a singular contributor to porn addiction, but unresolved trauma is the most common cause of addiction. People use pornography to deal with adverse feelings resulting from past trauma. Then, before they know it, they’ve turned to pornography to feel better so many times that it’s an addiction. They can’t stop.

Leading sex addiction expert, Dr. Patrick Carnes, found that “97% of people with sex addiction suffered emotional abuse in childhood or adolescence, while 81% percent suffered sexual abuse.” When a child experiences trauma, the part of the brain responsible for processing emotion and memory shrinks. Trauma also affects other parts of the brain, like decision-making, self-regulation, and fear processing.

Trauma in childhood doesn’t go away if left unprocessed. It’s not unusual for people to experience symptoms of childhood trauma in adulthood. Unprocessed trauma that happens in adulthood also can result in addiction. Turning to coping methods like porn is common since your brain attaches a positive sentiment to the behavior. It can provide temporary relief or distraction from trauma. 

Dr. Gabor Mate´, author of the best-selling book, “Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction,” said: “Addiction is not a choice that anybody makes; it’s not a moral failure. What it actually is: it’s a response to human suffering.”

Recognizing Withdrawal Symptoms

Like any other addiction, cutting off porn for good has negative side effects that can be uncomfortable and disrupt your life. It’s important to recognize common porn withdrawal symptoms and how to overcome them to help you on your road to sobriety.

Nate Geyer, Primary Therapist at Begin Again Institute, said a person can identify the symptoms of pornography withdrawal by considering how they feel and noting how those feelings align with what they know about the addiction.

Withdrawal symptoms can manifest in various ways, Nate said.  

“Under the surface, pornography withdrawal can impact one’s emotional and mental well-being,” he said. “Those experiencing withdrawal will notice increased irritability, higher anxiety, depressed mood, lack of presence in the moment, lack of empathy, and ultimately cravings for more pornography.”

Other porn withdrawal symptoms include:

  • Sleep disturbances
  • Headaches and stiffness or pain in other parts of your body
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Agitation
  • Lashing out at people around you
  • Lack of focus or concentration (brain fog)
  • Nausea, fever, and other forms of sickness
  • Little or no sexual desire, known as a “flatline”
  • Excessive sexual thoughts
  • Depression, despair, and other forms of sadness
  • Mood swings
  • Avoiding socializing
  • Flashbacks or dreams about pornography

Managing Porn Withdrawal

Coping with pornography withdrawal symptoms can be challenging, but overcoming setbacks is possible. Managing porn withdrawals takes mental discipline. If you’re struggling, remind yourself of your goals and why you made them. You are more than your porn addiction, and you do have the ability to overcome it. 

Methods for managing porn withdrawal include:

  • Taking care of your physical health through sleep, healthy diet, hydration, and exercise
  • Not isolating yourself
  • Learning about your withdrawal symptoms so you understand them and what to expect
  • Changing your environment and removing temptations, such as electronic devices
  • Practicing meditation
  • Seeking professional help
  • Confiding in loved ones
  • Journaling about your experiences
  • Joining a support group
  • Finding replacement hobbies

Treatment for Porn Addiction

Healing from porn addiction is possible, but it takes mental discipline and patience. There are methods you can employ on your own, but you may need to seek professional treatment to overcome porn addiction long-term. Porn addiction isn’t likely to go away on its own, and you’ll probably need help identifying and treating the root cause to truly recover.

Individual approaches to stopping porn addiction include: 

  • Remove Access. Clear all electronic porn and bookmarks from your devices. Take away the temptation. If it’s no longer at your fingertips, it’s less likely to become your default habit. 
  • Block It. Install anti-porn software on your computer to prevent you from going back. You can’t access it if your devices don’t allow it. Asking someone else to install it can help with accountability.
  • Pre-Plan Activities. If you know you’ll experience the urge, find a replacement. By planning stimulating activities you enjoy, you can trick your brain into replacing the feeling of watching porn. 
  • Avoid Triggers. Know what your triggers are and avoid them. Reflect on your habits and when you feel most tempted. Stay away from images, places, or feelings that could cause you to relapse.
  • Control Use of Devices. Use your devices, like your cell phone or laptop, in public places. It’s more difficult to be discreet in front of others. Hold yourself accountable, and don’t let your device use become private.
  • Seek Support. Find an accountability partner. Confide in a trusted friend and ask for help. You’re more likely to stick to your goal with someone encouraging you.
  • Practice Self-Reflection. Journaling can help you track setbacks, reminders, and patterns in your behavior. Celebrate the wins you have each day.

Treatment for porn addiction may include: 

  • Psychotherapy. With the help of a mental health counselor, you can work together to understand the past events that led to your addiction. Over time, you can recognize maladaptive behaviors, determine your unmet needs, and implement coping strategies.
  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This treatment helps replace problematic behaviors through the principles of operant conditioning. This method makes an association between a behavior and a consequence with long-lasting effects. Utilizing this method, you can learn to manage your porn addiction and stop watching. 
  • In-Patient Treatment. An in-patient treatment center can help you remove the stressors of daily life while you work with counselors on healing and recovery.
  • Intensives. Intensives help you become steeped in the work of recovery for a short, intensive healing period. You can have 24/7 care and support to keep you on track.
  • Support Groups. Talking to people with similar experiences can be extremely validating, empowering, and healing. It helps diminish the shame often accompanying porn addiction, increasing self-esteem and a willingness to heal. Support groups can offer opportunities for an accountability partner to help encourage and empower you. 

Seeking treatment is an important step, but it won’t be easy. It’s important to know what to expect during treatment, so you can prepare for any negative emotions or past traumatic experiences that might come up.

Porn addiction requires a multifaceted approach to healing, said Ed Tilton, Regional Director of Integrative Life Network. He said it starts by being honest about how the addiction affects you and those you love. Then you have to commit to recovery.

“We lie to feed and justify our behavior,” he said. “The first thing you must do is get honest with yourself. Then you can start to see what kind of change is possible.”

Nate said it’s critical to seek community support during recovery. 

“Community provides a space for voices to be heard and experiences to be validated. It can be a space that nurtures, heals, and empowers. I truly believe in this mantra: ‘We do addiction in isolation, but heal in groups.’”

How Begin Again Institute Can Help

Healing from porn addiction is a learning experience. You must keep an open mind and be prepared to make lifestyle changes. It will take self-discipline to relearn behaviors and unlearn habits. But ultimately, it will be worth it, and your quality of life will improve.  

If porn addiction has consumed your life, damaged relationships, and made you unhappy with yourself, it’s time to change. At Begin Again Institute, we recognize the courage it takes to accept your addiction and seek help. Recovery is always possible, and we have the tools to help you achieve lasting results. 

Begin Again Institute is the oldest sex addiction treatment facility in the United States. We have a proven track record utilizing TINSA® (Trauma-Induced Sexual Addiction), a perspective for the treatment of sexual addiction that focuses on treating the root of addiction rather than the symptoms. 

Healing is possible for anyone willing to take the first step. Take back your life and experience the freedom of recovery. Contact us today for help that will improve your life.

Source: https://beginagaininstitute.com/blog/porn-addiction-what-is-it/

https://ift.tt/sj5x9pE a young age, people learn that watching pornography is taboo. Though most people are exposed to porn in their teen years, it’s made clear by teachers, parents, and media that viewing it is shameful. Porn isn’t inherently evil. Not everyone watching porn will get addicted. But for those who become obsessed with watching porn, it can have devastating consequences. The stigma surrounding porn addiction may make it difficult to seek help and get treatment. What is porn addiction? It’s when you find that you can’t stop watching porn and it’s disrupting your life. Millions of people worldwide experience porn addiction. There are effective methods of treatment for porn addiction that can pinpoint the root cause of the addiction and help you heal.What is Porn Addiction?Porn addiction is when a person compulsively views porn to the point that they become emotionally dependent on it. They can’t stop, and their pornography habit affects their everyday life. Porn addiction is a hypersexuality disorder, which refers to an obsession with sexual fantasies or urges. Watching porn frequently doesn’t mean you’re addicted. You’re experiencing porn addiction if it becomes a major focus in your life, interferes with your daily life, and you can’t quit, despite trying. If porn has disrupted your relationships, finances, or work, it’s time to get help.Like other addictions, porn addiction operates through the principles of operant conditioning. The more you watch porn, the more the behavior is reinforced. You experience pleasure from watching porn which keeps you coming back for more. You become dependent on the “reward,” which influences you to continue the behavior. People don’t commonly discuss porn addiction, but the rates of those affected are climbing, estimated to be anywhere from about 4.5% to 10% of people. So, what makes porn addiction so easy to fall into? It comes down to the “triple-A” impact: accessibility, affordability, and anonymity. Despite being a private or intimate activity, almost anyone anywhere can access porn whenever they want. With one click, you can connect to endless content. 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. Why People Use Pornography  The draw to watching porn doesn’t just stem from wanting to feel aroused for some people. Pornography can be a coping method a person uses to soothe or calm themselves in stressful or challenging situations. It serves as a temporary escape, but it fails long-term. The longer your porn use continues, the more difficult it is to stop because this adverse coping mechanism rewires your brain.Experts say the same brain activity is triggered by porn addiction as drug or alcohol addiction. Pornography connects the circuits in your brain associated with reward, motivation, and memory. Much like those experiencing substance addiction, people addicted to porn experience intense cravings. You become absorbed by the anticipation of watching porn. But when you finally get your fix, it’s not all you thought it would be. You can become irritable or hostile until you get your next hit. It’s a vicious cycle holding you hostage. Reasons for pornography include:Coping. When you experience an orgasm from watching porn, your brain gets a “high.” You feel a release of endorphins and opiates and attach them to the image of porn. That release feels good and blocks pain receptors. If you are experiencing an imbalance of these chemicals due to depression or other mental illnesses, porn can make you feel better. But it’s not a permanent solution. The longer you continue using porn as an artificial medicine, the higher your tolerance becomes until you eventually can’t experience the same pleasure you did before. The “solution” becomes the addiction. Avoiding. Those who use porn to avoid feelings of intimacy may have difficulty forming or maintaining intimate relationships. You may feel disconnected during sex or irritated that real sexual acts don’t match your fantasy world. It can cause distress and strife in relationships if you blame your partner for issues, even if it stems from your porn addiction. Detaching from true intimacy and preferring porn to real life is at the core of avoidance. Escaping. Someone who experienced abuse, neglect, bullying, or other trauma in their childhood or adult life may use porn to escape the trauma. Porn is a fantasy world. Watching porn can make you feel desired, wanted, powerful, or even loved. If you haven’t experienced these feelings naturally, it can be freeing to escape to the virtual world of porn. It feels safe.  Spotting Porn Addiction Watching porn can quickly escalate from a habit to a debilitating addiction. There’s no official amount of how much porn is too much, so reflecting on your habits will help you determine if you should seek treatment. If watching porn intensifies to the point of compulsive, uncontrollable behavior, it can cause long-term damage that takes time and effort to repair. When porn gets in the way of day-to-day activities and plays a central role in your life, it may be time to get help, especially if you find you can’t stop on your own. If you’re concerned about your porn consumption habits, there are signs you can look for to determine if you’re experiencing porn addiction. Signs of porn addiction include:Increased porn useFeeling guilty about watching Inability to control your urgesNo longer enjoying sexWatching porn in inappropriate settingsSpending excessive time watching porn or money on pornFeeling an insatiable needIncreased tolerance for more extreme or violent pornConsuming thoughts of pornNeglecting responsibilities to view more pornFeeling like you need a porn “fix”Experiencing low self-esteemLosing sleep Having difficulty controlling your emotionsLosing track of time due to watching porn Hiding your porn watching from loved onesLack of interest in socializing Experiencing sexual dysfunctionPorn Addiction and the BrainIt’s more than just pleasure bringing you back for more. In fact, many people with porn addictions say they don’t enjoy watching porn but still can’t stop. That’s because watching porn affects your brain’s neurochemistry. When someone has a porn addiction, it hijacks their brain’s reward system. The reward system processes dopamine, one of the body’s neurotransmitters. Porn hardwires your brain into thinking continuous dopamine stimulation is normal. The next time you watch, the brain remembers that stimulation and reacts accordingly. The more you watch, the more reinforced the behavior becomes. Your reward system becomes trained to expect porn and expect it often. Additionally, oxytocin and vasopressin, hormones related to memory, tie the memory of viewing porn to sexual pleasure. Repetition of the behaviors means these chemicals are continuously released. It’s difficult to stop something that feels good to your brain.When you continuously experience bursts of dopamine, the brain goes into overdrive, overproducing more dopamine than it can handle. It starts to become desensitized to normal stimuli, meaning you need more extreme porn to get the same fix. You’ll start to experience downregulation, which is when receptors make your brain and body less receptive to the substance you’re seeking. Essentially, you build tolerance by shutting down the receptors in your brain.You begin to develop cravings, and they’re impossible to control. The brain forms a chemical dependence and tolerance for these cravings, and they increase compulsively. It’s all about recreating that initial dopamine high and satisfying your cravings.When you repeatedly expose your brain to porn, it causes the frontal lobe to shrink. This portion of the brain is responsible for decision-making and willpower. It becomes more difficult to recognize the negative impact porn has on your life and take action against it. To fulfill your cravings, sexual behavior can escalate. The typical porn that used to make you feel good doesn’t do the trick anymore. You might seek out more explicit or violent porn. This response can lead to acting out risky sexual behaviors in real life. Suddenly, the problem isn’t confined to your computer screen but has real-world consequences. Repercussions of Porn AddictionPorn addiction is a multifaceted problem that can devastate many aspects of your life. It’s clear how quickly the addiction can escalate out of your control and take a toll on your relationships, health, and well-being. Effects of pornography addiction include:Physical Health Issues. Porn can quickly take priority over basic care, like getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, or performing basic hygiene. It also can negatively affect your ability to perform sexually, including causing erectile dysfunction.Altered Self-Esteem. Those experiencing porn addiction often feel guilt and shame about it. It can cause serious distress to your emotional and mental health and deprive a person of their self-esteem and self-concept.Mental Health Issues. Aside from issues with self-esteem, pornography addiction also can result in or exacerbate other mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.Damaged Relationships. Porn addiction can harm your relationships with loved ones. Hiding or lying about your addiction affects trust with your partner. It builds a wedge in your relationship by causing intimacy issues or infidelity. Porn addiction can also affect friendships. Some people may feel as if they are living a double life, making it more difficult to form honest friendships. They also withdraw from others, harming relationships.Legal and Financial Problems. Addiction only gets more intense. As their need for more porn increases, so does the risk, which is why some people turn to expensive or illegal porn to fulfill their needs.Determining the Root Causes So, what causes someone to become addicted to porn? Like most addictions, there isn’t always a singular contributor to porn addiction, but unresolved trauma is the most common cause of addiction. People use pornography to deal with adverse feelings resulting from past trauma. Then, before they know it, they’ve turned to pornography to feel better so many times that it’s an addiction. They can’t stop.Leading sex addiction expert, Dr. Patrick Carnes, found that “97% of people with sex addiction suffered emotional abuse in childhood or adolescence, while 81% percent suffered sexual abuse.” When a child experiences trauma, the part of the brain responsible for processing emotion and memory shrinks. Trauma also affects other parts of the brain, like decision-making, self-regulation, and fear processing.Trauma in childhood doesn’t go away if left unprocessed. It’s not unusual for people to experience symptoms of childhood trauma in adulthood. Unprocessed trauma that happens in adulthood also can result in addiction. Turning to coping methods like porn is common since your brain attaches a positive sentiment to the behavior. It can provide temporary relief or distraction from trauma. Dr. Gabor Mate´, author of the best-selling book, “Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction,” said: “Addiction is not a choice that anybody makes; it’s not a moral failure. What it actually is: it’s a response to human suffering.”Recognizing Withdrawal SymptomsLike any other addiction, cutting off porn for good has negative side effects that can be uncomfortable and disrupt your life. It’s important to recognize common porn withdrawal symptoms and how to overcome them to help you on your road to sobriety.Nate Geyer, Primary Therapist at Begin Again Institute, said a person can identify the symptoms of pornography withdrawal by considering how they feel and noting how those feelings align with what they know about the addiction.Withdrawal symptoms can manifest in various ways, Nate said.  “Under the surface, pornography withdrawal can impact one’s emotional and mental well-being,” he said. “Those experiencing withdrawal will notice increased irritability, higher anxiety, depressed mood, lack of presence in the moment, lack of empathy, and ultimately cravings for more pornography.”Other porn withdrawal symptoms include:Sleep disturbancesHeadaches and stiffness or pain in other parts of your bodyFatigue and weaknessAgitationLashing out at people around youLack of focus or concentration (brain fog)Nausea, fever, and other forms of sicknessLittle or no sexual desire, known as a “flatline”Excessive sexual thoughtsDepression, despair, and other forms of sadnessMood swingsAvoiding socializingFlashbacks or dreams about pornographyManaging Porn WithdrawalCoping with pornography withdrawal symptoms can be challenging, but overcoming setbacks is possible. Managing porn withdrawals takes mental discipline. If you’re struggling, remind yourself of your goals and why you made them. You are more than your porn addiction, and you do have the ability to overcome it. Methods for managing porn withdrawal include:Taking care of your physical health through sleep, healthy diet, hydration, and exerciseNot isolating yourselfLearning about your withdrawal symptoms so you understand them and what to expectChanging your environment and removing temptations, such as electronic devicesPracticing meditationSeeking professional helpConfiding in loved onesJournaling about your experiencesJoining a support groupFinding replacement hobbiesTreatment for Porn AddictionHealing from porn addiction is possible, but it takes mental discipline and patience. There are methods you can employ on your own, but you may need to seek professional treatment to overcome porn addiction long-term. Porn addiction isn’t likely to go away on its own, and you’ll probably need help identifying and treating the root cause to truly recover.Individual approaches to stopping porn addiction include: Remove Access. Clear all electronic porn and bookmarks from your devices. Take away the temptation. If it’s no longer at your fingertips, it’s less likely to become your default habit. Block It. Install anti-porn software on your computer to prevent you from going back. You can’t access it if your devices don’t allow it. Asking someone else to install it can help with accountability.Pre-Plan Activities. If you know you’ll experience the urge, find a replacement. By planning stimulating activities you enjoy, you can trick your brain into replacing the feeling of watching porn. Avoid Triggers. Know what your triggers are and avoid them. Reflect on your habits and when you feel most tempted. Stay away from images, places, or feelings that could cause you to relapse.Control Use of Devices. Use your devices, like your cell phone or laptop, in public places. It’s more difficult to be discreet in front of others. Hold yourself accountable, and don’t let your device use become private.Seek Support. Find an accountability partner. Confide in a trusted friend and ask for help. You’re more likely to stick to your goal with someone encouraging you.Practice Self-Reflection. Journaling can help you track setbacks, reminders, and patterns in your behavior. Celebrate the wins you have each day.Treatment for porn addiction may include: Psychotherapy. With the help of a mental health counselor, you can work together to understand the past events that led to your addiction. Over time, you can recognize maladaptive behaviors, determine your unmet needs, and implement coping strategies.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This treatment helps replace problematic behaviors through the principles of operant conditioning. This method makes an association between a behavior and a consequence with long-lasting effects. Utilizing this method, you can learn to manage your porn addiction and stop watching. In-Patient Treatment. An in-patient treatment center can help you remove the stressors of daily life while you work with counselors on healing and recovery.Intensives. Intensives help you become steeped in the work of recovery for a short, intensive healing period. You can have 24/7 care and support to keep you on track.Support Groups. Talking to people with similar experiences can be extremely validating, empowering, and healing. It helps diminish the shame often accompanying porn addiction, increasing self-esteem and a willingness to heal. Support groups can offer opportunities for an accountability partner to help encourage and empower you. Seeking treatment is an important step, but it won’t be easy. It’s important to know what to expect during treatment, so you can prepare for any negative emotions or past traumatic experiences that might come up.Porn addiction requires a multifaceted approach to healing, said Ed Tilton, Regional Director of Integrative Life Network. He said it starts by being honest about how the addiction affects you and those you love. Then you have to commit to recovery.“We lie to feed and justify our behavior,” he said. “The first thing you must do is get honest with yourself. Then you can start to see what kind of change is possible.”Nate said it’s critical to seek community support during recovery. “Community provides a space for voices to be heard and experiences to be validated. It can be a space that nurtures, heals, and empowers. I truly believe in this mantra: ‘We do addiction in isolation, but heal in groups.’”How Begin Again Institute Can HelpHealing from porn addiction is a learning experience. You must keep an open mind and be prepared to make lifestyle changes. It will take self-discipline to relearn behaviors and unlearn habits. But ultimately, it will be worth it, and your quality of life will improve.  If porn addiction has consumed your life, damaged relationships, and made you unhappy with yourself, it’s time to change. At Begin Again Institute, we recognize the courage it takes to accept your addiction and seek help. Recovery is always possible, and we have the tools to help you achieve lasting results. Begin Again Institute is the oldest sex addiction treatment facility in the United States. We have a proven track record utilizing TINSA® (Trauma-Induced Sexual Addiction), a perspective for the treatment of sexual addiction that focuses on treating the root of addiction rather than the symptoms. Healing is possible for anyone willing to take the first step. Take back your life and experience the freedom of recovery. Contact us today for help that will improve your life.Source: https://ift.tt/DUEyeRf https://ift.tt/hmSNKLy https://ift.tt/EvAqyGc

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