Your parents may have worked tirelessly to set up filters and block adult content from making its way onto your screen. Likewise, they may have taught you all the reasons why to avoid pornography. However, years later, you find yourself living with a porn addiction and wondering how this all happened.
As easy access to pornography increases, so does the risk of porn addiction. Through research, we continue to find similarities between porn addiction and other addictions. Research provides insight into why porn addictions may form. As a result, we're learning more about what's behind the powerful force of pornography that keeps addicts entangled in the web of addiction.
In this article, we'll talk about porn addiction. We'll also discuss some of the possibilities that may indicate where your porn addiction began.
Porn addiction is the compulsive urge to view pornography. There's a big difference between porn addiction and viewing pornography, and that's control. For example, you may not want to view porn anymore, but intense thoughts drive you back to view more. Likewise, there may be negative consequences that follow your addictive behaviors, but the risks don't deter you.
One of the main characteristics of any addiction is the inability to control compulsive urges. You want to stop viewing pornography, but you can't. Likewise, when life, or areas of life, become unmanageable without the behavior or substance, it's likely an addiction.
While there is not a specific diagnosis in the DSM, the characteristics and symptoms can be as destructive as any other addiction. Like other addictions, people face the same challenges as they work toward recovery.
The good news is, although the APA doesn't recognize porn addiction, many other professionals and organizations do. As a result, help to regain control of your life may be a few clicks away.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether porn addiction is real. For example, some feel there is a lack of scientific evidence to support a specific diagnosis. Some studies even discredit other reports by presenting research that seems to be in opposition to others. The good news is, there are many professionals who treat this as an addiction.
What does scientific evidence seem to show? Like many addictions, your genetics predispose you to addictive behaviors. As such, you can become addicted rather quickly, including to pornography. How? As your body reacts to images on a screen, chemicals release. Then, your brain sends a signal that you want to experience that feeling again. Research indicates porn activates the reward system in the brain, similar to some drug addictions. With the ease of accessibility, it's no wonder why the number of people seeking treatment is rising. Imagine a seven or eight-year-old child who keeps their viewing a secret for years. Their innocent curiosity could easily lead to porn addiction before they reach adulthood.
Other factors influence your susceptibility to addiction. For example, mental health issues come into play. Some turn to pornography to fill a void or escape feelings of depression or anxiety.
An important part of recovery is getting to the root of the problem. In other words, processing the 'why' behind your porn addiction is vital to your success. For some, it may be due to simple curiosity. For others, however, the issues may be much deeper.
Regardless of the 'why,' treatment may offer you hope. You deserve to regain the freedom and control you once enjoyed. At Paradise Creek Recovery Center, we are here to help you through the healing and recovery process of porn addiction. Visit our website to learn more.
