While not everyone who watches porn becomes addicted to it, it can still have a drastic impact on a man’s sex life. Some people turn to porn to see their fantasies acted out, to avoid intimacy in a relationship, or simply to aid masturbation, but porn can be detrimental to your relationship if it leads to sexual obsession. At Mindful Centers, our compassionate team specializes in helping men overcome sex and porn addiction.
While some people believe that porn addiction is a myth perpetuated by religious fanatics seeking to quash everyone’s fun, it is in fact a real problem that some men experience on a daily basis. Some men may simply come away with toxic ideas about women, sex, and children, but in others pornography can become an addiction that leads to isolation, the breakdown of relationships, and depression.
Pornography may start out as just plain fun, but porn addiction can have biological, psychological, and social consequences.
Biological causes
A person’s unique physiology and genetic makeup can establish an inclination for porn addiction. The degree to which we enjoy sex differs from person to person, so someone who craves sexual release may find pornography difficult to resist. Impulse control, brain function, and brain chemistry can also make people vulnerable. Porn contains images, vocalizations, and events that trigger endorphins in your brain, and this natural response to stimulation can have the same effect on your body as substance or alcohol abuse. When you suffer from porn addiction, your body makes the chemicals you would otherwise need to take to become addicted.
Psychological causes
People have varying skills and abilities when it comes to coping with unpleasant emotions or circumstances. That’s why people with poor coping skills can come to depend on addiction for the variety of benefits it produces, including:
Men’s porn addiction can be a product of the learned and shared pattern of values and beliefs associated with their friends or other cultural influences like the Internet. Sex addicts are also more likely to have experienced childhood sexual abuse or early exposure to sex from their family.
Early exposure
Early exposure to porn can set the stage for the development of a sexual addiction. Teen boys, for example, may see porn in school, on their smartphones, on the internet, or when spending time with friends, which can increase their curiosity and drive the desire to see more.
Addiction
Watching porn on a regular basis can become an integral part of life, permeating every minute of your day and leading to a desire to think about different types of porn.
Escalation
After a while, pornographic images stop eliciting the same mental and physical response in the body, so a person starts seeking out more graphic, intense, or even disturbing pornography.
Desensitization
If even severely graphic, degrading, or malicious porn starts failing to excite, a person can experience a strong withdrawal reaction and become desperate to regain the initial thrill.
Acting out sexually
When images no longer satisfy, men may start acting out scenes from favorite porn videos or participate in illegal activities such as attempting to see others nude in public, hiding in restrooms, sexual role-play, public masturbation, or violent sexual behavior.
When it comes to porn and internet porn addiction, Mindful Centers offers a wide variety of programs and meetings that can help you down the road to recovery. Our programs include:
At Mindful Centers, we provide a safe, non-biased forum for men to deal with their obsession with pornography. We have been working with men in Long Beach and Los Angeles for over 20 years, and we are looking forward to helping you overcome your porn addiction.
Start down the road to recovery by calling (562) 356-9835!