Porn surged among Brits during lockdown – how to spot the signs of addiction

A fifth of adults in the UK admitted to watching more porn during the pandemic…

While routinely viewing pornographic content may be beneficial for self-exploration, and even improving physical relationships, when it becomes a dependency or need to view content or material, this is considered to be an addiction.

We’ve asked the team of addiction treatment professionals, Martin Preston at Delamere to share seven signs that you might be suffering from pornography addiction, as well as offering some insight on what the causes of porn addiction are and how it can be treated.

Porn Addiction: Causes, Signs & Treatment

What is porn addiction?

Addictions are considered medical conditions that can negatively affect both the body and the brain. Individuals suffering from an addiction can feel compelled to do everything in their power to acquire the thing that they are addicted to.

Porn addiction refers to when a person develops a genuine emotional dependence on pornography. They may even take it to the extreme point that it interferes with their daily routine and relationships.

What causes porn addiction?

Research has suggested that for some viewers, watching pornography can trigger an intense release of dopamine, bringing with it feelings of pleasure. With increased time, the body can build up a tolerance and produces progressively less dopamine. When this happens people start to rely on the substance they are using to chase that dopamine rush.

Sex can be a highly satisfying way to trigger a dopamine release in your body. Heavy use of pornography can trigger the same sensation by activating the body’s dopamine system, which can lead to addiction.

Accessing pornography is not difficult, and at the very least, usually requires a lot less effort than physically communicating with a partner. So for many individuals, pornography becomes a quick and easy way to gratify sexual urges.

Porn addictions can be more likely to occur in people who already have underlying health problems. They are also more likely to be seen in people who are currently experiencing relationship problems, such as a relationship with a partner that has turned sour, or a general struggle to maintain healthy relationships in the real world.

Unhealthy social norms can also influence people to develop harmful relationships with pornography. There may also be conceptual understandings of the way that people should look and behave during sex, and the types of sex that people should be having. Pornography has the potential to turn sexual curiosity into sexual insecurity.

What are the key signs of porn addiction?

It can be hard for someone to identify a porn addiction within themselves. Equally, it is difficult for someone to determine exactly when watching pornography, even frequently, has developed into a genuine addiction.

With this in mind, the team at Delamere have shared seven signs that you might have a porn addiction.

Sex becomes less satisfying

When a person develops a porn addiction, their sex life in the real world can become less satisfying, as it can never fulfil the ‘idea’ of sex that is influenced by pornography.

A person’s expectations of sex can become entirely unrealistic, and they can even find themselves pushing for riskier forms of sex such as suffocation or strangulation. A person might even seek out sex with multiple partners in an attempt to live out the sexual fantasies conceptualised by pornography.

Prioritising porn

Someone struggling with a pornography addiction will almost always consider watching porn to be one of their priorities and therefore disregard their everyday tasks.

This is where porn consumption begins to negatively impact the individual’s life. They can experience depression and exhaustion, at the same time as falling behind in their daily routine and social life, as a direct result of their porn habits.

Taking more risks to watch porn

Once a person becomes addicted to porn, they may begin taking increasingly riskier opportunities to view pornographic content.

A porn addict may find themselves watching porn in the workplace or a public setting such as public transport. Despite knowing that the consequences of being caught such content in public would be severe, the individual may find that they are unable to resist the temptation. The taboo act of watching porn in a risky setting may even provide the individual with an added thrill.

Feelings of frustration

If a person is feeling ashamed or frustrated with the amount of pornography they are watching, but find themselves unable to limit their time spent watching porn, then it is likely they have a porn addiction.

However much an addict might be aware that what they are doing to themselves is harmful and unhealthy, they will struggle to be physically able to stop themselves from doing it.

Financial impact

It is clear that a person has developed a genuine problem with porn consumption when it begins to affect them financially.

If a person is spending large amounts of money on pornography, to the point where they are even prioritising spending on porn over other expenses such as rent, bills, food and family, then their relationship with porn has unhealthily developed into an addiction.

With the rise in popularity of subscription sites (i.e. Only Fans) making porn even more accessible, and possibly even more acceptable, it is now easier than ever for porn consumption to have a financial impact on people’s lives.

Delving into the taboo

When a person has consumed an overload of pornographic content, the idea of ‘regular’ less extreme pornography may no longer provide the satisfaction that it once did.

A porn addict is more likely to begin viewing progressively more violent, controversial or taboo forms of porn, as they chase the feeling of a dopamine release. The problem that porn addicts will experience is the same as with any substance abuse. They will have a sense of reward or relief that porn may provide will never be completely fulfilling, and the problem will only worsen unless it is properly addressed.

Porn as a coping mechanism

A sign that someone may be suffering from porn addiction is when they begin to use porn consumption as a means to cope with other health conditions.

A person suffering from insomnia may get addicted to porn as a result of watching pornographic videos to distract from the fact that they cannot sleep. Likewise, a person suffering from depression or anxiety may view watching porn as a means of escapism and get addicted that way. However, overly obsessive porn consumption can only make these pre-existing conditions feel worse in the long run.

What treatments are available?

There is still much debate in the medical world as to whether an individual’s obsessive interest in pornography is less of an addiction and more of a compulsion. The key difference is that addictions chase a sense of reward and compulsions chase a sense of relief.

If you are suffering from pornography addiction, most medical professionals suggest seeking treatment for other forms of therapy, such as depression counselling, relationship counselling or psychotherapy. If you are a UK resident, you might also seek the advice of your local sexual health professional.

It is also possible that your lifestyle can influence your porn addiction. Boredom and exhaustion are common causes for a person’s increased use of pornography. Making sure you lead a more active or social lifestyle, with less time spent in front of a screen.

One method you can adopt to decrease your time spent watching porn is to delete all electronic porn and bookmarks on your electronic devices. You can also try installing anti-porn software or blanket-blocking porn sites on your electronic devices, possibly even getting someone else to do this for you who will keep you from knowing any relevant passwords.