What is Porn Addiction?

Home / Posts tagged "Behavioural addictions"

What is Porn Addiction?

13 October, 2021Articles, News

Porn addiction is a behavioural disorder classified by people who experience difficulties with all-consuming sexual thoughts and behaviours. Their compulsions to watch pornography consequently can create emotional fall-outs such as stress, mood swings, depression or anxiety. People struggling with porn addiction problems tend to find they live a “double life” which may result in them pulling away from significant life events and relationships with others.

These behaviours may often be linked to intimacy-related issues or the inability to communicate or connect on interpersonal levels with a romantic partner. Porn addiction and the underlying fantasies they offer allow people an “escape” from having to confront their reality. This may include the unpredictability of real-life interpersonal relationships, their fears of rejection, judgement or past trauma which may all often trigger emotionally painful events. In some cases, the side-effect is that porn is simply being used to avoid certain situations.

Historically the medical field has described addiction as a chronic relapsing disorder, or continued use of illicit substances (including alcohol) despite the negative consequences that result from prolonged use. It is when someone abuses substances such as alcohol or drugs to the point where their body becomes overly dependent on the substance to function. As the physiology of an addict’s or alcoholic’s body is different from the average person, their use of substances/alcohol creates a physical craving for more each time either is consumed. But how does this explain porn addiction problems and a non-substance related addictions such as a porn addiction?

While many people understand the addiction to alcohol or drugs, not everyone realises how viewing pornographic material obsessively, being exposed to sexual imagery or videos can be extremely addictive; especially since it’s not a physical intake of a chemical or substance that they put into their body. However, pornography and porn addiction problems can still activate regions in the brain that are associated with motivation and reward – such as the dopamine system.

Porn addiction is when the brain becomes dependent on pornography to experience dopamine surges; therefore, it may cause a lack of control over their sexual behaviour. The obsessive and compulsive behaviour of viewing pornography is the brain’s demanding need for stimulus, and each time the act of viewing occurs so does a release of dopamine. However, over time, the body stops providing as much dopamine as it did when first engaged with porn – which means people begin to watch it more often or view more extreme pornographic scenes to receive the same pleasure. The constant craving for these dopamine surges can reduce the brain’s response to ordinary stimuli. Which in turn increases the desperate need to view more pornographic content more frequently and dependency is established.

What are the side-effects of porn addiction?

The side effects of porn addiction problems may vary from person to person, and some scenarios will require formal treatment.

As porn addiction is a deeply private, fantasy-driven realm for individuals, and is a classic “escape” from an otherwise mundane or routine driven existence, a person’s real life tends to become less of a priority and riskier behaviours begin to emerge. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive sexual behaviours begin to displace relationships and negatively harm a person’s real life in terms of work and other relationships.

When a person starts to avoid their lives in favour of their routine escapes- their fantasy begins to overtake the importance of their reality and consequentially impacts their well-being. This cycle can often result in feeling disconnected from others. It also tends to manifest in other addictions or co-occurring destructive behaviours such as eating disorders, depression, chronic stress, depression and anxiety. As porn addiction problems are considered an intimacy disorder, it becomes hard for a person to mask the underlying need to escape to porn or “wanting to leave” everyday scenarios to satisfy a porn craving. Often people with porn addiction problems may at times get angry or hostile, or even just irritable when they are asked to stop engaging with pornography or forced to endure events/situations where porn viewing may not be available.

Another marked side-effect of porn addiction includes the secrecy involved in their attempts to “hide” their use of porn from loved ones. This, in turn, creates the sense of living a “double” or “secret” life that is directly attributed to obsessive porn use and has a negative impact on critical things like attending work, events or prioritising personal well-being and relationships. With any case of classifiable addiction, there is a distinct sense of personal powerlessness or an inability to stop the behaviour for any length of time.

If you or a loved one are battling a porn addiction and need assistance – know that help is readily available. The road to recovery is not always an easy one, but getting yourself or your loved one the best care from the team at Crossroads Recovery Centre, provides you with a map to sober, healthy living. No matter how bad things seem, there is hope and it’s just a phone call away. If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex, gambling, substances, alcohol or food, please contact us for a free assessment.

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

074 89 51043 JHB

012 450 5033 PTA

No Obligation Addiction Assessment

Book a No Obligation Confidential Assessment at your nearest Treatment Centre Today.

Johannesburg Admissions: +27 74 895 1043

Pretoria Admissions: +27 82 653 3311

Stories of Recovery

The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
Oliver VG
Read more
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
Johan B
Read more
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
Carla S
Read more
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
Angelique J
Read more

Approved Medical Aids

Two caucasian hands bound by rope on a wooden table holding a king of diamonds and an ace of spades #gambling addiction

Gambling Addiction-The House Always Wins

Reach out now, we can help

Home / Posts tagged "Behavioural addictions"

Gambling Addiction-The House Always Wins

09 July, 2021Articles, News

Gambling addiction is often misunderstood as it manifests itself in ways that are slightly uncommon to the more conventional addictions such as substance abuse or alcohol use. A lot of gamblers are often not aware of the fact that they suffer from an addiction and as a result, many are misdiagnosed and often mistreated. A common assumption is that those who suffer from a gambling addiction are depressed and act out on it by gambling and pursuing high-risk lifestyles and activities. This assumption has the potential to create a stigmatic attitude of self-disgust and disappointment, which many who eventually find themselves in addiction treatment centres for gambling- bring into treatment with them. This stigma often presents additional difficulties as it flares up during the treatment process and is sometimes used by the addict as a justification for their behaviour.

Gambling addicts have difficulties in setting clear priorities and goals as they are preoccupied by their addiction. Their ability to be responsible and accountable has been degraded. Externally, gamblers seem much more stable than most other addicts for whom the physical effects of their addiction are manifest. Chronic disregard becomes common place amongst these individuals as they continuously place their indulgence before the welfare of themselves and their loved ones.

Another characteristic of the gambling addict is an over-reliance on money, financial success and control to establish a sense of self-worth. If probed further than the most superficial symptoms of their
addiction, one sometimes finds that gambling addicts live very ordinary lives until they are introduced to the power of money for the first time. These individuals often go from being resigned to a mundane life to frequently indulging in high-risk behaviour.

On a psychic level, these individuals seem to be chasing an unending sense of purpose, confidence and security, which they feel when they have money. Thus to the gambler- money is often both the means and the ends. This all too natural drive for financial and material security is warped by their minds as their disease progresses. Sooner or later, in the life of a gambler, high-stake decision-making becomes the norm as gambling takes precedence in their lives. Money is the key to life for a gambler in the same way as heroin is to the heroin addict. It is important to understand how this form of addiction manifests itself in order for treatment to be effective. It often requires extraordinary measures to get gamblers to commit to their treatment and recovery.

The gambling addicts’ belief that their self-worth is related to their material wealth, needs to be addressed in their treatment programme, as does their impulsive thinking. They need to be held accountable for their behaviour and take responsibility for their consequences. This encourages them to take charge of their lives and often when approached in this manner, they begin to become less reliant on money to make decisions and become more conscious and aware of how they spend their time and energy.

Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a peer-supported network for gamblers – Gamblers Anonymous. These groups help to establish a sense of belonging in these individuals and encourage them to pursue full measures of accountability and responsibility in their lives. Dishonesty is commonplace amongst gambling addicts and they develop thick skins in order to avoid experiencing the disappointment associated with their actions in addiction. To address this, it is necessary to be assertive with the gambling addict. Various goal-setting as well as self-esteem building activities, are also necessary in order to establish a healthy sense of self-worth. This, coupled with the ability of the 12 steps to help an individual identify the root causes of their behaviour, makes it possible to effectively help these individuals recover from their addition to gambling.

If you or a loved one needs assistance with an addiction to gambling – know that help is readily available. The road to recovery is not always an easy one but getting yourself or your loved one the best possible care from the team at Crossroads Recovery Centre, provides you with a map to sober, healthy living. No matter how bad things seem, there is hope and it’s only a phone call away. If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex, gambling, substances, alcohol or food, please contact us for a free assessment.