Porn addiction refers to a person becoming emotionally dependent on pornography to the point that it interferes with their daily life, relationships and ability to function.
This type of addiction can be quite common. Some doctors consider porn addiction a hypersexual disorder - an umbrella term that includes behaviors such as excessive masturbation.
A 2019 study suggests that the prevalence of these conditions may be about 3-6%. However, rates were difficult to determine because of a lack of formal classification.
Porn addiction remains a controversial topic, and some research suggests it is not a real condition at all.
Keep reading to learn more about porn addiction, including its causes, symptoms and some ways to deal with it.
The diagnosis of porn addiction is controversial and not all therapists will acknowledge it. Moreover, researchers have presented different models of the signs.
Some health professionals and counselors believe that pornography is not problematic per se, but has the potential to become so, depending on the person's point of view or that of their partner.
Some indications that pornography may cause a problem include:
- A person's sex life becomes less satisfying.
- Pornography causes relationship problems or makes a person feel less satisfied with their partner.
- A person engages in risky behavior to view pornography, such as at work.
Some other signs that a person is developing an unhealthy relationship with porn include:
- They ignore other responsibilities to view pornography.
- They watch more and more extreme pornography to get the same release that less extreme porn once offered.
- They feel frustrated or embarrassed after viewing porn, but continue to do so.
- They want to stop using pornography but feel unable to do so.
- They spend large sums of money on pornography, possibly at the expense of daily or family needs.
- They use pornography to cope with sadness, anxiety, insomnia or other psychological problems.
Treatment BeterKlinic
BeterKliniek is the clinic for Integrative Medicine that bridges regular and non-regular medicine.
An van Veen (physician) and Michael van Gils (therapist) look for the cause of a condition or disease. That is where the treatment starts otherwise, as people often say, it is 'carrying water to the sea'. We call this cause medicine. Sometimes it is also desirable to treat the symptoms (at the same time). We call this symptom medicine.
Chronic disorders often have their cause in epi- genetics. You can schedule a free informative telephone consultation (phone number 040-7117337 until 1 p.m.) at BeterKliniek to discuss your symptoms so that we can provide you with further advice.
