Porn Addiction Recovery: Understanding Treatment Processes
Clinical Review by:
Published:
Sep 11, 2024
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04:36 p.m.
ET
Updated:
Dec 17, 2024
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03:28 p.m.
ET
Porn has become a normalized part of our society. There are stores dedicated to selling adult material, an entire sector of the film industry exists solely to make adult films, and there are countless websites, apps and social media content that allow for an unhealthy consumption of pornographic material.
With the over-saturation of explicit content out there, it can feel daunting to tackle a porn addiction and work towards recovery. Despite a lack of research focused on porn addiction, there are high-quality treatment options and resources available for those who need it. Understanding the treatment process for porn addiction can be the first step towards recovery.
How is Porn Addiction defined and diagnosed?
Porn addiction can be defined by the presence of uncontrolled and consistent sexual behaviors and urges. This may involve watching or viewing porn continuously and not being able to stop. This often leads to feelings of guilt or shame and the inability to stop these behaviors even if one wants to. These uncontrolled behaviors can impact relationships, work and overall mental and physical health.
Hypersexuality and compulsive porn disorder are both terms that have been used to refer to porn addiction. While there is no official diagnosis for porn addiction in the DSM-5, the World Health Organization named compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) as a mental health disorder in 2018.
Compulsive sexual behavior includes the following:
Inability to control sexual urges or behaviors
Continued engagement in sexual behavior to maintain the “high”
Stress in vital areas of life due to sexual compulsions
Inability to quit sexual behavior despite wanting and/or trying to stop
The preoccupation with sexual behaviors may take over someone's life, resulting in negative outcomes. There may also be risky sexual behavior, such as sex in public or unwanted sexual advances towards others, due to unrealistic expectations of sex and relationships. Porn addiction is a symptom of compulsive sexual behavior and may be exacerbated by other mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse.
Treatment Options for Porn Addiction
Virtual Counseling
There are various types of treatment that may be beneficial for porn addiction based on strategies for compulsive sexual behavior. Virtual counseling can offer someone suffering from porn addiction the anonymity, flexibility and remove barriers to support without fear of judgment. Birches Health offers individualized and specialized virtual treatment for porn addiction.
There are multiple ways to being the porn addiction treatment process with Birches:
Call 833-483-3838 or email hello@bircheshealth.com to connect with the Birches team right away.
In-Patient Centers
Inpatient centers offer 24/7 residential support while removing a majority of the triggers that may exist with porn addiction. Inpatient treatment removes someone from their daily life and uses various types of therapies to identify beliefs about sexual behavior while learning healthier coping mechanisms to use in daily life to avoid relapsing back into porn addiction. Inpatient treatment may be right for someone who has been unsuccessful in stopping porn addiction in their regular environment and require more intensive treatment.
Support Groups
There are support groups modeled after 12-step theory and practice specifically for compulsive sexual behavior. Sex Addicts Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous and Sexaholics Anonymous are all widely available in the United States. Participation during meetings helps to foster mutual support, gain structure and have accountability with others who are suffering from porn addiction.
Understanding the Porn Addiction recovery process
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to porn addiction treatment. It is a complex treatment process that should be personalized to each individual and their specific needs. After identifying that there is a problem a medical or mental health professional will perform an assessment to learn more about the individual's addiction. They will evaluate symptoms including any other relevant mental health disorders that may impact treatment.
Teaching someone how porn addiction affects their brain can help them better understand compulsive behaviors, urges and the triggers that impact porn addiction. Different therapy modalities, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), are used to identify harmful thoughts and feelings and understand the underlying issues that contribute to someone's porn addiction.
It can be beneficial to create a Relapse Prevention Plan that would identify strategies someone can use to manage triggers and urges when they arise. It may be recommended that someone continue outpatient counseling or attend support groups during recovery. In certain cases medication might be used to help manage the compulsive urges of porn addiction or to address other co-occurring disorders if present.
What other resources are available for Porn Addiction?
Assessments
Porn addiction continues to be largely underreported, misunderstood and untreated since it is not a formal diagnosis in the DSM-5. Porn addiction assessments can be used as a support for people who are being affected by porn addiction.
Take a confidential, quick and FREE assessment for Porn Addiction
Educational Materials
Educational materials can be used to teach someone about porn addiction and its underlying causes and potential triggers. Birches Health offers many resources and informational materials focused on porn addiction:
Porn Blocker Apps
Interested in reducing or stopping access to porn? There are pornography-blocker apps that can be installed on iPhone and Android devices. These apps help prevent kids, teens and adults from gaining access to pornographic websites.
BlockerX
BlockerHero
Purity
Covenant Eyes
Signs of Porn Addiction
How can you identify if you or someone you know may have a porn addiction? Common warning signs or symptoms of pornography addiction may include:
Wanting to reduce or quit porn, but can’t
Porn use interferes with daily life or responsibilities
Excess of money spent on porn or adult entertainment
Ignoring personal hygiene or health due to porn consumption
Viewing porn in inappropriate settings
Decreased libido
Porn use affects relationships
Porn use is followed by guilt or shame
Porn Addiction rates: Stats & trends
Pornography is highly accessible. With easy access and endless new content being made, the rate of consumption of porn is alarming. Porn can be accessed almost anywhere and at any time with smartphones, tablets and computers.
A study found that 3% of Americans reported struggling with compulsive pornography consumption and that up to 5% may have symptoms of porn addiction. Pornhub reported that the United States has the highest rate of pornography use in 2023.
Men self-report higher rates of porn addiction than women, with 69% of men admitting to porn use versus 40% of women. Younger men are also higher consumers of porn and at a higher risk for porn addiction than other age groups, with 57% aged 18-25 regularly viewing porn.
