8 Effective Tips to Overcome and Stop Porn Addiction (Pornography)

Porn addiction can have a significant impact on an individual’s mental well-being. It may lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or low self-esteem, as well as increased anxiety and depression. Additionally, excessive pornography use can desensitize the brain’s reward system, making it more difficult to find pleasure in other activities.

Watching porn doesn’t automatically make you a porn addict, and what differentiates a habit from an addiction is the constant urge to engage in this behavior and the negative effects it brings to your life. Porn addiction is the worst of all addictions, and it goes hand in hand with masturbation, meaning that if you are a porn addict, there is a possibility that you might be battling masturbation addiction too.

While pornography might be a way to excite pleasure and promote sex education, the negative effects are numerous. 

Signs of Porn Addiction:

1. Preoccupation with Pornography

Individuals with porn addiction may have an overwhelming preoccupation with pornography, spending an excessive amount of time seeking and consuming explicit content. This preoccupation can interfere with their daily responsibilities, work or school performance, and personal relationships.

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2. Loss of Control

Porn addicts often experience a loss of control over their consumption habits. They may find themselves repeatedly attempting to quit or reduce their usage but are unable to do so. Despite negative consequences, they may continue to engage with pornography compulsively.

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3. Increased Tolerance

Over time, individuals with porn addiction may develop a tolerance to explicit content. They may require more explicit or novel material to achieve the same level of arousal or satisfaction as before. This can lead to a constant search for new and increasingly extreme material.

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4. Withdrawal Symptoms

When attempting to cut back or stop using pornography, addicts may experience withdrawal symptoms similar to those seen in other substance addictions. These symptoms can include irritability, restlessness, anxiety, and depression.

If you are a porn addict and you are looking for ways to overcome and stop this habit, below are 8 effective tips to achieve just that.

1. DECIDE.

You can’t overcome porn addiction if you are not willing to quit. You need to have the determination to quit and be ready to work towards fulfilling your decision. The process is difficult, but you will surely overcome it if you have the determination. Start by controlling your mind; let the word “I’ve quit porn” be your watchword. Always believe that you can stop it every morning you wake up and have faith that you will.

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2. REMOVE ALL ADULT CONTENT FROM YOUR PHONE AND HOME.

You can’t stop porn addiction if you still have all those erotic contents on your phone. First of all, delete all the X-videos on your phones, dispose of all CDs related to porn from your home, and cancel your subscriptions to porn TV. You might not like to delete them, but you have to summon courage if you want to be totally free from porn addiction.

If you have been following porn websites and other adult content sites, you may have to block them or totally remove them from your phone, PC, and other electronic devices because seeing them will prompt you to go back to your vomit.

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3. DISCIPLINE YOURSELF.

Discipline yourself to control your thoughts. Because whatever you think about will actually become an action and a habit, self-discipline becomes important. Learn to overlook things. For instance, if you are scrolling through a page on social media and you come across pornographic content, don’t click; instead, just scroll to the next page. Adult contents are very attractive and addictive, and one way to avoid the bait is never to click on them.

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4. FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS TO KEEP YOU BUSY.

After deleting all the pornography and adult content on your phone, PC, and TV, you may feel like watching them again; this urge is normal. Instead of watching these things, try to focus on other things that keep you busy: listening to music, watching comedies, watching motivational and inspirational videos, or better yet, engaging in other activities that make you happy like cooking your favorite meal, taking a walk, dancing, or visiting a friend. Doing this will distract you and help you overcome your porn addiction.

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5. EXERCISE

Exercise is good for our health and overall well-being. Daily exercise will get rid of the negative thoughts in your mind and help you stay focused. When you feel like watching porn, try doing some exercise.

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6. CHOOSE THE KIND OF MOVIE YOU WATCH.

Ensure that the movies you watch aren’t related to pornography, and if they are, forward or filter them as soon as possible, or better yet, delete them. You may also avoid friends who give you easy access to porn. Remember, you are in control of porn; it doesn’t control you.

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7. WHAT TRIGGERS YOU?

You might notice that you use porn more often at night, after work, or when you come across erotic pictures online. Try to identify these things that trigger you to want to watch porn and do your best to avoid them. For example, maybe you watch porn when you are lonely; you may consider watching comedies instead or doing some exercise to distract you.

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8. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP

I want you to know that you are not alone in this battle, and you will surely overcome it. If you have been trying to stop this porn addiction on your own and it’s not working, try to seek professional help by talking to a therapist. Therapists are trained to provide support that will make you free of pornography. You can also talk to your pastor or imam, as they will be ready to provide you with a spiritual guide that will help you overcome this addiction.

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In conclusion, to overcome porn addiction, you must admit that what you are doing is wrong, and to set yourself free, have the belief that you can stop it, remove all the pornography from your phone and computer, avoid downloading adult movies, identify what triggers you to want to watch porn, and get rid of them. Engage in exercise and focus on other things that keeps you busy when you feel the compulsive need to engage in this behavior.

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