Pornography Addiction

Pornography addiction is when an individual finds themselves compulsively drawn to pornographic material. This material could be in the form of movies, websites, peep shows or printed material.  The term addiction has to do with obsessive or compulsive behaviour with an element of dependence.  Research has shown there is a pathological difference in the addict’s brain. It is a neurobiological disorder.  There is a continued engagement in the behaviour despite negative consequences.  There is also a craving, be it mental or physical, and a loss of control over the action.

There are many negative consequences involved with pornography addiction.  The addict may cause damage to relationships or may jeopardize employment due to the amount of time spent on porn.  A good deal of research has been done on the subject.  It has been found that porn related requests make up 25% of daily Google searches.  It is difficult to get a clear picture of the number of people who suffer due to underreporting by those surveyed.  There is a great deal of embarrassment and shame associated with porn addiction.

There are several warning signs that signal a pornography addiction problem.  If an individual finds themselves spending more time than originally planned with adult material or has a difficult time not thinking about it, they may have a problem.  Other signs are if more time is being spent with adult material than on other activities or interests.  Another porn addiction sign would be if it takes more and more time spent with the material to bring about a sense of satisfaction.  A good benchmark is to determine whether or not the activity is interfering with daily life. If so, a problem likely exists.

There is treatment available for pornography addiction.  It is typically not something that can be dealt with by the individual themselves.  Some kind of support is needed in a treatment protocol. Attempting to deal with it on one’s own is part of the secrecy and shame involved.  A treatment plan should be tailored to the individual and may include addiction counselling, hypnotherapy and the use of mp3 hypnosis downloads which all help with behaviour modification.  The most important part of treatment is to discover the underlying reasons for the problem.  After this element of self awareness has been achieved, behaviour modification techniques can then be used to alter the action itself. A serious commitment is needed by the patient to live a porn free life in order for the treatment of pornography addiction to be successful.

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