Porn Addiction Signs
Many porn addiction signs are not obvious because they are never talked about or they are kept as secrets. The following are 5 porn addiction signs that can help people struggling with porn addiction or loved ones who know someone struggling with porn addiction start to understand their situation better. They are made up of a combination of psychological dysfunctions, as well as physiological concerns in no particular order. I suggest you look at these specific porn addictions signs as interwoven with each other with a drastic outcome if they are not addressed.
1. The increasing intensity of the pornography
A significant porn addiction sign is found through one's own self discovery. It is very common that until a client talks out loud about their addiction they do not see the natural progression of the intensity of the pornography. For example going from watching basic "vanilla" pornography to finding yourself watching graphic porn that might question your sexuality. Why is this a problem? For the sake of this piece, it is simply the main reason for prolonged physical concerns in one's body as well as emotional desensitizing with their partners. Moreover, the more graphic and out of control someone's pornography becomes the more one can not be physically, mentally or emotionally satisfied.
2. Lying or Hiding
Lying and hiding pornography is a substantial issue from many perspectives. It causes internal tension within oneself, it also is one of the most obvious problems with a partner or family member. This porn addiction sign is one of the most important because if we can help you find the courage to share this secret, the freedom of healing becomes that much easier. I do not have a statistic but I can say with 100% certainty that individuals who come into my office with and have shared their secret with their partner or family have a faster rate of success.
3. Less Interest in Real Sex
One of the most difficult things for clients to talk about is the concern they have with not wanting to have sex. Even though they are deeply entrenched in the world of pornography and sexuality. This is where my job changes and I start to talk about what clients really want regarding their sexual needs. This is also a perfect example of the dangerous spiderweb of porn addiction signs. Do people want the the kind of sex they see in the porn? Or have they lost their courage to simply ask for what they sexually want? Overall, most individuals are losing their sex drive because their body and brain tell them its that much easier to find it in the computer or on the phone.
4. Erectile Dysfunction
Many cutting edge experiments have found that the more one watches porn, the more likely they will have problems with erectile dysfunction. This can lead to a fear or lack of desire to have real sex, which then leads one find more graphic pornography to get an erection. Ultimately, hiding their porn habit and falling into shame and guilt around this behavior. There is hope and the evidence has been showing that if you stop watching pornography for a significant time period (i.e. 9 months) the reversal of the erectile dysfunction is fixed.
5. Depressed and Ashamed
The emotional porn addiction signs can be very misleading. Many individuals will come into my office and do everything in their power to quit porn and be on the track to sobriety, yet still be depressed or ashamed. A large aspect of the healing I do is around one's self worth and help learn to adjust how we see this behavior. Porn addiction is not who you are, it is a behavior outside of what makes you who you are. The fact is after quitting porn for a certain period of time, people can still have the feeling of their previous behaviors.
Healing Souls offers a safe space to explore the signs of porn addiction and has expert counseling to heal pornography addiction. Contact Dr. Ryan Westrum at 952-261-5269 or ryan@healingsoulsllc.com.
