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pornography addiction

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by theMaverick, Jul 13, 2013.

  1. theMaverick

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    So I'm guessing I'm not the only one here, and I hope to break the stigma about this because I know there is a stigma attached to pornography addiction.

    Hi. My name is ****** and I'm addicted to pornography.

    Seriously.

    I spend hours a day looking a porn on tumblr, or other places. I know it isn't healthy and it makes me feel like shit after I do it. I've started deleting the links I have stored to porn and deleting my saved images and unfollowing blogs that contain pornography. This is not a new thing, either, I've been doing this for years now. Like....7 years, I believe.

    Are there any people out there who have dealt with/are dealing with this?
     
  2. Lunarchy

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    HA! Something I can relate to!! Umm... hmmm... well I am a Hentai addict, been so for 11 years, I run about 3 hentai blogs, and have recently inherited a porn blog (All on tumblr) So I understand the allure of pornography. I find that if you get away from the computer for a long period of time, by going on a camping trip or something, and sort of, well cold turkey the temptation to return to it does tend to go away. I'm not sure if it's different for men though. I enjoy hentai however, and have found myself amongst many large communities and prefer to embrace my addiction rather then quite... although it doesn't really inhibit my lifestyle or anything, so I suppose the best advice I can give you is: Avoid the Internet until the initial 'cravings' pass ^)^
     
  3. Chip

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    Pornography addiction is an interesting thing because it appears to affect only a small percentage of porn viewers, but for those it does affect, it can be devastating.

    This might sound like a stupid question but, is your addiction to pornography, to masturbating to pornography, or both? And what else is going on in your life? Do you have a lot of free time? Do you find yourself staying up late at night, missing out on opportunities to do things with friends or others, missing work, or viewing porn at work?

    Secondarily, what happens if you go a day (or a half-day, or whatever is a long time for you) without watching porn? Do you get physical symptoms of anxiety? How do your masturbation habits fit into this?

    All of this makes it easier to put into context what you're experiencing, and help to determine if it is a serious problem that's drastically affecting your life, or whether it's more of an overindulgence that's simply making you feel guilty because you feel like porn and sexual interests are dirty and wrong.

    If you can answer some of the above, it will help to get a clearer picture of what's going on.
     
  4. theMaverick

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    Sorry for the delay in replying.

    When I view pornography it is usually along with masturbation, but I don't always masturbate to pornography. I am unemployed and not taking classes right now so I have a lot of free time, and unfortunately when I am sitting around doing nothing, which is often, my mind often drifts to porn, and then before I know it I've pulled it up on my phone or computer. I have never missed anything because I was looking at porn, but I often stay up late watching porn.

    If I go a while without porn I don't have any anxiety, but the longer it is, the stronger it becomes in my mind and it starts to become this large thing in my head that I have to see it. My masturbation habits are usually once a day, at night, after I go to bed, although sometimes, in connection with pornography, I have masturbated as many as 7 times a day.
     
  5. Chip

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    What you're describing doesn't sound like it rises to the level of addiction, but probably does indicate a developing unhealthy relationship with pornography. The fact you don't have any anxiety if you go without it is further indication that, at least for now, what you have isn't an addiction, but perhaps a psychological desire for the stimulus it provides.

    The best suggestion I can make is to work on getting away from it entirely. Practice masturbating without using porn (and without thinking about porn while masturbating), and create other activities to participate in instead of porn... movies, cat videos, reading, working out... whatever interests you.

    If you find it impossible to go without it, work on compartmentalizing it; commit to yourself that you will only watch twice per week or whatever you can manage, set a specific time to watch it, and limit the time to 30 minutes or something. Make a contract with yourself that you'll follow the rules, and keep track of when you do and do not... then slowly decrease the number of times you watch it.

    If you don't have success with this, it may be time to talk to a therapist.

    Also, if it helps, keep this thread active and talk about what's going on for you as you try to do this. Having some form of accountability will help you to succeed.