Are you addicted to porn?
Before knowing whether you are addicted to porn, let us know what addiction is and what changes happen to the brain and body when you are addicted to a substance or behaviour.
What is addiction?
Addiction is more than being interested in a substance or behaviour. The person feels compelled to do something or consume a substance to reap pleasure out of it even though he/she knows that it may cause harm to him/her. Many times, he/she will not be able to control him/herself to stay away from it.
Why a person gets addicted to porn or something?
It is because of the dopamine released by the brain. When a person does something for the first time, brain releases large amounts of dopamine. Dopamine apart from other functions increases the feeling of reward and also causes arousal. The more the number of times a person does an activity or consumes a substance, the more times dopamine gets released. As he/she gets used to it, brain releases lesser dopamine as a result of which the frequency of consumption or behaviour increases to keep the dopamine levels higher. This results in addiction. It can be masturbation, watching porn, using drugs, indulging in hypersex etc.
How to know if you are addicted to porn?
- If your normal sex life doesn’t make you happy and the relationship with your partner deteriorates because of unsatisfying sex.
- If you want to engage in risky sexual behaviour such as those shown in porn videos
- If you are putting yourself at risk by watching porn at work
- If you are ignoring your responsibilities to watch porn
- When regular porn doesn’t make you feel rewarded, you start watching extremely pornographic videos
- If you end up ending up spending money to watch porn
- Stopping yourself from watching porn makes you sad, depressed, cause sleeplessness etc
- If you feel guilty, frustrated and ashamed after watching porn.
What causes a person to get addicted to porn?
The actual reason why a person gets addicted to porn doesn’t seem to lie in the actual porn he/she is watching but in the life of the person. It is believed that such people may be undergoing distress in life as per a study conducted in 2015.
Some possible causes of porn addiction as per experts are:
- Mental health conditions – In order to stop him/herself from depressing and distracting thoughts in his/her personal life, a person may get used to watching porn.
- Relationship problems that lead to sexual dissatisfaction.
- Conservative cultural boundaries – Depending on the cultural background in which the person is brought up, the idea about sex and enjoying sex may be imbibed differently. This can draw them towards watching porn where people portray more pleasure than in real life.
- Brain Chemistry – The chemicals released by brain and the feeling of reward can make people go back to porn to feel the pleasure over and over again.
Porn Addiction Treatment
As experts and study says, the actual reason for porn addiction should be figured out and resolved with medications or with counselling therapy for the individual or couple. Certain treatment strategies followed by sexology experts at Metromale Clinic & Fertility Center include:
- Psychotherapy – This procedure involves understanding the person, his/her relationship with porn, knowing the sexual needs of the person and addressing his/her distress.
- Relationship Counselling – In some cases, due to the cultural backgrounds, people don’t open up with their partners regarding their sexual desires or fantasies or their likes and dislikes. Breaking the ice between the couple and making them know about each other’s physical needs can resolve several issues between them.
- Medication – if the underlying cause of porn addiction can be treated with medicines, the therapist may put the person under medication and observe the change in behaviour.
- Lifestyle changes – Some people watch porn when they are bored and eventually this becomes a habit and then an addiction. In such cases, they must try to spend less time with their smart phones or computers and be with family or friends most of the time.
Should you see a doctor if you now know that you are addicted to porn?
You must see a sex therapist or the best sexologist if:
- You are having trouble reaching orgasm with your partner
- If you have erectile dysfunction (in case of male) or sexual dysfunction (in women) when you get intimate with your partner.
- Sex becomes boring, painful and doesn’t give pleasure anymore
- If you are feeling anxious, stress or any other mental conditions.
- If your addiction to porn is causing problems in your relationship or at work
Metromale Clinic & Fertility Center hosts highly trained and experienced sexologists and sex therapists in Chennai who can counsel an individual or couple and get back his/her or their sex life on track.
Hello sir my pennies is bend on during mood.. what can i do if it was any problem in forming baby… And i have small small pimples like balla in my pennies seed what is the reason and what is the medicine plsss give the suggestion… If any need to pay money is also i done sir plss read and reply this thank you
Guru, pimples on penis is common. don’t worry about them. you should come and see me, if they don’t go away or if they are increasing.
Penis little bent is ok, if you are not able to have sex with your partner, then you must treat it as a problem. Otherwise you are good.