For some men this might be a confronting question, but for someone
who knows they have a porn addiction, it is possibly one of the most
confronting questions they could encounter. Once we have explored more
about porn addictions the reasons for this may become clearer.
So, do you have an addiction to porn?
Firstly,
let's understand what we are talking about. The term 'porn' itself
probably doesn't need much clarification. However, the term 'addiction'
is something that is often used very freely in our society to define a
broad range of behaviours.
There are an infinite number of
different ways that addiction has been defined, but one of the most
generic and simplest is Wikipedia's definition of it as "a continued
involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative
consequences associated with it".
From this definition it is clear
that the term 'addiction' could be applied to any number of different
challenges. Alcohol and drug addictions are commonly understood issues
in our society. Other addictions that counsellors might regularly
encounter include sex addictions, gaming addictions, TV addictions, etc.
There is a debate within the helping professional about whether porn
addictions actually exist, and whether they should be classed in the
same was as other 'addictions'.
So while someone may be addicted
to something like porn or gaming, it does not suggest that the behaviour
or the activity itself is problematic or an 'issue'. Issues and
problems relating to addiction generally only apply when the behaviour
is ongoing and continues, despite impacting negatively on other areas of
one's life or the life of those around you.
Porn itself often
carries a negative stigma. This may originate from a family or religious
value system. As a result, some people may find that they have a number
of responses or reactions to their behaviour, either during or after
having viewed pornography. For someone who has been raised with values
that suggests porn is 'wrong', there can be a sense of guilt or shame.
Other elements of self-judgement can arise too, such as thinking that
one may be a 'bad person' or 'feeling worthy-less' or worthless. For
many men accessing porn may be something that they do in secret, either a
secret that they keep alone, or possibly one that is shared with a
close friend or partner.
So what is the difference between simply watching porn and being addicted to porn?.
Perhaps you can ask yourself these questions:
1. Do you access porn on a regular basis? Perhaps more than once per week?
2. Do you notice any anxiety within yourself if you aren't able to access porn as often as you'd like?
3. Are parts of your life being negatively impacted because you are accessing porn?
4. Are any of the relationships in your life being affected?
5. Do you often intend to do some other activity and then somehow find yourself accessing porn instead?.
6. Are you regularly getting less sleep than you should because of porn?
7. When you access porn do you often find yourself spending far more time than you had intended?
8. Have you increased your broadband plan to accommodate your porn needs?
9.
Do you often tell yourself you're going to stop or you're going to
limit the amount of porn you access, but then it doesn't actually
happen?.
I'm not going to tell you that because you've answered
these questions with a 'yes' that you definitely have a porn addiction.
To do so would simply add to the 'judgements' that you've possibly
already heaped on yourself. However, if some of these questions do apply
to you, then perhaps there is something there for you to explore.
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