You cannot stop watching porn or doing behaviors associated with porn, despite attempting to leave them behind. You feel angry or irritable if you are asked to stop using porn (even when you ask yourself). You keep all or part of your porn use secret from family and friends. You feel like you lead a double life because of your hidden porn use. You continue to view porn despite negative consequences, such as suffering relationships or trouble in school. You have lost track of large chunks of time because you’ve been absorbed in porn use.
Broken or troubled intimate relationships Difficulty staying interested in relationships and dating prospects Feelings of shame and/or guilt Problems with work or school, like dropping grades High risk of engaging in dangerous or unhealthy sexual activity, with an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases Eventual inability to become aroused in non-pornographic situations
Popular methods like pinching yourself every time you look at porn will create a forbidden fruit effect which makes it all the more difficult to give porn up. [3] X Research source What’s more, you’ll come to have negative associations with your own sexuality, which can make getting to the root problems of the porn addiction more complicated.
For example, if you see an ad that makes you want to watch porn, train yourself to play a round of your favorite video game instead. You may not be able to avoid the ad entirely, but you can begin to replace porn with a less harmful habit. After a while you may not need to take such strong efforts to avoid certain triggers or rigidly replace porn watching with the same alternative behavior every time. When you’re trying to kick the habit initially, though, be very diligent about diverting yourself in moments of temptation. If there are triggers you can avoid entirely, you may want to do so. This could make the initial decrease in use easier. Just be careful that you don’t spend so much time avoiding, say, certain music or friends that get you in the mood to watch. If you try to let these triggers back into your life after intense avoidance of them, you run the risk of relapsing into porn use.
For example, say your goal is to watch only 3 times per week. You could begin by cutting your use down to once a day at the times when you most want to watch, like before going to sleep.
If you usually watch porn on DVDs, scratch them up with a pen or paperclip before throwing them away. If you use magazines, tear out individual pages and put them through a paper shredder or recycle bin. If you use the internet, try using a browser extension or other software that will help you limit the sites you can open. These Internet censors, like StayFocusd or Net Nanny act the way parental controls do—slowly you can block websites altogether, should you choose to. They also monitor the time you spend on chosen sites. If you use a PC, you can also block your frequently visited sites by editing your hosts file on a Windows system editing hosts file.
Clean up your computer by removing viruses and malware that give you lots of pornographic ads and pop-ups. Remember to also remove any files you have stored. Try eliminating the privacy that normally encourages you to watch by moving your whole computer set up to a common area of your home. This may only be a temporary measure as you are getting used to less porn. Your family might be surprised, but will understand if you let them know that you are attempting to limit your time isolated in your room. Avoid being with friends who share and encourage extreme use of porn.
Try monitoring your usage with the same browser extension that you use to put controls on your access to porn. If you use DVDs or print media, keep track by marking use in a schedule or calendar.
Another consideration for choosing an activity is something that you can talk a lot about. Do something that you’re proud to tell your parents and friends about, like getting into shape or learning how to play a musical instrument. If you don’t drive, it can be helpful to get a bike or another form of transportation. This will give you freedom to leave the house and do things besides watching porn.
A major benefit of therapy is that you will get a chance to deal with pain from your past that may be contributing to the root cause of your addiction. [7] X Research source
If you do not feel comfortable asking your parents, try asking your school counselor or another trusted adult.
There are also many online groups you can join if you are unable to attend in-person meetings.
Low-severity relapses; for example, trying to look at porn on the Internet but then quickly turning it off rather than going on a major watching spree. Significant amount of passed time between relapses Strong ability to bounce back from a relapse by using the methods listed here and suggested by your therapist
