Porn Addiction
 

This may seem ironic to be posting on this board, but how do you know if you're addicted to porn or just interested in porn or what?

Is addiction when it interferes with your sex life with your wife (I'm not married or seeing anyone)?

Why is it an addiction to porn if your looking at porn a lot? What if your working out during that time instead? Are you therefore addicted to working out?

Maybe someone out there can phrase it such a way that I can actually understand.

Well, I'm not doctor, but I'd say that porn addiction begins when one starts believing he or she needs porn.

Also, just a thought, porn addiction becomes a problem when "normal" porn stops ending the "craving" and one needs to move onto other forms of porn. For example: Coming on faces, beastiality, s&m, etc.

the line beween a healthy interest and an addiction isn't always clear. but here are some of the lines which would indicate crossing into the addiction territory:

- a psychological desire for it. you crave it.
- withdrawl symptoms are exhibited when you stop. your mood changes, you feel different.
- you cannot control it. for example, you plan on looking at porn for a few minutes. you find yourself still looking at it 2 hrs later.
- you've tried to stop. can't.
- it begins to have an effect on other areas of your life. personal or professional. you're late to class because you were looking up sites. you didn't finish your project because you were watching porn.
- you continue to do it, after recognizing the above, you continue to do it after acknowledging it's having a negative impact on you.

if you always worked out for 2 hours a day for your whole life and love it, but then watching porn made you stop working out, that's where the line gets pretty bold all of a sudden.

Personally, I think that addicition to porn is a self correcting condition. If you watch too much, then it gets boring, and you start looking for mic shadows on the actress's ass and continuity flaws. When you start looking for continuity in porn movies, then that's a whole different kind of masturbation here, but no less self abuse.

i don't think porn is a really addicting substance, it's highly desireable to alot of people, but it's really easy to quit. addiction is defined as something you think you must need...

if you spend enough of your time on porn, it's going to become part of your lifestyle, not quite a real addiction... it's like washing your hands you don't need to, you just do because you want to

Some people are easily mentally addicted to some non-addictive things, like alcohol, sex, porn, ect.

Your average every day person wouldn't have that problem.

Addiction is defined in terms of consequences; if one cannot refrain from some activity in spite of negative consequences (i.e. poor school/job performance, relationship problems, health problems, etc.), then he is addicted. Porn is not some special exception as an addiction just because its harmful effects aren't to the degree of something like heroin.

Kid - I believe that society as a whole has been too aggressive in labeling sex as an addiction prone behavior. Addiction is a serious malady that is has extreme physical consequences and needs to be treated medically many times, as a disease. To be more accurate, you will find sexual (and gambling) compulsions, which refers to the need to behave in a specific way to reinforce negative ideas that a person may have about themselves that are designed to have bad consequences (Cheating on partners habitually or taking your paycheck to the casino).

Much more common is sexual impulsiveness, which refers to somebody who enjoys the feeling of sex or orgasm and pursues it out of a natural desire to feel good, many times to the exclusion of other things (homework vs. 10 good minutes with Penthouse).

By the accepted ideas of "sexual addiction", most 15 - 18 year old males (and a fair share of females) would be considered "addicts" in this country.

It's unfortunate that we have allowed the religious right to demonize sexual relations and sell guilt to the point we question ourselves for the most basic of instincts. I'm certainly no psychologist, but I do believe that most compulsions are a direct result of people that can't come to terms with sexualness, and it becomes the pain they can't stop focusing on.

Simply put - do good, feel good. Respect others, and enjoy stuff. When you read and hear how sex is "bad, perverted, sinful", don't be afraid to question it - be confident that as long as you are being safe, honest, and responsible, that is more morality than the strangers pointing fingers will ever have.

1. If you're watching porn everyday.
2. If you can't go 5 mins without watching porn.
3. If you own a porn shop...lol
4. If you are in a porn shop frequently.
5. If you ask your neighbours or friends for porn because you went through your whole collection 10 times that day
6. If you come on TFP and spam 100 posts only to get the titty board :thumbsup:

Holy crap, there's porn out there without people coming on other people's faces?

Anyway, I don't think you should consider yourself addicted (an exteremely vague term when there isn't an actual biochemical dependency involved) just because you like fun porn. If you are older than 14, "regular" porn will tend to be pretty boring regardless of how often you "watch" it - two semi-attractive people humping in a repetitive fashion, gets old very quickly.

Anyway, off to watch some porn! (Let's see how far through your list I can make it tonight...)

Anything can be addictive if abused, porn is no exception. My understanding is that it's defined as an addiction when it starts to interfere with other aspects of your life. For example, if you ignore work or hanging out with friends in order to masturbate. If you've repeatedly tried to stop using porn and end up using it again, you may be addicted as well.

You may just have a very large sex drive. I know I do, and since I'm single pornography is used to fulfill that need for release. I think one estimation was that if you can go a month without porn (not a month without masturbation, just a month without porn) then you should be fine. I tried it and kinda cheated near the end by reading literotica.com, but it's dependent.

I worry about being addicted every now and then, but I usually look at it as a safe way of promoting sexual release. It's not a substitute for the real thing, but as long as it doesn't interfere with other aspects of your life I wouldn't worry.

lol

I dont see a problem with watching porn daily but that might just be me.

Substituting "internet" for "porn" in this thread I can see I am in big trouble!

I thought it was 50???? Please, please tell me it's not actually 100 - I don't think I could take this inanity for another 60 posts!

I am not joking either, I pretty much started posting after they took the titties away, and I have a pretty clear purpose in mind here.

I'm curious if anyone else has found that internet (or any other type of porn) has led to other types of sexual behavior... picking up one-night stands online, etc...

When you find yourself reading the Tilted Sexuality forum on TFP every day...

Erm.

:o

Nevermind.

hi im embic,

and im addicted to porn

When it interferes with life....but I always find myself planning for 15 but looking for 1hour or so..

In my experience, internet porn has led, rather consistently, to masturbation.

im sorry guys i cannot hang out with you all tonight... i need to go masterbate furiously for the next 15 minutes and then bask in the after glow of how beautiful and gentle my hand can be.
excuse me

Noted. :hmm:

That's my favorite one. :hmm:

:D

:lol: I'm attempting to make myself productive here. I joined for the porn, and it went away.
(checking post count now... 24!? Cripes, this is gonna take a while :rolleyes: .)

You're not actually addicted if you get bored of the substance or activity. Likewise to Aqua's post below, pretty much anything can become addictive, given the right person and the right circumstances.

One may be able to live a healthy life with an addiction, depending how strong and detrimental the addiction is to said person. So long as negative side-effects do not arise (such as absenteeism, lack of socialization, carpal tunnel, etc) then I wouldn't be too worried. If the balance of one's life is noticeably and negatively upset by the activity, then it would be time to consider getting assistance.

Porn as an addiction? Well possibly... but as an alcoholic... I would say that there is no comparison... I view porn quite often... as much as everyday for several days in a row... but I CAN go without seeing it or wacking off to it. However trying to go a few days with out drinking or smoking... I feel (physically) different.... So to me Porn is not an addiction... maybe a compulsion.