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Porn is a booming industry, both in the U.S. and around the world, and if recent statistics are any indication, porn consumption and addiction are on the rise. That has psychologists concerned—but why? It’s a complex question, one best left to experts like Dr. Sachi Ananda, Ph.D., LMHC, MCAP. As a mental health and addiction professional, Dr. Ananda directs our first responder treatment program, Shatterproof at FHE Health, but she is also a sex and trauma therapist.
In a recent interview, Dr. Ananda shared why porn addiction is a problem, what it looks like, and whether it’s possible to have a healthy relationship with porn. Catch her insights into these questions and others below.
What Porn Addiction Looks Like and Why It’s a Problem
“Porn addiction is similar to a drug addiction,” Dr. Ananda said, before going on to explain how:
Chronic exposure to porn can damage the reward centers of the brain. When the reward centers are damaged, everyday living, including real-life sex, won’t nearly be as pleasurable as watching porn … Seeking constant pleasure from porn addiction is no formula for living a healthy, balanced, and meaningful life.
In addition to being a problem for the individual, porn “is a pervasive problem in society due to its accessibility through the internet and other forms of media,” Dr. Ananda said. She added that “many modern forms of porn are demeaning towards women and glorify sexual violence and aggression.”
Can You Have a Healthy Relationship with Porn?
Is it possible to have a healthy relationship with porn? If there is, what might be the differences between “healthy” vs. “unhealthy”? Here Dr. Ananda gave a brief lesson in the Greek etymology of the term “pornography”: It originally meant “writing about prostitutes, so it is difficult to say that one can have a healthy relationship to witnessing and observing people who have had to sell their bodies to make a living.”
At the same time, “pornography can blur into erotica, which may be more of an art form or artistic expression” and “can be healthy in a sex-positive way,” Dr. Ananda observed.
How to Know if You’re Addicted to Porn – Signs of Porn Addiction
What, then, might constitute an unhealthy relationship with pornography—in other words, a potential addiction? “When one prefers to watch or view pornography rather than be in an intimate relationship with another person that involves emotional, physical, and sexual intimacy.”
Another sign that porn may be an addiction, Dr. Ananda said, is “when it is interfering with social, family, and personal relationships and risking occupational goals.”
Common Mental Health Issues with Porn Addiction
Are there certain mental health issues that more often contribute to a developing porn addiction or result from it? Dr. Ananda noted several ways in which porn addiction can intersect with mental health issues:
The most common mental health issues linked with porn addiction are substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Some people with depression will use porn for a spike in dopamine. Highly anxious people may use porn as a self-soothing coping skill. Victims of sexual trauma may inadvertently re-traumatize themselves by watching porn. Substance abuse may result from porn addiction where one feels shame for engaging in it and numbs these emotions through substances. Porn addicts may also use substances as an excuse as to why they are engaging in it.
Help and Treatments for Porn Addiction
What treatments would Dr. Ananda recommend for someone with a porn addiction, and why?
“Treating porn addiction is complex due to its sensitive nature as a sexual issue,” Dr. Ananda said. She said many people have guilt and shame for having this problem, and that can prevent them from seeking help. If they get past this hurdle, various treatments can help:
- Sex therapy can help couples having problems with porn addiction, by building skills for emotional intimacy and reducing the shame and stigma.
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) can address trauma-related roots of the addiction and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Individual and group therapy can—much like treatment for drug addiction—provide coping tools and strategies for managing triggers to use.
- Support groups like Sex Anonymous meetings are also recommended during and after therapeutic treatment.
These are some of the interventions that can be effective for porn addiction and can help make life manageable again.
Are you struggling with porn? We may be able to help. For a free, confidential consultation, contact FHE Health today.
