Porn Addiction

What is porn?

Firstly, a little history lesson!

The definition of 'Pornography' is from the Greek words literally meaning 'to write of prostitutes'. Porn dates back to ancient civilizations such as Pompeii and Herculaneum i.e. sexual art, statues etc and the words 'porne' and 'graphien' were coined when Pompeii was first excavated. Porn has also existed in texts that are thousands of years old, for example, The Karma Sutra. Fascinating stuff!

Porn essentially is a term used for sexually explicit material that is primarily intended to sexually arouse the audience. Porn is a multi BILLION dollar industry that produces more than 13,000 films per year in the USA alone.

Porn addiction essentially means compulsive online sexual activity using pornographic material regardless of negative consequences affecting the individual’s social, mental, physical and financial wellbeing, just to name a few.

The convenience, privacy and anonymity of the internet has contributed to compulsive behaviours with online pornography and use. Porn use can be categorised as 'recreational users' who enter site for entertainment, 'at-risk users' are individuals who are drawn to using online sexually oriented materials and 'compulsive users' can engage in online sexual activities over 11 hours per week.

I have experience working with individuals who may watch porn anything from 10 minutes up to 10 hours 'per day' and masturbate until they have caused injury to their genitals and continue due to the compulsion to finish. These individuals not only experience pain but also feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, feeling they have no control over their behavior, depression, social isolation, sexual functioning in many cases is affected and relationships often become strained. Individuals have also reported decreased productivity in day-to-day life and career loss in more extreme cases.

It is common for individuals who engage in compulsive online sexual activity to experience changes in their relationships with primary partners. Many individuals find it difficult to connect and lose interest in their relationship, lose interest in sex and intimacy. J.P. Schneider, 2000b found that 68% of compulsive online users lost interest in sex with their partner.

It is going to be very difficult for individuals to experience the same intensity they feel whilst viewing porn and masturbating compared to being intimate and sexual with their primary partner, hence losing interest in any intimacy and sexual contact, even kissing and cuddling “in case it leads to the expectation of sex”.

Due to excessive time spent viewing porn and not interacting with others, individuals who are single may avoid meeting new people, forming new relationships and being sexual with another person due to concerns of sexual functioning from not being able to reach the same level of arousal as they do with porn.

Therapy

There is a lot we can do in session to help you get back on track and feel more in control and form healthier behaviours. All cases are unique and in session we will be able to diagnose your severity and work accordingly. We will put together a plan based on your case history, symptoms, underlying causes, concerns as an individual and also work towards your specific goals. You will be given specific exercises and tasks to do at home - this will complement our work and potentially allow you to experience positive results and/or relief from behaviours sooner.

Therapy will include sex therapy and counselling. If you are interested in hypnotherapy and nlp as part of the therapy process, please visit my practice website for more detailed information: lucidmind.com.au.

For information on Sex Addiction, please click here.