Do you think porn addiction is real?

[Mroz75]

[Anonymous]

I've been addicted to porn and masturbation. Nofap challenge got me out of that self destructive habit.

[Mroz75]

Self destructive like how?

[Mroz75]

Congratulations as well!

[Opinion Owner]

Yes, it kills your motivation to do things. It gets your mind foggy, it can cause loss of confidence. Doesn't let you space to progress in life when you are busy watching porn and wanking.

[jahaims]

Well it isn't a matter of opinion, it is proven as fact.

[Mroz75]

It's true that it is proven, but i once read a comment that says "once you treat porn as an addiction, it becomes an addiction". That got me thinking, is it really an addiction, or do people TREAT it as an addiction, leading into being addicted to it.

[AmandaYVR]

Mroz, An addiction is anything that detracts from your life, has an overall negative impact on it. So I don't see why it can't be classified as an addiction. Many guys engage in porn fairly regularly, or during a phase in their life, and it doesn't have any major longterm negative repercussions (I think this is why it gets discussed so often - because sometimes it's very controllable, and just a sort of hobby or release.) But for others, it can cause impotency, they can't get off with a live woman under 'normal' conditions anymore, and it thus destroys relationships, and psyches. So it's not the label that is the problem. It's knowing when to define it, recognize it, as something ultimately debilitating.

[Mroz75]

@AmandaYVR Well I'm a person who can easily let go of things, as you said it, i have the ability to recognise the limits, and start working on it, if it was for porn or anything else, but i wanted to see others point of view about it, and also the fact that i lack information about porn addiction (never saw it as something that you can get addicted to) also i wanted to see how much the statement i read made sense to others, and if the idea of treating something as an addiction makes it harder to let go rather than treating it as an something you can easily let go of which makes it easier for the person to overcome... like the phrase "addiction" alone would make some people feel like in deep shit, like some see it as an heavy word you know what i mean. I like to discuss ideas, even if it has no connection to me, it's a habit of mine 😝

[AmandaYVR]

I've heard of 'sex addiction' being challenged, the very nature of it. But not so much with porn addiction. I think the fact that there are many self-proclaimed addicts out there, tells us that it is an issue for some. Addictive personality types can become addicted to all sorts of things - sex, pharmaceuticals, shopping... not just the most obvious ones like street drugs and alcohol.
But interestingly, some things are behavioural, not chemical dependencies/addictions. Cannabis is not chemically addictive at all. But it can easily become habitual, a difficult habit to break.
Again, it just comes down to what is debilitating, detracting, from a person's life, when everything is summed up.

You can read some replies here, on my q:
Have You Ever Been Addicted To Porn? ↗

[Jamie05rhs]

I personally think it's controllable. But I think part of the problem comes from the mindset of wanting to "quit." Because then every time you look at porn, you're afraid that it will be your last time, so you want to look at more of it before your time's up and you have to finally quit for good, forever (with no guarantee of actual sex ever happening.) Whereas if I didn't have to "quit", and if I was mentally okay with it being a normal habit, then I could just watch one 10-minute video per day and I would be satisfied. Because I would know that I could see more the next day. What do you guys think about that?

[Mroz75]

Thank you for the link, it really have a lot of different points some are really enlightening! You see i like psychology, and how much weird and amazing it could be, i just like psychological stuff, trying to understand why people do what they do, how much the mind is interesting and stuff... and porn addiction got in the line, and as psychology lover, i read about it and went here to see people's live opinions, but sometimes questions gets ignored 🤷🏻‍♂️😅 lol So i owe you for the link Well i mean anything can be addictive if you thought about it, but i guess it rounds up about the person's mentality and if they can recognise the alarm, or bypass it, or even not seeing it at all!

[Mroz75]

@jamie that's quite an interesting point! And also makes sense to some point, but if you watch it everyday, doesn't that make it an addiction? Because when you do something daily, eventually you'll start to make to time for it, and by that's how it leads to addiction, because habits can turn into addiction... what do you think?

[Jamie05rhs]

@mroz75 That's a good point. However, is eating an addiction? Because that's a physical activity that we do every day.

[AmandaYVR]

@Jamie05rhs Good point, Jamie. You explained it very well from that angle. You have a certain amount of guilt, or remorse, or fear associated with the desire for it, and you are so cognizant of being healthy, in control of your faculties, and never derogatory towards women, so I fully understand how you question the 'rightness' or 'wrongness' of it (and err on the cautious side, of control.) I'll say it one more time... an addiction is an addiction if it takes away from your life, in other areas, so that it becomes a net negative. There isn't the social stigma to porn that there once was. But many of us also still know that it can create problems. (At the extreme end, the young man who became suicidal over his addiction... which is up at the top of my q that I linked, as one of my MHOs.) This is fun. The three of us are well-suited to analyzing something like this. We all have the same interests in psychology and analysis and self-improvement.

[Jamie05rhs]

@AmandaYVR Thanks. I think my main problem is that I'm a libertarian, but I'm also religious. So, philosophically, I really don't have any problem with porn at all because it's just people having sex and they want to showcase their talents and share it with the world. I think they do a great job, and it's a very beautiful thing to witness -- and many times also quite entertaining (if there's a funny plot, for example). If it makes them feel good, and they enjoy doing it, what's wrong with that? But then the religious side of me kicks in with the rule that I'm not supposed to see other people naked at all, let alone drool over them and get hard. And that sucks because I don't want to do bad things and I don't want to feel dirty. (by the way, yes, I agree that this is a good discussion.)

[Mroz75]

@Jamie05rhs eating is a survival thing, an act for maintaining your physical health, which makes the comparison between porn and food invalid... to have a competitive comparison, lets take listening to music and watching porn, because both aren't mandatory, but a habits or for fun or whatever... interestingly both can affect on your life, even for the better or the worse and that depends on how you perceive them. Music that gives you happy or good vibes are beneficial, but those that talk about crimes or drugs, can make the person who listen to them have higher tendency to do so! But it rounds up to the point of how you perceive them, and if you let them insert those kind of ideas or just listening because you like the beat or the rhythm.. Furthermore, porn can be beneficial like if you used for just the "release", and also can affect on your brain because it gives you dopamine (happy hormone), which is the start of the addiction road, but the more you let it control you, the more it becomes a bad habit, and the more bad ideas it inserts into your brain.. the seeing women as objects, or just for sex or or... but this also rounds up to the point of how you perceive them! You see you can meet someone who watch porn every day but it doesn't affect on his relationship or life negatively, and then you can find someone who watch every two days and be in deep complexity.. which also rounds up to the point of how you perceive them. As @AmandaYVR said, anything that starts to take away from your life is where it becomes a bad addiction for you.

[Mroz75]

Speaking of myself, I'm addicted to music, i just love it! The day that i Don't listen to music i would feel something is wrong! But does it affect on me? Yes how? I'll tell you how. Back in time i always liked to listen to depressive kind of music, the heartache, the heartbroken, lonely kind of songs, and damn right it affected on me, i was always in depressive moods, but why? Because I'm driven by my emotions, and music does give me emotions, so when i stopped listening to sad music and started listening to good vibes music, it really changed my mood into more happier also positive kind of person. The difference now that when i listen to sad music, i Don't let it get in control, or ignite the sad emotions, the moment i realise it about to go down, i change the song into more calmer or happier. Bare with me for the long response😬😅

[Jamie05rhs]

@mroz75 "and if the idea of treating something as an addiction makes it harder to let go rather than treating it as an something you can easily let go of which makes it easier for the person to overcome... like the phrase "addiction" alone would make some people feel like in deep shit" However, if it IS an addiction, and you don't treat it like an addiction, you won't ever be able to beat it. "eating is a survival thing, an act for maintaining your physical health" Okay, but then you get into the arena of "Is sex a physical need? And I know it's an open debate; but many people believe it is. "Furthermore, porn can be beneficial like if you used for just the "release" You really think so? Because that's what I use it for. "and also can affect on your brain because it gives you dopamine (happy hormone), which is the start of the addiction road, but the more you let it control you, the more it becomes a bad habit" I realize that. This is all accurate. "and the more bad ideas it inserts into your brain.. the seeing women as objects, or just for sex" Okay; but I don't see women that way, and I never have. "anything that starts to take away from your life is where it becomes a bad addiction for you" Well, I have no life to begin with. So it would be kind of hard to take away from it. "Back in time i always liked to listen to depressive kind of music, the heartache, the heartbroken, lonely kind of songs, and damn right it affected on me, i was always in depressive moods" That's why I never listen to that type of music. Because it brings me down, and I don't like that. Sorry my response was so late. I just saw that there was a lot here, and I wanted to take the time to address it properly.

[boggboss]

Without a doubt anything can be addictive

[JosyJosy]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

I think so, because I watch it all the time.

[Mroz75]

Do you watch it for being horny/masturbating, or do you watch it just because you want to? Like for a cause or just boredom/stress etc..

[Anonymous]

not really. Anybody can stop its easy