Porn is a contentious topic. You don’t have to look far online to find strong opinions on the impact of its use and the morality of the industry.
One question that often comes up in these debates is: is porn addictive?
Many websites will tell you that, yes, porn can lead to addiction that can ruin your relationships and take over your life. Others will tell you that it’s a harmless pastime with no evidence of addictive qualities. But when you examine the scientific evidence, the reality is actually somewhere in the middle.
Porn Addiction: Current Status
Many who claim that porn is not an addictive habit point to the fact that it is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM-V), which is the handbook doctors and psychologists use to diagnose conditions in much of the world. Addictions to substances, such as alcohol and illicit drugs, are listed here, so if porn isn’t then why should we consider it an addiction?
It’s true that porn addiction isn’t listed as a specific disorder in the DSM-V. But that isn’t the end of the argument.
Just because something isn’t listed that by no means makes it unreal. Diagnostic categories are changed and updated regularly based on current evidence. With widespread internet porn being a relatively new thing, it is perhaps more accurate to say that porn addiction isn’t listed in the DSM-V yet.
More importantly, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10), written by the World Health Organisation, does include a condition called compulsive sexual behaviour. This is where a person engages in any form of sexual behaviour to the point where it starts to negatively impact other areas of their life.
This could include sex, masturbation, or porn use.
Addiction vs. Compulsion
To be medically considered an addiction, something needs to chemically alter how your brain functions to create dependance. Whether porn does this or not is still being debated. Some evidence shows that it affects your brain in the same way alcohol dependance does, while other research has not shown this effect.
Regardless of whether porn is addictive in the medical sense, it can absolutely become a compulsion. A compulsion is something which you do repeatedly as a response to stress or negative emotion. Over time the urge to use your compulsive behaviour becomes stronger and harder to control, eventually getting in the way of your ability to live a normal functioning life.
Anything you use as a coping strategy to deal with difficult emotions could become a compulsion; examples include eating, gambling, gaming, and sexual behaviour.
Compulsive porn use, like all other compulsions, has the potential to take a serious toll on one’s life by creating uncontrollable thoughts and urges, stealing time and focus away from your work and relationships, and causing significant distress and shame.
It’s Up to You
Not all porn use would be considered harmful or compulsive. Many people watch porn and experience no negative effects. But when porn becomes your go-to reaction to stress or a low mood, or when you start to prioritise it over more important areas of life, then it has the potential to be a problem.
Some research suggests that around 10% of porn users have reached this stage of wanting to give up porn use but being unable to. But more important than that stats is your own personal situation.
Is porn a problem for you? Would you like to give up or cut down on watching it, but find yourself unable to? Does porn make you feel ashamed, or cause problems in your relationship? If so, that’s more than enough justification to want help overcoming compulsive porn use.