Why porn addiction is dangerous and how to get rid of it
The modern world has introduced us to whole new dimensions – some of which are not really for our good. Among these is the menace of porn. This article discusses this issue in some detail drawing on scholarly articles and personal experiences to establish why porn is dangerous and how we can get rid of it.
Porn and Addiction
Porn addiction refers to a state where a person who finds porn psychologically and sexually rewarding has a hard time staying away from it despite facing its adverse consequences. The word 'porn addiction' might sound slightly strange to some people who always think of addiction as being limited to substance abuse. Granted there is a bit of disagreement in the scientific community as to whether compulsive engagement in porn can be called an 'addiction' or not but it is high time we realize the dangers associated with repetitive watching of pornographic content.
Porn 'addiction' is quite similar to other forms of addiction (cigarettes, alcohol and recreational drugs), considering how it starts in a particular individual. A teenager, curious and eager to explore the world hits upon a particularly appealing way to do it. It is hard, if not impossible to find a person who hasn't watched some level of pornographic content in his or her life. That is in part one of the great tragedies of the internet. We have access to all the information of the world in our pockets, yet we cannot control ourselves from accessing the improper content. Why is Porn Addiction so dangerous?
In several ways, porn addiction is way more dangerous than other forms of addiction. To buy a cigarette or to buy a bottle of rum contains obvious risks. Procuring drugs is even riskier and costlier. But porn is available easily and for free of cost. Millions of porn videos and images are available practically anytime we want to access it. The ubiquitousness of the internet is another factor that has led to rapid growth in exposure to porn in this decade. Earlier buying 'adult' videos from shops selling such disks were relatively costly with the chance of being caught. Now there is no such risk.
First and foremost, porn has a unique way of re-wiring the neural pathways in our brain. When we watch porn, that image and sensation are imprinted for a long time in our memory. Slowly and slowly we begin to get used to a certain level of pornography. Soon we crave for more 'hardcore' content. Ultimately we reach a stage where we are unsatisfied with practically everything in our life. This hits our life hard and our romantic/sexual relationships are hit the hardest.
But porn doesn't stop at this. It also has a nasty way of harming your body. As we repeatedly watch the images of perfectly shaped people on porn videos, our real-world sexual partners fail to satisfy us. This commonly ends up in erectile dysfunction, the cases of which are increasing among the youth by the day according to several studies conducted by various scholars among young Americans. Not just this, repeated ejaculation also depletes our energy reserves, something that most porn 'addicts' would relate with. Getting rid of it
Now we know what porn addiction is and we also know why porn addiction is dangerous. Let us now see how we can get rid of this menace. Getting rid of an addiction is not very easy. When we withdraw from addiction we will have a really hard time. There will be seriously strong urges welling up within us. Eventually, most of us will end up giving in to the addiction and going back to porn. As we fail to get rid of the addiction, there will also be despair and loss of self-worth.
That is the reason why we should have a plan when we look to get out of porn addiction. Instead of stopping porn all at once and creating even stronger urges, we should rather eliminate porn from our lives in a phased-out manner – relying on the content of progressively lesser intensity until we are no longer dependent on porn as a stress-reliever. We can also consult an actual therapist who will probably prescribe therapies like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Above all, we have to remember that there is no shame in being an addict. The proudest moment will be to get rid of the addiction for good. Just remember that porn takes away valuable hours of our day, hours which we could have spent improving ourselves or maybe interacting with actual people, making new friends or simply enjoying the beauty of nature. Porn leaves us weaker than we were. So never use it as a tool to release your stress. Plenty of people who have fractured relationships or setbacks in their jobs wish they never did.
(The information of the article is partly derived from an article published in the website of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, USA and partly from the personal experiences of the author and a couple of his friends.)
It is true that due to advancement in technology and free internet services, the people watching porn has increased. As mentioned by the author, the viewing of porn is not limited to youngsters or boys but data showed that young and old, boys and girls, married and unmarried, educated and illiterate, goons and gurus, all use it to their favour. Some do it openly while some use it hiding, but many are addicted to it.
Many of our youngsters are so addicted that they even use it as a stress buster, to improve mood and whatnot. This has decreased the productivity of people and many even lose their interest in studies, job and even their partners. As rightly mentioned, being addicted is not a crime but needs to get out of it as soon as possible to lead a happy and good life. As porn is not taken as an addiction, many don't get the harm that it does to people of all age and people need to understand the harm it is doing in our daily life.