How can you tell if you have a problem with porn? Answer the question, "What do you think?" If the answer is no, if porn is a regular part of your life and you plan your day around it, you have a problem.
A person who is hooked on porn may tell himself, "Every man likes porn." That's not true, not all men are. The porn addict's addiction will affect every part of his life, but it will hurt him most in his relationships with himself and with other people.
An addict hates himself or herself, feels guilty, ashamed, and afraid. A person who is hooked on porn isn't bad, but they are in pain. Often, the addict has been sexually abused or has other childhood wounds that haven't healed. Porn is used to get away from stress, fear, loneliness, feeling empty, and being rejected.
When a porn addict spends more time online with his addiction than with his family or friends, his relationships suffer. He says that he feels like he's "in a trance" when he spends a lot of time online. Those who care about him and want to spend time with him, on the other hand, feel ignored, angry, unimportant, and neglected.
Online porn and cybersex have nothing to do with love, honour, dignity, closeness, or commitment. Porn addicts also put too much pressure on themselves in their close personal relationships, which makes them unhappy and unhealthy.
When someone is addicted to porn, they often feel a lot of shame, guilt, and lies. The results of this behaviour make a porn addict feel bad about himself or herself and ashamed. Without help, he will feel sad and lose interest in life.
Porn is all about making up stories and getting away from the real world. The truth is that life is hard and so are relationships. To have close, caring relationships with a partner and family, you have to work at it all the time. When a porn addict decides to stop using and takes full responsibility for his life, he learns how to build relationships based on commitment, care, and trust. In healthy relationships, sex is all about love, which is different from what you see in porn.
