How does porn addiction affect mental health?

Pornography addiction is an increasingly widespread phenomenon in a society where, with access to the Internet, it is very easy to come across sexually explicit material in a matter of seconds.

However, sometimes it is caricatured or misinterpreted, overlooking the true damage that this problem generates in the people who suffer from it. That's why, in this article we will see how addiction to pornography affects mental health.

• Related article: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

What is porn addiction?

As its name indicates, addiction to pornography is a psychological problem based on dependence on consumption of pornographic material, something that is currently done mainly through electronic devices with screens and, to a lesser extent, magazines and plastic representations of the sexual act.

Although its categorization as behavioral addiction is not yet fully accepted because there is no scientific consensus about whether it is technically an addictive disorder (such as alcoholism or pathological gambling) or another type of psychopathology, it is considered a alteration that must be intervened with psychotherapeutic support, since it has the capacity to damage the quality of life of the person who suffers it. suffer.

• You may be interested in: "Mental health: definition and characteristics according to psychology"

How does porn addiction affect mental health?

These are, broadly speaking (since each case is unique), the different processes through which addiction to pornography gives rise to mental health problems.

1. interferes with self esteem

As this alteration consolidates, the person is learning to evaluate himself negatively because he is (at least partially) aware that doing these routines with pornography causes him discomfort and isolates him. He assumes that an important part of his day to day is something linked to the feeling of shame and that it impoverishes his quality of life and stagnates his personal development.

• Related article: "Do you really know what self-esteem is?"

2. It can give rise to feelings of guilt that remain over time

If the person who is addicted to pornography is in a relationship, the fact of channeling a large part of their sexual life in this way tends to make them feel Guilt for not providing enough interest to the other person, even in those cases in which it has been agreed that resorting to pornographic material does not constitute infidelity.

3. It gives rise to procrastination dynamics and a misuse of time in general

People with pornography addiction interrupt tasks or procrastinate in order to masturbate using this kind of material to get aroused. That makes it hard for them to stick to schedules. and responsibilities accumulate, something that generates stress.

4. Causes frustration and irritability to arise in contexts where there is no access to pornography

The fact of going “too many” hours without using pornography causes discomfort, stress, being in a worse mood, etc. In other words, the dependency leads the person to need to go through sexual stimulation with pornography over and over again if they want to avoid short-term discomfort. AND in turn, it is customary to alleviate any other type of discomfort through these routines, although the problem in principle does not have to do with sexual desire.

5. Leads to a lifestyle based on social isolation

The fact of needing to have pornography on hand and constantly requiring privacy makes these people little speckled to relate to the others.

• You may be interested in: "Unwanted loneliness: what it is and how we can fight it"

6. It makes free time tend to disappear

The use of pornography eclipses everything else in the management of free time, so the person runs out of hobbies and feels stagnant, unable to learn if it is not out of obligation.

7. Gives rise to sexual dysfunctions

The sexual arousal threshold of people who develop addiction to pornography tends to rise, so that sexual dysfunctions usually appear in any other sexual activity that does not involve using the pornographic material of their choice at the time.

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