How to stop a porn addiction 

Watching porn is a perfectly natural part of a healthy sex life and needn’t be associated with feelings of guilt or shame. However, if you find that your viewing habits are becoming excessive this could indicate that you’ve developed a porn addiction. This behavioural disorder might seem harmless enough but if left unchecked it can start affecting your home, work and personal life. If you’re wondering how to stop a porn addiction, we can help. 

Do you feel like you want to stop watching porn, but can’t? Are you obsessed with indulging in pornographic material? Is porn taking priority over other things? A porn addiction can make you feel out of control and damage any existing healthy relationships you may have. Don’t let porn ruin your life. The holistic therapists at Delamere wellness retreat in Cheshire have put together these top tips on how to stop a porn addiction.  

Top tips for how to stop a porn addiction

Thanks to technology, pornography has never been more affordable or accessible. Smart phones and tablets also provide an easy way to keep viewing habits private leaving people open to consuming more pornographic content than is healthy. If you’re having intense cravings for watching porn that you can’t control and it’s beginning to interfere with your life, it’s time to seek help.  

Psychotherapy with a trained counsellor is one of the best ways of combatting compulsive porn consumption. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is especially successful in challenging thoughts and beliefs that are fuelling your addiction. But there are a few things you can do yourself before starting a residential rehab programme. Here are ten top tips on how to get rid of a porn addiction. 

Write down your reasons 

If you’ve recognised you have a problem and have decided to give up porn, it’s good to remind yourself of your motivations and try to stick to them. It can be hard to know how to get rid of a porn addiction on your own but you can make a start by writing down your reasons for giving up. Maybe it’s affecting your relationship or creating problems at work. Every time you think about watching porn, read your goals back to yourself and talk yourself out of it. 

Remove any physical evidence 

One thing you can do when thinking about how to stop a porn addiction is to simply remove the offending items. Clear out any magazines and delete any digital evidence so that when the urge arises it simply isn’t an option. Try to use a work laptop instead of a personal one as the fear of being found out will help to keep you on the right track. You can also change your settings to block pornographic content. 

Be aware of your triggers 

As with all addictions, there will be certain things that trigger your porn addiction. These are internal or external stimuli that make you think about porn. It could be a certain image, song, place or person. Try to avoid being in situations where you are exposed to your triggers. It’s important to find ways to cope if you have an uncontrollable desire to watch porn. Using breathing, counting and tapping techniques can help to disrupt your thought process in the moment and distract you from your intentions. 

Think of a healthy distraction 

Another method of how to stop a porn addiction is to replace it with something positive. If you suddenly feel the need to watch porn again you can choose to get involved in a healthy activity too. Yoga involves breathing techniques which can be useful for calming the mind and generating good thoughts or you could go for a run, do some gardening, read a book or have a bath. Anything that takes your mind off wanting to watch porn.  

Tell someone about your problems 

You might feel embarrassed about your obsession with porn but confiding in a good friend, or even your partner, could provide the key to how to stop a porn addiction. As well as feeling the relief of sharing your problem, if the person you confide in also lives with you, they can support you in your mission of getting rid of your porn addiction. Tell them the times of day that are challenging for you and any triggers you have identified. Then they can help you avoid challenging situations and provide distractions if you’re relapsing. 

Join a support group 

Just like the support groups for drug addiction and alcohol addiction, there are similar resources available to help you get rid of a porn addiction. You might find access to some of these online or through relationship services such as Relate, but really the best form of group therapy is delivered by a trained therapist. Entering into a residential rehab programme at Delamere means you will find other people like yourself and be able to form a good support network when you leave professional care. 

Try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

In order to effectively treat your porn addiction we need to find out what’s causing it. There is usually an underlying past trauma or current stressor that is triggering your need for porn. The holistic therapists at Delamere wellness retreat use a combination of different psychotherapies, including CBT, to get to the heart of your problems and help you find the best way out. Therapy can be used to break negative thought patterns alongside somatic healing techniques that can be used in everyday life to combat challenging emotions. 

Get medication for porn addiction

How to stop a porn addiction could come down to medication. There are several pharmacological solutions available to help. Watching porn activates the pleasure and reward area of the brain. When this is stimulated, the feeling of euphoria are so great that the body and mind begin to rely on these sensations to function. 

Some medications can help to balance out this response by enhancing the function of nerve cells.  Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are common antidepressants that help to treat mood problems such as anxiety and depression. If you choose to enter into a residential rehab programme at Delamere wellness retreat, we can support you with medications that stop the cravings for porn and teach you coping mechanisms to overcome your urges. 

How can Delamere help you stop a porn addiction? 

The first step to recovery from porn addiction is admitting you need help. We treat all kinds of sex, love and porn addictions at our purpose-built retreat set beside Delamere forest. Our unique woodland surroundings provide the ideal place to escape the temptation of porn and focus on restoring your mind and body to full health.

We believe in taking a holistic approach to treatment to help you get rid of a porn addiction. This means not just focusing on the symptoms but understanding the underlying reasons for your obsessive behaviour and helping you to develop healthier ways to cope. 

If you’ve turning to drink or drugs to overcome feelings of guilt or shame, we can also help you tackle drug addiction and/or alcohol addiction with a clinical detox and round the clock care. Our holistic therapists lead one-to-one counselling and group therapy sessions to get to the root cause of your porn addiction and give you the tools to manage your problems and get your life back.  

If you are struggling with porn addiction, call us confidentially on 0330 111 2015 to speak to a member of the team today.

About the author: Martin Preston

Martin created Delamere in order to provide exemplary care in first class facilities. Find out more about Martin on our team page.