An internet porn addiction is one of the most difficult addictions in the world to cure, not because people are obsessed with pornography but because of the chemicals released in the brain when someone views Internet porn. Studies have shown that the neurotransmitter released by the brain while looking at porn is similar to what is experienced by a person when they do cocaine. Breaking an Internet porn habit can be just as tough as kicking a habit to the king of street drugs. What makes matters worse is that different people define a porn addiction in different ways, so what may be unhealthy behavior for one person might be fine for another. Process addiction assessment is needed to find out the exact issue.
People may not realize it, but it is possible to be addicted to just about anything. Since porn has an obvious sexual component, and since so many people already have an unhealthy attitude toward sex to begin with, porn addiction is somewhat common. A person can begin to feel isolated and depressed as they force out other forms of stimulation from their lives in favor of what they are addicted to. They will begin to spend more and more time alone and greet any intrusion into that alone time, whether it be from work, kids, their partner, or a visit from the mailman, with huge amounts of anger and emotion. The obvious impact of such an addiction is the rapid loss of your entire support system, from your partner, your family, your friends, your job, and eventually your financial wellbeing. It is entirely possible for a person to end up homeless and penniless, desperate for a quiet place with an Internet connection so they can fulfill their addiction one more time. A porn addiction really isn’t any different than a drug addiction or a food addiction. Whenever one thing begins to completely control your life, you have a serious addiction issue to deal with.
Diagnosing Internet porn addiction isn’t that difficult since the symptoms are fairly easy to identify. If a person has an unreasonable amount of porn stashed away or saved on their hard drive, it could be a sign of a problem. If a person is constantly looking to download more porn even though they have plenty already, it might be a sign that something is wrong. If a person chooses to spend almost all of their free time looking at porn at the expense of the rest of their social life or at the expense of a relationship, they most certainly have an addiction problem.
Like any other kind of addiction, porn addiction can be emotionally and financially devastating. Unless an addicted person is approached and made to recognize that they have a problem, the behavior will likely continue until some major event, such as a divorce, allows the person to see the error of their ways. In extreme cases, even catastrophic events such as a divorce don’t help. Oftentimes, an intervention is needed to help a person see their missteps leading to a path of self-destruction. An Internet porn addiction is not something to be taken lightly.
