How to Fight a Porn Addiction

Addiction to pornography does not only affect one’s relationship, it is also capable of lowering one’s self-esteem. Many people who are addicted to porn always feel a sense of shame and disgrace thereafter. While it is speculative to consider the interest in pornography an addiction or not, it has almost as much effect as alcohol and drugs on a person. The following steps are ways one can battle this menace.

1. You must develop the willpower to quit. No one can do for you what you can do for yourself. The first step to recovery is the willingness to stop; and that can only happen if you acknowledge that you are addicted to it and you are ready to fight it. By taking this firm decision, you are already halfway to your liberation.
2. Spend more time with your spouse. Addiction to pornography has been one of the major reasons for faulty relationships; it has created distance between two people who are originally in love. People who frequently watch pornographic contents usually have negative ideas in their heads. While they watch, they often imagine that their spouses were just like the pornographic characters. This leads to having personal hatred for their partners, which, of course, may lead to cheating. But by spending more time with your partner, you will learn to appreciate them for who they are, ultimately strengthening the bond between you two.
3. Destroy any pornography in your possession. You cannot successfully fight the addiction if you still have pornographic materials with you. All pornographic videos and pictures must be deleted. If you have them any6where in your house, get rid of them. If they are in your phones, permanently delete them. not only that, music and movies that are sexually explicit should be avoided, because a little pornographic impression might trigger the addiction, especially for someone who is starting to quit.
4. Do not submit to the temptation. While you are trying to quit, the urge to further view pornography will come. This is normal; what is not normal, however, is submitting to that urge. The true test of willpower will be how you are able to deal with this urge. The more you are able to overcome the urge, the stronger will be your willpower. Have it at the back of your mind that if you are able to fight off the temptations, there is nothing you cannot overcome if you are determined.
5. Avoid people who are addicted like you. The only thing you can do for those people is make them see reasons to stop; but if that cannot be achieved, then you have to avoid them. People like that would not help your recovery process, they will only bring you down. Even by talking about pornography alone might stimulate your interest in it. So try as much as possible to cut them off your life. To fully recover, you must be ready to take some drastic decisions in your life.
6. Give yourself time to work through the recovery process. It is hard to just quit in a day, it takes time. You mustn’t be dejected if you find the process of recovery hard at the early stage. Pornographic addiction, just like every other addiction, is a marathon, not sprint. You cannot overcome the addiction overnight; it is a gradual process. All you need to do is monitor your recovery and make sure you don’t relapse. The more you go on without viewing pornography, the more accomplished you feel. In a few weeks or months (depending on the level of addiction), you will be totally free of the menace.
7. You must approach your addiction a day at a time. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. A drop of water makes a mighty ocean. Slow and steady wins the race. All these clichés are relevant to your recovery process. Everything starts with the first day you make the decision you quit. And as the days go by and you observe your development, rejoice in your little victories. This will give you the strength to go further. S you conquer each day, you become more resistant to the addiction.
8. Never stop trying. Sometimes the addiction may be stronger than the zeal to quit. Sometimes you may find yourself going back to what you are trying to quit. That does not mean you are powerless against your addiction. It does not mean that you have to give up. If you give up, you will never be able to forgive yourself. A person is not judged by how many times he fall, it is how many times he rises again that determines his strength. If you relapse, get back on the horse and try again. Giving up is not an option.
9. Have a plan. One of the best ways to battle the addiction is to choose one or two activities you can engage yourself in whenever the urge to view pornography hits you. Make sure these activities are interesting enough to take your mind off the urge to view pornography. You can pick an educative book to read, watch an interesting movie or listen to good music. You can also decide to play games that might take a lot of attention; such interesting games like Scrabble or Chess might be very helpful for your recovery.
10. Keep record. You can keep a journal where you can record every experience you had on your path to recovery. By writing down your setbacks and reminding yourself about them, you would be building your subconscious resistance. You can write how the addiction has negatively affected your life.
11. If all else fail, see a therapist. A lot of people find strength in talking to professionals about their challenges. If you believe your addiction is so strong that you cannot deal with it alone, it is advisable to visit a mental health professional for evaluation. They can recommend some treatments and help you work through all your concerns.

Finally, the lack of control over pornographic contents is more of a compulsion rather than an addiction, but it more often results in negative consequences.