Porn Psychological Dependence

Porn abuse and misuse wreak a lot of damage to the user. Just as porn abuse can have a detrimental effect on a person’s body, it can also significantly impact their mind. Porn addiction does not come out of the blues. One must first have a physical or psychological dependence on pornography for it to become an addiction. 

Porn addiction gets reinforces through daily practice and repetitions of acts of pornography. Each repetition drills the addictive habit deeper into the person’s consciousness. Within time, those reinforcements make it harder to break all of the habits of porn abuse. That’s because the habit of pornography misuse can become so encoded in a person’s consciousness that they experience cravings each time they face things that remind them of pornography, and to a large extent, sex. 

This behavior is not limited to porn abuse. For example, in a study, researchers showed 26 men and 23 women with heroin habits photographs of heroin-related gear like needles, syringes, aluminum foil, spoons, and cigarette filters. They didn’t give the study participants heroin, nor did they ask them to be sober before the test started. All of the participants felt powerful cravings for heroin when they saw the pictures. Their hearts began to rise, their blood pressure readings spiked, and they felt anxiety. This response to the images of drug-related objects was psychological.

We can say the same about anyone struggling with a porn habit. They could feel immense cravings when they see someone attractive or when others practice PDA around them. These cravings are based on the things they did while watching porn. For these people, their memories are psychological triggers that keep the porn habit alive.

Additionally, some people use porn as a means of escape. They use pornography as a method to help them deal with their psychological or emotional baggage. Pornography is the crutch they use to handle these things, and without it, they are helpless. This coping mechanism causes them to misuse and abuse porn, as it rarely makes the underlying issues better. It’s like slapping a new bandage over a rotting wound each day – it might cover the eyesore, but it does nothing to help the wound festering beneath. 

What Is Porn Psychological Dependence?

Porn psychological dependence is a state where your body has become accustomed to pornography as a coping mechanism that any attempt to quit would cause emotional and motivational withdrawal symptoms. Psychological dependence relates to how you have become mentally dependent on pornography or the behaviors you display due to that dependence. 

It develops from frequent use and exposure to pornography. Although psychological dependence sometimes occurs together with physical dependence, it is not to be confused for the other. Physical dependencies induce physical withdrawal symptoms when the use of pornography is discontinued, while psychological dependence only gives emotional and psychological symptoms. 

Difference Between Physical Dependence and Psychological Dependence

Although physical dependence and psychological dependence are two separate entities, they are both sides of the same coin and are not mutually exclusive. Studies show that the cravings that accompany psychological dependence also involve a physical element. 

The major differences between physical dependence and psychological dependence are the symptoms that accompany them. While physical dependence relates to somatic and physiological symptoms like increased heart rate, tremors, and sweating, psychological dependence relates to emotional, motivational, and psychological impairment

However, the difference between physical dependence and psychological dependence is not as defined as one would expect. As people’s physical and psychological reactions to pornography are not the same across the board, it can be hard to put the different signs and symptoms under two separate categories. Most times, you cannot have one without the other, and the symptoms overlap each other.

It becomes easier to differentiate between the two types of porn dependency when you take into consideration the fact that the body controls physical dependence while the mind controls psychological dependence. The mind and the body cannot work as two different entities. Hence, it would be ambiguous to say that physical dependence and psychological dependence are distinct and entirely separate. 

The Development of Psychological Dependence

Most people that develop a psychological dependence on porn use it to cover up other psychological problems. This kind of use can develop into pornography misuse and abuse. Some triggers that can cause porn abuse include:

• Having a family member suffering from porn addiction.
• Having a history of depression.
• Having a history of anxiety.
• Living in an environment where porn is often used and easy to access.
• Having a history of other mental health conditions.

Porn users typically pass through several stages before they hit the point of porn dependence. The typical stages include:

• Occasional or recreational use. 
• Then you start using them regularly. You become worried about losing access to your collection.
• You become more tolerant of the effects that porn use has on your body and are preoccupied with getting a better or bigger stash.
• You become dependent on porn and cannot do anything without them while your mental and physical health deteriorates.

Symptoms

If you are psychologically dependent, it means that you have an emotional or mental attachment to porn. You feel compelled to seek out pornography to use as a crutch, and if you can’t get it, it may lead to volatile symptoms. If you attempt to stop your psychological dependence on porn, you will experience intense withdrawal symptoms as your body struggles to compensate for its absence. Symptoms include: 

• Anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure)
• Anxiety
• Dysphoria
• Craving
• Stress
• Panic attacks
• Denial
• Appetite loss
• Inability to imagine coping without porn
• Restlessness
• Obsession
• Insomnia, and
• Mood swings

Treatment

As with all behavioral treatment plans, porn misuse rehabilitation must simultaneously address the habit and the change in behavioral and thought patterns that contribute to the addiction. Counseling, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help those suffering from porn psychological dependency change their habits and address all the underlying ment effectively and emotional issues that contribute to the habit. In some cases, porn misuse can be traced to mental health disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. 

Pornography addiction support groups are also a tremendous help for any recovering porn user to identify their potential triggers and remain clean. 

The bottom line is that anyone with porn psychological dependency can find help if they are willing to accept it and change their lives.