Here at ShieldAudit we want to help in any way we can with winning battles against porn. One of the most important weapons in this fight is self-awareness. Are you showing signs of a porn addiction? Let’s take a look at some identifiable behaviors that may be warning signs.
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1. Difficulty in social situations
One of the tell-tale signs of a porn addiction is a new found difficulty interacting with others in social situations. Awkwardness around others, often caused by objectification and shame, leads to social side effects that can harm our ability to interact with people. You may find that your desire to socialize is greatly reduced, and that you now prefer isolation as much as possible. Being around others becomes a burden rather than a joy.
2. Lack of interest in actual people/real intimacy
A lack of interest in actual people, rather than the ones portrayed by actors on a computer screen is another sign of a potential porn addiction. But this lack of interest isn’t just reflected in larger social gatherings; it also surfaces in intimate relationships. One of the diabolical effects of pornography is that it promises intimacy and gratification on demand, and yet it decreases desire for actual intimacy with real people. This is one in a long line of reasons why porn can be poison to a marriage. Sexual side effects, including reduced sex drive, are a real thing and a damaging sign of a porn problem.
3. Depression
It stands to reason that as we desire less and less contact with actual people both in social settings and also in intimate relationships, that depression often sinks in as a sign of a porn addiction. But there are biological reasons for this as well.
Porn users experience a dopamine hit when viewing porn, a rush that begs for more. As we sink deeper into regular porn watching, the hit becomes more and more difficult to achieve. We want the dopamine rush, but it becomes harder and harder to achieve. And when we can no longer get a hit with normal pornographic material, we search out variations of porn that will re-stimulate us. Once on this descent into the abyss, our shame and guilt increase as we are willing to view things we never would have thought possible in order to get the hit of dopamine. The cycle of watching even more sinister forms of porn in order to experience release takes our souls into a very dark and dangerous place. Depression is the natural result.
4. Lack of productivity
Depression. Lack of desire for real interactions with real people. Lack of intimacy. All of these lead to a general lack of productivity. Bottomline is that another sign of a porn addiction is a drop in productivity at work and at home. A porn addiction consumes our time, our passion, and our desires. We don’t have much left over for other people or other activities.
In this distinct way, porn cripples a man’s soul…he was made to be productive. It’s in his DNA to conquer, produce, provide, and protect. And a potential sign of a porn addiction is a decrease in desire to fulfill these callings.
5. Regular use
Another sign of a porn addiction is kind of obvious, but it needs to be stated. If your viewing of porn is no longer occasional but something you're going to every day or multiple times per day, you’ve crossed over into addiction.
You need to take an honest look in the mirror. Self-awareness can be a good friend here. You have a problem, and you’re not in control of this. You need help. You’re addicted to porn.
6. Urges/cravings
Urges and cravings for porn can be another sign of a porn addiction. As we mentioned above, our bodies release a chemical called dopamine when we experience pleasure and stimulation. So for biological reasons a porn addiction will lead to increased urges and cravings for that dopamine hit. We’ve got to find it, and porn has become our favorite mechanism to get it. Watching porn becomes a compulsion, another sign that you’ve developed a porn addiction.
Just like the long-time smoker who can’t shake the nicotine hit, the porn addict needs the rush of dopamine.
7. Difficulty enjoying normal things that you would otherwise enjoy doing
With the heightened dopamine threshold that comes with a porn addiction, normal things become hard to enjoy. A night out with friends, a game with your kids, a good movie. The normal stuff that brings joy and pleasure now seems unfulfilling. A sign that you have a porn addiction is finding pleasure in virtually nothing but porn. It’s a crippling habit in so many ways. It ruins life as it was created to be enjoyed…in the company of good friends and family.
8. Anger
Lastly, another sign of a porn addiction is an increase in anger. Has someone mentioned to you that you might have an issue? What was your response? Was it angry defensiveness? This is a strong sign that you’ve got a problem.
When confronted with a porn addiction, anger is a pretty natural response. We don’t want to be called out on our stuff. And the side effects of an addiction have already separated us from meaningful relationships and potentially driven us into depression. So of course we’re angry when we’ve been exposed. We become angrily defensive because we must maintain a semblance of control. But one of the most liberating things in this fight against a porn addiction is when someone you know and who loves you comes alongside you to confront you and help you. (You’ll find a link below to Covenant Eyes which can help facilitate getting help!)
Bad habits beget severe addictions
A porn addiction doesn’t happen by accident. Like most times in life, we slip into dangerous behavior patterns one little decision after another. We don’t wake up and decide to get addicted to porn; it happens gradually.
What bad habits aided or are aiding your problems with viewing porn? What time of day does it happen? What mood are you in when it happens? Where does it happen? Below we’ll link a previous article that addresses these habits and behaviors. Knowing them and avoiding them can help in this fight to be free from porn.
Also, check out our link below to Covenant Eyes. We HIGHLY recommend you sign up for Covenant Eyes for browsing accountability. There’s nothing like having an ally in this battle for freedom from porn. Whether you’re hoping to avoid porn or trying to overcome a porn addiction, Covenant Eyes is a huge help. See the link below.
Resources to help you stop
- How to Stay Off Porn Once You’re Free - The Shield Audit
- 4 Non-Porn Sites to Avoid When Trying to Quit - The Shield Audit
- Try Covenant Eyes today!
Conclusion
There are several side effects of a porn addiction to be on the watch for. Porn will always take you farther than you want to go and in a direction you don’t really want.
If you’re seeking out info about problems with porn, we hope the info above helps convince you of the dangers of any pornographic consumption, not just an addiction. Many sites on the web attempt to address the problems with porn on the fringes, hinting that pornography isn’t really bad for you, and that guilt associated with its use is unhealthy. That is not our conclusion here. Porn is to be avoided at all costs.
Again, we urge you to sign up for a service to help you prevent porn use or gain freedom from it all together. I’ll leave you with a link to our article that explains different kinds of Accountability Software.
Raise your shields, friends. Let’s win this battle.
