Overcoming the addiction to porn
Do you remember the big bad wolf that we read about in our childhood who kept chasing three little pigs? Somehow the pigs always outwitted the wolf and left him looking stupid. What if the wolf had just decided to stop pursuing the pig and decided to find some other animal as prey? To do that, he would have to have decided to stop. Right?
When you began to watch pornography it was a choice you made right? The decision to stop too must be a choice you make. The only difference is that this won’t always be the easiest choice.
A hard choice but a necessary one
To stop watching porn is not a one-and-done thing since every time you have watched it in the past, your brain got rewired in the direction of what you were feeding it with. As a result, you develop an increased appetite to visually consume more of it even though you innately know that it’s not good for you. In order to quit the addiction you would need to take step-by-step action.
Step one- Admit you have a problem
The greatest issue you will find yourself having is denial. Pretending to not have an addiction to porn will only cause a greater delay in you finding your way out of it. The sooner you admit you have a problem, the faster you get onto the highway to recovery.
Step two- Identify the stressor
Once you admit you have a problem you need to find out the cause of the problem. In this case, what was the situation that caused you to begin watching porn in the first place? It could have been work tension, relationship crisis etc. Jason, a social worker, began watching porn when his work stress got out of hand. Diya, an engineer turned to porn when her marriage ended and loneliness overwhelmed her.
Go back to when you began watching porn and identify your stressor or stressors as may be the case.
Step three- Deal with the stressor
Once you know what caused your addiction you need to deal with it. The source of your problem is what you must change. If it’s work stress, find a better way to manage it. If it’s a relationship issue, find a way to navigate the relationship in a healthy way with more communication. If it’s something that you can’t put your finger on, take time to go deeper with yourself to identify how you can change the stressor so that you find a way out of your addiction.
Step four- Take it one day at a time
It’s important that you are kind to yourself in the process of de-addiction. There will be days when you take a few steps back. Don’t give up nor give in to shame. Choose to wake up the next day and try again.
Is there hope to beat the addiction to pornography?
That’s a resounding Yes! With a concerted and focused effort on yourself, you can do it. You don’t need to do it alone though. You can get in touch with our counsellors so that they can help you identify your stressors and deal with them at the source so that change will be possible little by little.