Viewing porn is often considered normal — and for some people, it is beneficial for self-exploration and sexual education. However, a problematic porn habit or porn addiction can lead to mental health concerns like increased anxiety, feelings of loneliness and body image issues.
Learn how porn affects mental health and how you can receive help for problematic porn usage.
Table of Contents
- How Porn Affects the Brain
- 3 Ways Porn Can Affect Mental Health
- Treatment Options for Pornography Addiction and Associated Mental Health Concerns
- Reach out and Receive Help for a Problematic Porn Habit
How Porn Affects the Brain
Viewing porn affects the brain’s reward center and triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in pleasure. As such, pornography can be highly addictive for some individuals.
Much like they could with alcohol or drugs, individuals viewing porn may gain a tolerance for it, meaning they’ll have to seek more and more content to induce that same dopamine release.
While problematic porn use or a porn addiction does not lead to physical dependence the way drugs or alcohol do, over-arousal of the brain can lead to some negative consequences that hinder daily functioning and affect mental health.
Schedule An Appointment Online Today
1. Affect Anxiety and Depression
Many studies have found a significant relationship between porn and mental health. In one study that looked at mental health and pornography use among college students, 17%, 20.4% and 13.5% of survey respondents reported severe levels of depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. Moreover, compulsive pornography use exacerbated all three conditions.
Here are some examples of porn consumption worsening people’s anxiety:
- An individual who overconsumes porn may become increasingly anxious when not viewing pornography.
- Someone who views porn may begin to feel self-conscious about their body or their sexual performance, both of which can result in anxiety.
- People who are morally opposed to viewing porn but do so may experience anxiety when trying to reconcile their behaviors.
Similarly, people may turn to porn to escape the emotions associated with depression. Depression is linked to low serotonin levels, and experiencing an orgasm can lead to a surge of serotonin, as well as a surge of dopamine, which can help people who have depression feel more relaxed.
However, the release of these neurotransmitters only provides short-term feelings of pleasure. Over time, the brain will develop a tolerance for porn and require more stimulation to produce the same pleasurable result. As a result, porn may worsen depression over time.
2. Increase Feelings of Isolation and Loneliness
An individual may begin viewing porn to escape feelings of loneliness and isolation. However, much like the relationship between porn and conditions like anxiety, using porn as a way to cope with isolation can create a potentially dangerous cycle. Increased porn use can lead to increased feelings of loneliness – especially among men. The more these feelings develop, the more likely the person is to keep viewing porn.
Porn usually only provides temporary relief from loneliness, potentially because engaging with it only fulfills the physical pleasure of arousal. By comparison, the act of sex creates a deeper connection between partners. During intercourse, the brain releases oxytocin, producing feelings of comfort and closeness between partners.
Additionally, those who feel guilty or ashamed of their porn habit may not want to talk to their friends and family members, which can compound feelings of loneliness and lead the individual back to pornography. People with a porn habit may also become dissatisfied with their partner or could pull away emotionally from their partner, which can create distance in relationships and lead to more loneliness.
3. Impact Self-Esteem and Body Image Issues
Pornography can provide temporary escapism, but in the long run, it causes self-esteem issues. For example, one 2020 United Kingdom report found that 29% of young respondents aged 11-17 said they felt bad about their bodies when they saw how people looked in pornography.
Poor body image can lead to low self-esteem and other mental health concerns like:
- Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
- Body dysmorphic disorder.
- Mood disorders such as major depression disorder and bipolar disorder.
- Muscle dysmorphia.
Another study suggests that individuals with preexisting body image issues, concerns about socialization or sexual fears may be more susceptible to problematic porn usage.
Treatment Options for Pornography Addiction and Associated Mental Health Concerns
If your pornography habit is causing or exacerbating one or more of these mental health concerns, the following treatment options are available to help:
- Medication: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved a medication for pornography addiction. However, medications like antidepressants and mood stabilizers may be effective. Opioid antagonists, such as nalmefene, may also help treat pornography addiction. Additionally, individuals with pre- or coexisting mental health conditions like anxiety and depression may be prescribed medications to help these conditions and decrease their reliance on pornography to find relief.
- Couples counseling: If a pornography habit impacts an intimate relationship, couples counseling may be helpful. Family therapy is also an option if pornography viewing affects the entire family.
- Therapy: A sex and porn therapist can help people grappling with a problematic porn habit or addiction develop a healthier relationship with sex and intimacy. Through modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy, therapists will target symptoms causing distress and help patients find methods for dealing with them both in and out of treatment.
It can be challenging to talk about a pornography addiction because of how normalized porn has become and the shame often associated with speaking about sex and intimacy. However, with these strategies, recovery from porn addiction is possible.
Reach out and Receive Help for a Problematic Porn Habit
If you or someone you love has a problematic porn habit or a pornography addiction, help is available from Taylor Counseling Group. We believe in providing reliable, accessible and affordable mental health services to our Central Texas community, and our porn addiction therapists can help heal your relationship with sex in a supportive and nonjudgmental environment.
Learn more about our sex and porn addiction counseling services, or schedule an appointment online today.
