Hi there,
When something is addictive it means its hard to give up. The longer someone is addicted to something, the more of it they need. Watching Porn can become a habit.
Nobody starts out meaning to get addicted to something. It usually happens without them realising it until its too late. With porn, it might be that someone starts by being curious about it and then getting into a routine of watching more and more.
Most people have thoughts and fantasies about sex before they are adults and this is perfectly natural. Usually fantasies are not very realistic and they are about things that we dont expect to ever happen. Porn is not like real life. This can make porn attractive because its a way for those private fantasies to be acted out. The problem is that because porn is the only way those private fantasies can be seen, it means going back to it to find more. It means you could get hooked on it.
When something starts to interfere with other parts of our lives, its a sign that its become a problem. If you are finding that youre cancelling other things so that you can watch porn then this is an issue and its something you should think about changing.
Stopping an addiction is really difficult but its definitely possible. There are a few ways to approach it and you may need to try each approach to see what works best for you.
Firstly you might want to try cutting yourself off from where you watch porn. Habits start when you do something in a certain way regularly. You might get into a habit of going online in the evenings try doing something else instead, or going online somewhere that you couldnt watch porn.
Another way to stop is to have some support. It might feel embarrassing to share this with someone, but if you can find a person that you can trust then you can use them as someone to talk to instead of watching porn. If you dont have someone like that then you could always use ChildLine counsellors.
I hope thats helped you and Im really glad you felt able to share this with me.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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