Porn addiction has a significant impact on your physical and mental health. The majority of withdrawal symptoms for porn addiction are psychological. It impacts how you think, feel, and act because it is a behavioral addiction, like sex and gambling. When a person is addicted to pornography and decides to quit watching porn, they may experience withdrawal symptoms. Porn withdrawal symptoms are real and make the recovery process much harder. If you are battling with porn addiction and want to recover from it, then here are some common withdrawal symptoms, and a recovery guide:
Frequently Observed Porn Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms
Porn withdrawal symptoms are part of the addictive cycle. When you stop watching porn, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms of pornography withdrawal are typically the opposite of addictive behavior. When you watch porn, you feel relaxed, satisfied, and tired. Porn withdrawal will make you feel the opposite of that. You will feel stressed and uncomfortable, both mentally and physically. Understanding porn addiction withdrawal symptoms is essential to manage and cope with them. Porn addiction is a genuine issue that affects people of all ages, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Here are frequently observed symptoms of porn addiction withdrawal:
Mood Swings
Mood swings are the most common symptom you will experience while withdrawing from pornography addiction. At one moment you may feel a sense of serenity and relaxation; the next moment, you are furious and having trouble controlling your emotions.
Mood swings occur because your brain is not getting the frequent dopamine spikes that it used to, as a result of stopping your pornography viewing. As your brain works to readjust, this neurochemical imbalance can cause mood swings.
Insomnia
During the withdrawal phase, many people who have developed a habit of watching pornographic videos to unwind and relax before bed, complain of having trouble sleeping. When you stop watching porn, the absence of the typical dopamine release leaves you staring at the ceiling while trying to sleep; it disturbs your sleep habits. Your brain cannot shut off and fall asleep because you habitually stay up late staring at a screen.
Depression
When you can not satisfy what your mind is craving, you could feel extremely depressed. Also, some individuals use porn as a coping strategy for their other emotional problems. When they stop watching porn, they also stop using that coping mechanism of escapism, which can cause depressive symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from porn use can impact your mental health because of the significant changes your life and body have recently undergone. In the long term, giving up porn will improve your mental health.
Fatigue
When your body goes through any stress, your body may shift into overdrive, which can later cause you to feel fatigued. Sometimes it may result in a weakened immune system. Fatigue can also be caused by lack of sleep.
Intense Cravings
When the brain can no longer access something familiar, you will experience frequent cravings. The longer the brain is denied what it needs, the stronger these cravings become. Intense cravings to consume pornographic material and sexual content is the first sign of porn addiction withdrawal. When the brain adjusts from regular and repetitive stimulation from watching porn, giving up viewing porn might result in intense cravings.
Anxiety
Due to the discomfort of withdrawals, you will often experience anxiety. If the feelings are extreme, you may also have panic attacks.
Pain in The Body
The body’s reaction to the lack of dopamine may cause feelings of physical discomfort, such as headaches and body pain. Because to regain normalcy, your brain alters and resets its chemical composition, which creates hormonal imbalances. This is similar to the migraines people get when they stop drinking coffee.
Irritability
People going through the detox from porn addiction could feel irritable or emotionally unstable because of the sudden removal of a regular source of pleasure from their life that used to satisfy their demands, sexual fantasies, and desires. You will feel bored, unhappy, and unable to comfort yourself, making you incredibly irritable.
Poor Concentration
Due to the absence of constant stimulation, you may experience difficulty concentrating. This may impact your daily duties, tasks, and relationships.
Social Anxiety
Instead of watching porn alone, you decided to adopt healthy social habits. Now you are attempting to engage with real-life people and derive happiness and emotional satisfaction from conversation, interaction, and connection. Attending social events or participating in social activities can help you stop using porn. But if you’re not used to social situations, they might make you anxious and experience other withdrawal symptoms.
Exploring porn withdrawal symptoms and coping strategies? Learn about the addictive nature of porn in our earlier post: Why Is Porn So Addictive?
Recovery Guide for Porn Withdrawal Symptoms
Here are some recovery guide for Porn withdrawal symptoms:
Join Support Group
Support groups are groups of people who have similar experiences. They come together to provide one another with emotional support, understanding, and encouragement. In recovering from porn addiction withdrawal joining support groups can be crucial. Support groups help you share your feelings, intrusive thoughts, and experiences, without fear of being judged. It offers a sense of validation, knowing that others understand what you are going through. It will provide an opportunity to learn from the experience of others, it will help you to recover from porn withdrawal symptoms faster.
Don’t miss our guide on finding the right sex and porn addiction therapist
Engage in Healthy Activities
You can now utilize all the time you used to waste watching porn. It can be replaced with healthy, productive, and enjoyable hobbies. These could include exercise and meditation, or creative interests.
Seek Support
You can trust your family and friends. Try to share your feelings with them. Make a point to spend time with your loved ones. Tell them what you are going through. An accountability buddy can help you stay motivated even when things get rough.
Therapy
Therapy can assist you in your recovery journey by identifying the underlying problems that led to your addiction. Porn withdrawal symptoms can create intense cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Therapists can work with individuals to develop healthier coping strategies to manage these feelings effectively. Therapy will help you identify triggers and address negative beliefs and guilt. It will also help you to rebuild relationships and more.
Don’t let porn addiction hold you back any longer. Remember, you are not alone in this. Together, we can overcome the withdrawal from porn addiction. Contact us today and start your journey towards a healthier, happier you.