A day can feel like several months when you are dealing with a porn addiction and trying to recover. You might be thinking “How long to rewire brain from porn addiction?” and change it from a dump to the brain of a completely functioning human.
There are two answers to this question. You should know that addiction recovery is lifelong and involves lifestyle modifications and commitment. But don’t fret. How long to rewire the brain from addiction? – The most challenging part takes around a month, though major changes are not seen for several months.
What is Porn Addiction?
Porn addiction is described as compulsively viewing porn content, and feeling a total lack of control over their behavior.
While watching porn isn’t actually a harmful behavior in itself, when its use becomes extreme and is impacting your life and your ability to complete daily tasks, this may be a signal that you’ve acquired a harmful porn addiction.
Those with pornography addiction spend a lot of their time watching pornography and often experience considerable distress due to their inability to manage these urges. This condition manifests in increased viewing of pornographic content, negligence of personal and professional commitments, and weakened relationships. Can your brain recover from porn? Continue reading to find out!
Signs of Porn Addiction
A person may struggle with porn addiction if they always have an uncontrollable or severe urge to watch porn even when it hurts their life.
Porn addiction can affect each person differently, but here are some signs of porn addiction –
- feelings of guilt about watching porn
- a decline in the quality of intimacy with a partner
- decreased sexual drive when not watching pornography
- reduced sensitivity
- delayed orgasm
- erectile dysfunction
- delayed ejaculation
- brain fog
- feeling physically or mentally drained
- difficulty finding motivation
- new or deteriorating mental health problems, such as stress or depression
- decreased performance at work
- feelings of sexual violence
A person may also see that they concentrate on different impulses when watching pornography. For example, they may have numerous tabs open on the computer that they navigate between in one session.
Sessions of watching pornography may also last hours at a time.
Effects of Porn Addiction on Brain
In a study that talked about the first brain-scan on pornography users, experimenters examined the brains of 64 men aged 20-50 using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The men, who were not generally addicts, were asked how much porn they watched per week and for how long they have been viewing it.
The results: the more porn the men watched, the more parts of their brains had been altered.
When it comes to porn addicts, shifts in the reward center, cognitive processes, and emotional principles are critical areas of interest in neuropsychology.
- The Reward Center: Dopamine is produced whenever a person feels pleasure. When there is a repetitive release of dopamine, the brain’s reward center is modified, leaving a person requiring more stimulation to reach the same result. As the brain feels the constant highs and lows associated with daily porn use, it starts to develop new patterns that cause a person to continue watching pornography.
- Cognitive Function: Individuals with porn addiction often struggle with cognitive function, indicating poor decision-making. Most notably, this is indicated by choosing short-term small profits over long-term large gains.
- Emotional Regulation: Individuals who have difficulty controlling their emotions are more sensitive and try to distract themselves with porn. This pattern can turn into an addiction, leaving them in a cycle of turning to porn to evade uncomfortable feelings, only to further dysregulate themselves.
What Are The Potential Treatment Methods For Porn Addiction?
Porn’s accessibility and obscurity make it simple for users to watch its content compulsively. As time and frequency gradually increase, it may be years until an individual learns there is an issue. How to rewire your brain from addiction? Below are a few treatment methods that help porn addiction.
1. Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a way to figure out what led a user to develop a porn addiction in the first place. Also known as supporting talk therapy, psychotherapy can help a patient comprehend their relationship with porn. With the help of a specialist, an individual can identify what led to their behaviors.
2. Behavior Modification
Behavior modification helps patients substitute maladaptive behaviors. It is a psychotherapeutic intervention that focuses on operant training. Depending on a person’s objectives, they can learn to control and even quit porn completely. A popular method of behavior modification is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). According to the American Psychological Association, CBT can be more practical than medication.
3. Support Groups
During support group meetings, many people are on the same journey to quit porn who will motivate you. Through a community effort, everyone can gain long-term recovery from their conditions. Studies show that peer support services greatly enhance participants’ self-efficacy, personal opinions, and feelings about themselves.
4. Medication
Sometimes porn addiction could arise because of an underlying issue. An excellent way to help tackle the problem is medication-assisted treatment (MAT). It is a combination of FDA-approved medication with counseling or behavioral treatments.
5. Holistic Treatment
This involves a whole-body procedure. It combines traditional therapy methods with alternative medicine. The goal is to enhance health and wellness by seeing the person as a whole rather than just the disease. Those who specialize in this therapy offer various techniques, like:
- Hypnosis
- Spiritual Counseling
- Homeopathy
- Massage therapy
- Personal training
- Acupuncture
- Naturopathy
The main purpose of holistic treatments is to facilitate patients to take responsibility for their well-being. In time, individuals can change their behavior and gain long-term recovery success.
How Long to Rewire Your Brain from Porn Addiction?
You might be wondering ‘How long to rewire brain from porn addiction?’.
It can take 1 to 60 months to rewire your brain from addiction, depending on what you’re addicted to and the period of your addiction. When it comes to breaking an addictive behavior pattern, everyone is different.
H3: Porn Addiction Recovery Timelines and Processes
Can your brain recover from porn addiction? Here is the recovery timeline and process –
- Acute Phase (1-2 weeks) – Symptoms can be extreme during the first two weeks. You might feel strong desires, mood swings, irritability, and stress. Physical symptoms like headaches and sleep disorders are also expected.
- Subacute Phase (2 weeks – 1 month) – Signs typically start to subside during this time. Mood swings and physical signs may reduce, but emotional sensitivity can last. Concentration might still be tainted, and social withdrawal can persist.
- Adjustment Phase (1-3 months) – Most of the critical symptoms have subsided. Cravings can still remain but are usually less severe and less regular. Emotional stability starts to enhance, and you may regain interest in typical activities and relationships.
- Long-Term Recovery (3 months and beyond) – Progress continues above the three-month mark. Cravings become rare. Emotional and psychological health gets better, and people often report feeling more balanced and steady. The key is to recognize that you’re always in recovery and identify any relapse warning signs that might occur.
What Are The Common Withdrawal Symptoms Experienced During Porn Addiction Recovery?
If addicted, quitting porn is not a simple task. Those who attempt to do so on their own often encounter withdrawal symptoms that can be difficult to handle.
Mood Swings
When you watch porn, your brain produces dopamine, which makes you feel good. When you quit porn suddenly, your brain no longer obtains that dopamine rush, which can cause you to feel anxious, or depressed.
Intense Urges
When you’re addicted to porn, your brain associates watching it with delight, and it can be difficult to break that connection. You might find yourself thinking about porn all the time.
Insomnia
Many addicts experience difficulties to sleep because of porn. This can occur because watching porn can become a part of your bedtime practice, and your brain has become used to it.
Decreased Sexual Desire
While it might seem way too contradictory, quitting porn can cause a reduction in sex drive. When you watch porn, you’re staying in a fantasy world, and it can be difficult to associate with real-life emotional or physical intimacy.
Loneliness
Finally, many porn addicts experience extreme feelings of loneliness or seclusion when they quit porn. Porn can become a way to get away from reality, and when you suddenly stop, you might feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself.
Psychological Impacts During Recovery
Porn addiction can lower self-confidence as people may compare themselves to those in the pornography videos and feel inferior.
Additionally, the confidential nature of porn addiction can cause isolation and a lack of social harmony, further deepening these negative feelings.
A recent study examined the psychological and social effects of pornography addiction among adolescents aged 18–25. Researchers conducted interviews, statements, and documentation with six participants. Thematic analysis using NVivo 12 showed considerable cognitive and emotional outcomes. Participants displayed obsessive-compulsive thoughts, often with constant urges to view sexual content, which led to poor quality of sleep.
Emotionally, they noted heightened sexual arousal from pornography, along with a longing for deep affection.
How can BlockP help overcome Porn Addiction?
If you are addicted to porn and have decided to mend your ways, the first step in doing so is to eliminate porn completely from your devices.
This can be done by using a reliable and strong porn blocker such as BlockP.
BlockP has several unique features like customizable filtering, password protection, focus mode, image and video blocking, AI blocking, social media blocking, and many more.
Install BlockP today and take control of your browsing experience.
FAQ on How Long to Rewire Your Brain from Porn Addiction?
1] What are some common milestones in the recovery journey from porn addiction?
Milestones in the recovery journey from porn addiction can include acknowledging that you have a problem, gaining support or therapy, and switching to healthier coping methods.
2] What strategies are effective in overcoming the challenges of porn addiction recovery?
Some of the effective strategies to overcome the challenges of porn addiction recovery are –
- Eliminate Access to Pornography.
- Establish a Support System.
- Develop Healthy Coping Mechanisms.
- Seek Professional Help.
- Practice Self-Compassion.