The Porn Addiction Epidemic

I used to think I had a problem with porn.

Chances are, if you are reading this - you also think you have a problem with porn.

And whilst you may want to stop watching porn, your issue is actually with compulsivity.

I'm yet to work with a client who only wants to stop watching porn. When we really get into things, we realise people actually wants to stop other things too, including some of the following behaviours:

Eating too much

Scrolling too much

Spending too much time on YouTube

Smoking / vaping

Consuming too much sugar

Drinking too much alcohol

Taking drugs

Excessive spending

Playing video games too much

The list goes on and on.

Basically, there is a moment where the addicted part of the mind (APOTM) says "to hell with it" and people go ahead and engage in a behaviour they want to stop. Because this is now so common and has become normalised, most people just minimise these addictions with thoughts like "well everyone does it". And whilst it may be normal and common, the truth is it probably doesn't sit right with you.

This week I went on Facebook for the first time in months to sell some furniture in local community groups. Wow. Social media has changed. It is not what it once was. Big companies are competing for your attention like never before.

They always have been, but it has just gotten even worse.

And unfortunately, they don't give a f*ck about you. They just want you to spend time on their sites. They are actually financially incentivised to get you addicted.

It is insane. We are living in a society where some of the biggest, most powerful companies in the world make their money from getting people addicted. The same is truth with the porn industry of course.

And then the APOTM comes along and tries to make the problem solely about who you are. The APOTM tries to make the problem about your sexual desires and twist the problem into a pretzel so that you end up questioning yourself and ending up back at porn.

The truth is that compulsive desire is compulsive desire. Our brains are very susceptible to developing addicted neural pathways, especially in a society where this is becoming the default mode.

However, fortunately, you can choose to refuse this new, modern way of living. You can choose to reject the status quo. It is 100% possible to rewire addicted neural pathways and live a life beyond compulsion.

Your problem is not porn alone, it is dealing with the APOTM correctly. Once you do this, you get to take control across every behaviour you want to stop. You get to be the master of your life, instead of feeling like a puppet that is being mastered.