Watching porn has become common and often an addiction among youths today, just like drugs. With the advancement in the Internet, porn has become sensational content. In fact, 25% of search engine queries are about porn content. If you are among those persons but are desperately trying to quit porn for good, you have come to the right place.
Let’s face the truth; watching porn is never a good idea. Not only it adversely affects your health and your relationships, but it ruins your sexual life. You will lose interest in healthy sexual relationships. Even though there is mixed criticism about the effects of watching porn, people still are addicted to it and set unrealistic expectations in real life.
But since you are here; it means you want to quit porn once and for all and get rid of your porn addiction. And, here we have listed different effective ways to quit porn addiction.
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15 Ways to Quit Porn Addiction
Acknowledge the problem
Self-realization is the first step to quit porn addiction. Many people deny that they are addicted to porn. If you keep denying this fact, then you are only going to watch more and more and ruin your sexual life. Therefore, you need to acknowledge that you are addicted to porn, first.
When you realize that you are addicted, then you will be able to decide what to do. You will be motivated to stop watching porn. Otherwise, it is only going to be harder and harder to quit porn.
Identify the triggers
Why are you watching porn? What triggers you to watch porn? Is it your loneliness or stress or just for fun? Is there a specific time that triggers you? Identify those triggers and strategically plan to avoid such triggers.
If watching erotic series triggers you, then avoid watching such series. If touching yourself is the reason, then avoid such habits. If timing is the problem, then watch some dramas or movies or cartoons to avoid the triggers. Identifying the activation key is very crucial to control yourself from watching too much porn.
Control yourself
Control yourself from watching porn. Most people give in to the temptation. Learn to control your temptation, and you will be fine.
Some people immerse themselves in watching porn so much that they sometimes forget place and time and start watching porn. They don’t care whether they are in the office or public places or near to their family. Their mind is all about the need to watch porn. Distraction is the key here to control yourself.
If you are having difficulty controlling yourself, then spend time with your family, travel places, go for a walk, etc. Wait for the urge to watch porn stop. If you ever come into such a situation, repeat what you have been doing to control yourself or do something new for a change.
Schedule time
Since it is difficult to control your addiction during the day, you can schedule the time and watch porn to avoid watching it too much. This idea is not so satisfying; still, we recommend it. Sometimes, we need to take such a measure.
Additionally, when you watch porn or feel like watching porn, record time. The main reason behind this is that you can convince yourself to watch movies or spend time with your family to control yourself during that time.
Remember that it takes time to control your addiction. Take one step at a time. If you are watching porn every day, then schedule to watch it thrice a week, twice a week, then once a month, etc. This way, you will be able to quit porn addiction slowly for sure.
Fight your loneliness and boredom.
Is it your loneliness that triggers you to watch porn? According to the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, loneliness is one of the main reasons for watching porn regularly.
Most people watch porn when they are bored and lonely. So, if loneliness is the main reason, then make some friends and have fun with them. Moreover, you can play online games to make yourself busy every time. Call your friends and travel together or spend time with them every day to make your life more lively and exciting.
So, fight your loneliness and boredom to quit porn addiction.
Spend more time with friends and family
Spend more time with friends and family to avoid watching porn. When you are with your friends and family, the urge to watch porn doesn’t come to your mind. You won’t know when time passes by because you will be having fun with them.
Most importantly, you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of your friends and family. We know that most people do watch, and their friends and family might know this already. Still, it doesn’t feel right to watch when they are around.
If possible, you can tell your friends and family about your porn addiction. They might help you to get rid of it. Support from family and friends is crucial to get rid of problems in one’s life.
Use anti-porn software
We don’t need to say that the Internet is the main reason for the emergence of porn. That is why most of the time, people are always surfing the Internet. It is the reason why most people don’t interact with others face-to-face, lock themselves in the room, and be alone. The Internet is a double-edged sword.
Use anti-porn software to block you off from accessing porn websites. Even if you feel like watching porn, you won’t be able to do so. However, remember one thing, don’t disable the anti-porn software whenever you feel like watching porn. It will not help you at all. Instead, you will be dealing with another bad habit.
Filter your browsers
Like anti-porn software, filtering your browser is another best way to quit porn addiction. You can’t uninstall a browser from your laptops or mobile devices. It is not feasible because browsers are a necessity now. However, you can definitely change the browser settings.
Nowadays, every browser comes with content surfing preferences from where you can block yourself from accessing adult content.
For example, images and videos that promote adult content can trigger you to watch porn. But, by filtering your browser settings, you can block such videos and pictures from appearing on your recommendations. Plus, it will block any websites that promote adult content such that your browser will never suggest such content.
Delete the bookmarked sites
You might have bookmarked porn websites to watch later in the future. Deleting those bookmarked sites might not help you altogether, but it is a bold step to quit porn addiction.
Bookmarking such sites will only make you more tempted to watch porn. Even if you convince yourself not to watch porn, seeing the bookmarks will urge you to watch. Moreover, porn sites will remain in your history, and your browser will only recommend content and keywords related to porn. So, you would better delete those sites as quickly as possible if you have bookmarked any.
Destroy pornography in your possession
If you have any pornography materials, destroy them as quickly as possible. It will help you to be less tempted to watch porn content. The more you see, the more porn will attract you like a magnet.
Many people might have a habit of storing CDs, DVDs, Magazines, Pen Drives, etc. If you have stored porn, then throw them away or destroy them. If they are around you, then it will become harder for you to quit porn completely. Destroy them and start fresh.
Engage in activities
The more you think about porn, the more you will want to watch it. Along with controlling yourself, engage in some activities so that your mind becomes clear. If you feel like watching porn, go for a walk, read books, watch tv, spend time with friends and family, listen to music, etc., to avoid porn.
Like said earlier, loneliness and boredom are significant factors for watching porn. So, why don’t you pick a hobby and immerse yourself in it whenever you are free? Moreover, do something fun and entertaining to get porn out of your mind.
Do yoga and exercise.
Free your mind by doing yoga and exercise. They help you to relax your mind and cleanse unnecessary thoughts. Being mindful of your surroundings and your health is very crucial. And, yoga and exercise will help you with that. You will learn different techniques that will help you get rid of your porn addiction.
When your mind is full of unnecessary thoughts, then you are not in control of yourself. So, do yoga and exercise to control yourself.
Spend time with your partner
Spend more time with your partner to have a healthy sexual relationship. Dissatisfaction is also another major factor that causes porn addiction. If you are satisfied with your partner, then you don’t need to depend on porn. And for that, you need to spend time with your partner.
Sometimes, it isn’t us but people around us that encourage us to watch porn. If you have such people around you, avoid spending time with such people and give more time to your partner.
Join a support group or a community
You are not alone who is suffering from porn addiction. Many people in the world are trying to quit porn just like you. To help people like you, there are certain groups and communities. They gather people like you and listen to your problem. They propose solutions to get rid of your problems.
Such groups and communities motivate and support you to kick off the habit. Plus, listening to others about how they got rid of their porn addiction will help you as well. You will feel motivated because there are people just like you and are helping you.
Moreover, you can help other people who are suffering from the same problems in the future by sharing your experience.
Consult a doctor
If your effort isn’t helping you at all, then we recommend you consult a doctor. They will help you fix your underlying problems. Doctors have years of experience dealing with such issues. They can help you deal with and support you in every way possible to get rid of your porn addiction.
If you are overthinking and not doing anything at all, and thinking it might be too late for you- there is no such thing as being too late. But it will be harder for you to quit porn as time passes. So, consult a doctor if you are unable to stop watching porn on your own.
Besides these, you can contact a therapist and take different therapies.
Watching porn has various adverse effects, so getting rid of it is the best option. Even if you are addicted, try the above methods to quit porn once and for all. Remember that you can’t avoid it in a day. It takes time. So, never give up, control, and keep motivating yourself to get free from porn addiction.