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10 Signs You’re Addicted To Porn (Take This Test)

By BobPosted on

How Do You Know You're Addicted To Porn?

So, how do you know if you're addicted to porn?

What is the difference between just enjoying it very much vs having a porn addiction?

Well, the difference comes down to whether you have developed addiction related brain changes or not. And this can not be determined by looking at the amount of use alone.

The amount alone can not tell you…

After all, an alcoholic could for example go a period of time, only drinking once a week, yet he would still have an alcohol addiction. And vice versa, a recreational drinker could for a period of time be hammering the booze very hard, without being considered “a real” addict.

So, in order to find out if you're addicted to porn, I have created a porn addiction test that you can take by watching the video below.

I also recommend you read the blog post under the video, where I give examples to all of the “addiction signs”, just to help clear up any potential confusions…

…but start by watching the video right now…

NOTE: You have to watch the video above and calculate the scores in order to get your answer!

Scores…

  • 0-10 : Probably not addicted
  • 10-25 : Red flags of being about to develop an addiction – Or you might already be mildly addicted
  • 25-40 : Looks like you have a moderate porn addiction
  • 40-60 : Everything points to you having a real porn addiction
  • 60+ : You are severely addicted to porn

To get a better and clearer understanding of how these addiction signs can show themselves in your day to day life, please also read the examples below…

How to know if you're addicted to porn
10 Signs and examples…

I hope you watched the whole video.

Now, also read the signs and examples to really get a full understanding of how addicted related brain changes can show themselves in your day to day life.

Let's jump in…

Sign #1 You have escalated and started watching more extreme stuff…

What is it?

Escalation happens in almost every addiction.

It is caused by a desensitized reward system. Another way to describe desensitization is that it's basically a numb pleasure response, making the user seek out more and more, in order to get the same effect. For an alcoholic, this would mean drinking more or stronger stuff in order to get the same amount.

For a porn addiction, it could mean seeking out harder and more extreme porn categories.

Example:

Mr. “A” started with vanilla porn, and was just looking at a few hot porn clips during a masturbation session. But as the addiction progressed and desensitization set in, he started seeking out more and more extreme stuff in order to feel the same arousal. Now his sessions has also become much longer. Mr. “A” has escalated his use.

Porn addicts have often escalated to the point of watching certain categories that they wouldn't even want to try in real life. They sometimes even escalate to watching porn that no longer match their sexual orientation.

How reliable is the sign?

Almost all porn addicts have escalated, but not everyone who escalates are porn addicts.

We need to keep in mind that humans are curious by nature, and that for many people there will always be a drive to explore and check out new things, addicted or not.

Just using this sign, in a vacuum, is not a certain indicator of addiction, but taking it into account when calculating the total score, it becomes a useful parametric.

Sign #2 You have lost ‘control' over your porn use…

What is it?

Loss os control simply means that a person no longer has control over his use.

Example:

Mr. “A” did for a long time try to cut down on the amount of porn he was watching. Sometimes he managed to watch a bit less, but after a few weeks (sometimes only days) he always ended up watching more than he would like. He has also tried to completely quit his use, but here too he always ended up failing his attempts. Mr. “A” has lost control over his use.

How reliable is the sign?

It's a good sign. In fact, loss of control is one of the four big indicators of addiction (in any addiction) that addiction experts use to determine whether or not a person has an addiction. They call these four indicators, “the four C's”.

The four C's are…

  1. Control
  2. Cravings
  3. Continued use despite negative consequences
  4. Compulsion

While it's a good sign, on it's own it can't really tell you with 100% certainty whether or not a person has a real addiction. Just like with the other signs it needs to be viewed in light of other signs for it to be reliable.

It is, however, one of the strongest signs of them all.

Sign #3 You sometimes experience cravings to use porn…

What is it?

A craving is when you feel a powerful desire to use. A craving can be a combination of thoughts,  sensations in the body and a prediction (an image) of  just how good it would feel to act out, all at once, mixed together.

Example:

Mr. “A” is trying to quit watching porn, but whenever he gets about 5-6 days in he starts to experience powerful urges and cravings to act out. Sometimes he manages to ignore these cravings, but most often they make him relapse.

How reliable is the sign?

It's pretty robust in non porn addictions. However, when it comes to natural rewards, such as food and sex, it can definitely not be used in a vacuum, as hunger and being horny are natural biological drives.

With time, however, the porn addict can learn to distinguish between normal sexual urges and the addictions desire for a dopamine fix.

Sign #4 You have used porn in inappropriate or dangerous places…

What is it?

Some addicts start using their drug outside their own home, even if they know there might be increased risks in som form, as a consequence of doing that.

Example:

Mr “A” works in a job that is about 90 minutes from home, on a good day. Most of the time he takes the bus, but some days he takes his car. On a few occasions, while driving, he has been listening to erotic ASMR sound clips while sex chatting on WhatsApp with some girl he was dating. Mr “A” was clearly acting out his addiction in a dangerous way, since doing that severely reduces his focus on the traffic.

Sometimes he has also used public WiFi to watch some porn pics while sitting on a public cafe. This because he had cut off his internet at home, to prevent porn surfing at nights.

How reliable is the sign?

It's not one of the better signs on the list, simply because people do stupid thing – addicted or not. However, the risk of doing things like that does indeed increase with a real addiction, so again, in combination with the other signs, it could definitely be taken into account.

Sign #5 You have problems with libido or erections with real life partners…

What is it?

Today's online porn is potent enough to be able to hijack your libido.

When this happens the individual can experience having little to no libido for real life people, yet he continues to watch his beloved porn.

Example:

Mr “A” has a girlfriend, but they almost never have sex any longer. He just don't feel like it. Sex is boring and he's even having a hard time getting turned on by her. So much so that he has trouble achieving and maintaining an erection. Still, he continues to masturbate to porn a couple of times a week.

How reliable is the sign?

If you can get a solid erection to porn, while you at the same time struggle to get hard with a real life person, or with porn free masturbation, then it's a strong sign of porn addiction.

In fact, this is happening to millions of men around the globe. Porn induced ED (PIED) is a real thing, and if you suffer from it, you might be interested in some of the following articles…

Alright, let's continute to the other signs…

Sign #6 You have noticed negative consequences from your porn use – yet you have continued your use…

What is it?

A person continue using a negative substance or doing a destructive behavior even though they clearly know that doing so has a negative effect on them, their life, or someone close to them.

Example:

Mr. “A” has learned that his porn use is making his social anxiety significantly worse. He knows this because each time he manages to go more than 30 days without using porn he starts feeling much more confident. As a result his social anxiety drastically reduces and he starts enjoying life again….

…but, he still keeps goes back to porn.

He keeps relapsing!

In fact, most of the time Mr. “A” can not seem to get past two weeks of not using. He also knows that his erection problems are caused by his over-consumption on porn, yet he still keeps on masturbating to porn.

Mr. “A” is clearly continuing his use – despite noticing negative consequences.

How reliable is the sign?

This too is one of the 4 C's and it's one of the best signs of addiction.

In fact, continued use despite negative consequences is one of the biggest and most reliable signs of an addiction. Again, it's not to be used in a vacuum, but if we could only have one single sign to asses an addiction, this one would probably be it.

Sign #7 You have noticed compulsion to use porn…

What is it?

Compulsion is an irresistible urge. It's kind of like cravings, but with compulsion you almost feel like you have to do something. An example could be, feeling the need to check if the door is locked or that you turned off the stove.

Example:

Mr. “A” knows that porn is destroying his libido and erections. He worries a lot about this and sometimes he descends into a period of  compulsively checking if he can get hard with masturbation alone. When he fails, he freaks out even more and keeps checking his erection quality with porn.

In addition to this, he often also have a compulsion to watch porn directly (without a need for checking).

It almost feels like it's something he just have to do. He can hear a weak voice somewhere in the back of his mind saying “I really shouldn't be doing this”, but it's like his brain is hijacked and he helplessly gets dragged along by the wonderful allure of the online porn.

How reliable is the sign?

It's a good sign, It's part of the 4 C's. But again, on it's own it's not a dead giveaway.

You can >>Download<< my Quit Porn Guide for FREE right now!

Sign #8 You have experienced withdrawal symptoms when going for a period without porn…

What is it?

Withdrawal symptoms happen when a person try to go without their drug for a period of time. The brain is so used to getting it's drug that it will start protesting when nothing is happening.

And it does so by giving the individual a series of negative symptoms…

…like for example..

  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Low mood
  • Insomnia
  • Tremors
  • Mood swings

Example:

Mr. “A” is on his sixth day without porn today. He feels very irritable. One moment he find himself very angry, only to a moment later almost burst out in tears from some mildly negative thoughts he has. He is also very anxious, for seemingly no reason at all.

Today Mr. “A” feels like a mental wreck…

…he is clearly suffering from withdrawals.

How reliable is the sign?

It's a pretty good one, but still not that reliable. This is because, although most people who are addicted experience withdrawals, it is possible to have a real addiction and not have withdrawal symptoms when quitting.

Likewise, we all know that irritability, anxiety and insomnia are part of life. Addicted or not.

But again, most people who have developed addiction related brain changes will experience some form of withdrawals after quitting.

Sign #9 You have sometimes skipped important social gatherings because of your porn use…

What is it?

For an addict, the drug becomes more and more important as the addiction progresses. So much so, that is oftentimes becomes the most important thing in his life.

Naturally this will start stealing time from other important things in his life, such as family or other social gatherings.

Example:

Mr. “A” has had a really tough week at the office. On Friday, he finishes early and can't wait to get home and masturbate to some came girls online.

As he fires up his favorite porn site, he suddenly remembers, “damn! I was supposed to  visit my mother today”….

…he quickly sends a sms, telling his mother he has to do some overtime at the work, so he won't be able to make it.

How reliable is the sign?

Once a person has become addicted, this is a pattern that we can see pretty often. When added to the other signs, it is a heavy hitter.

Sign #10 You have compromised major obligations at your job or in your privat life due to your porn use…

What is it?

Oftentimes the drug becomes so important that the addict neglects some other things he should be doing, just to be able to spend more time with his beloved drug.

Another thing that often happens, is that the negative effects after using, forces the individual to skip an important day of work, or skip some other obligation that was scheduled.

Example:

Mr. “A” had a really bad weekend with two big porn relapses, both on Saturday and on Sunday. They lasted several hours and made his already high anxiety levels go through the roof. When Monday rolled around he was feeling so bad because of this that he called in sick, skipping his work, hoping for a speedy recovery. But he knew that it would take a few days.

How reliable is the sign?

It is a good sign when we add it in with the other signs.

What To Do If You Got A High Score In The Porn Addiction Test?

If you've spent some time on this page and you started realizing that you indeed have a problem, then don't worry.

First, realize that you are NOT alone. Millions of people out there are are addicted to porn. In fact, I personally had to overcome my own porn addiction, a few years ago.

Second, start looking for support in some form. Because overcoming a porn addiction is not easy. I personally did it on my own, but it costed me 7 years of trial and error before I finally made it…

…7 years of hell.

Sure, you might be able to do it on your own, If i could do it, you can do it, but you will significantly shorten your struggle if you get some good help and good support.

Here are some options for you…

Thanks for reading,

-Scandinavian Bob-

 

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