Posts by Kim Miller, LCSW, LISAC

About Kim Miller, LCSW, LISAC

Kim Miller has over two decades of experience as a therapist in Arizona. She is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor, trauma therapist, CSAT in training, EMDR, SE, Practitioner who provides counseling to adolescents, young adults, adults, and families. She works with Codependency, PTSD, attachment, EMDR, SE, FSAP, most addictions and provides a full range of Neurofeedback services.

A porn addict on his computer.

Is Porn Addictive and How Are We Defining Porn Addiction?

By on March 24th, 2022 in Addiction, Pornography

While porn addiction overuse continues to appear as a treatment and therapy issue for individuals of all ages, it is still a controversial topic. Most sources agree that porn is addictive, but raise concerns over how to define it. In this article, we’ll explore current attitudes towards porn addiction, as well as examine some of the effects of porn addiction.

Current scientific attitudes towards porn addiction

The World Health Organization (WHO) sets many of the standards for disease and disorder criteria and has recently added a new disorder termed “gaming disorder” as related to internet, screen times, or video gaming (WHO, 2020). The International Classification of Disease (ICD) 11th revision is a classification used by professionals as a basis for identifying health trends (WHO, 2020).

In specific, words such as screen dependent, internet addicted, or problematic digital user are used to describe persons who are losing control due to an addictive process. Addictive viewing of pornographic materials specifically has still not made the cut by the WHO, the American Psychological Association, or the Diagnostic Manual of Statistical Disorders although viewing erotic internet materials certainly seems to be on the rise (APA, 2014).

However, topics like pornography and sex are still hotly debated by healthcare professionals and mental health practitioners due to vastly differing attitudes about the acceptability of certain behaviors (APA, 2014). Multiple social movements and support groups exist that aim to liberate human beings from shame and restrictions from “days in the past”. Other camps have strict and meaningful reasons to abstain from certain behaviors for spiritual reasons or other valued commitments.

Mental health professionals have had their own concerns because of the increasing number of clients experiencing consequences for compulsive sexual behaviors which includes pornography. Opinions run wild and perhaps it has not been clear to date if pornography or sex addictions have clarity in categorization as some of the other addictions. One of the major concerns is the potential to over-diagnose or mis-diagnose due to mere differences in opinion on cultural or religious views (APA, 2014).

Prevalence of pornography addiction

One thing seems clear, the viewing of pornography is on the rise. Major porn sites are receiving more than 115 million hits per day, and the number keeps increasing! People are turning up at mental health and addiction treatment offices and centers at alarming rates. It appears the cut off for problem use or addiction rests on an ambiguous line where occasional use turns into a struggle to control use.

Researchers are beginning to pivot their efforts to exploring behavioral process addictions. Knowledge about substance use disorders have gained a lot of ground over the last few decades. They are more readily seen as mental illnesses in need of treatment. Groundbreaking work from neuroscience has explored the brain’s pleasure pathways and pleasure circuits to lend proof that damage occurs to the way drug users experience pleasure by actually damaging circuitry (NIDA, 2021).

Essentially, they found that users no longer release “feel good “chemicals effectively without the help of the drug itself. Research on brain science with pornography shows problematic use is more like an obsession, compulsion, or repetitive behavior pattern that exists that loop in the brain and may not effect all the same brain areas that substance addictions work on (APA, 2014).

Research is still only beginning to understand the neurochemical processes behind process addictions and this information may be lagging in a complete comprehensive understanding. New emerging areas of research and exploration are beginning to take an interest in the way process addiction hijack behavioral processes. Behavioral addictions are gaining exponential amounts of attention in the last decade and can be reflected in mainstream television shows and intervention episodes.

One thing is evident, porn addiction means that compulsive behavior patterns are present in a persons’ life, which create problems. Compulsive behavioral patterns are often tasked with numbing emotions and often result in a sense of disconnectedness. In other words, porn addicts are likely to feel disconnected from family, friends, hobbies, and enjoyment in life.

More research is needed about porn addiction

Groups of researchers and experts are pushing for pornography and sex addiction to be researched and explored to have more diagnostic credibility. The World Health Organization began to recognize “compulsive sexual behaviors” as a problem in 2018, but pornography use still struggles for a definitive category (Kritz, 2018). Opposing camps still worry that cultural and religious groups or fanaticism may push people to over-diagnose and there seems to be little or no education at all on healthy sexuality especially for emerging youth or young adults. The concern is perhaps pornography use is mired in conflict and confusion in values.

One thing has become clear, clients are continuously turning up at the offices of mental health providers looking for help for symptoms they believe are directly related to their compulsive or problematic pornography use in specific. Erectile disfunction, sexual performance issues, anxiety, depression, isolation, relationship issues, depression, anxiety, and many more stressors are bringing people into treatment centers or offices.

Many clients report that being rigid or fanatic can lead to shame and identify issues, but compulsive patterns can replace healthy connections and relationships leading to problems. If people start to experience unwanted patterns, it may be time to seek support and find a place to flush out beliefs, values, and concerns and come up with a plan to address problematic behaviors.

Defining addiction to pornography

A recent porn addiction article on WedMd.com states that “porn addiction is when you can’t stop looking at porn, even if you want to” and that the obsession “gets to the point that it interferes with work, relationships, and other parts of daily life”. Furthermore, it states that with the widespread availability of internet porn and growing research, that it is hard to pinpoint how much is too much but experts agree that “if it gets in the way of your day-to-day activities, you could be watching porn too much” (Donovan, 2020)

Porn addiction symptoms, signs, and effects

While we don’t yet have a clear definition in the literature of what porn addiction is, we can use signs and symptoms that we observe in problem users as well as other process addictions. The following signs likely indicate that an individual has a porn addiction:

Signs of porn addiction

  • Intense urges or cravings for distracting oneself from tasks
  • Stopping regular activities, you enjoy such as hobbies
  • Lose interest in daily chores or attendance to life details
  • Less interest in spending time socially with others
  • Damage is created in intimate relationships
  • Secrecy and transparency issues resulting in anxiety
  • Can’t stop even when you try
  • Enjoyment diminishes, but viewing porn anyway
  • Crossing the line with types of pornography they are watching
  • Use to resolve anxiety rather than other methods
  • Struggles at work or home
  • Dissatisfaction with relationships
  • Intense fear or anxiety with intimacy

Side Effects and Symptoms of Porn Addiction

  • Guilt / shame
  • Low self-esteem
  • Depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts
  • Neglecting partner
  • Debt
  • Loss of job
  • Other addictions increase such as drugs  

References

Donavon, J. (2020). Porn Addiction. WebMD. https://webmd.com

Kritz, Fran (2018). Compulsive sexual behavior as a mental health disorder. Everyday Health http://everydayhealth.com

NIDA (2021). Drugs and the brain. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain

Weir, K. (2014). Is pornography addictive? Monitor on Psychology, 45(4). http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography

World Health Organization (2020). Addictive behaviors: Gaming disorder. http://Who.int

 

 

Teenagers in substance abuse recovery getting out of themselves.

Getting Out of Yourself in Adolescent Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery

By on April 9th, 2021 in Adolescent and Young Adult Substance Use, Articles, Substance Abuse Recovery Tools

An often-repeated piece of advice in recovery is to “get out of yourself.” Usually, this piece of direction is given with the understanding that to get out of ourselves, we need to “get into others.” What our sponsors typically mean when they give this piece of direction is that we should go out of our way to be of service to someone or something. This can come in the form of reaching out to a newcomer, setting up a meeting, helping clean, or just holding the door for someone and asking how their day is going.

What we typically mean when we say “get out of yourself” is: do something that causes you to think of yourself less. This can be achieved by being of service to someone else, or by simply linking up with our positive peer group and having fun for an afternoon or evening. Whether in a traditional 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or an enthusiastic sobriety support group, we normally have an abundance of opportunities to do both of these things, provided we are paying attention and looking for opportunities.

But does this piece of advice hold any water in the grand scheme of recovery from drug or alcohol use? Academics have produced a lot of literature on the merits of many addiction recovery tools – mindfulness, meditation, group therapy, family counseling, and support group participation, to name a few. However, the literature is relatively sparse on the benefits of “getting out of ourselves” in recovery – slightly ironic given the fact that helping others is one of the cornerstones of 12-step recovery. One of the most iconic recovery stories is the classic story of AA’s two co-founders, Bill W. and Doctor Bob staying sober by being of service to each other.

There is one source of literature on the topic – numerous studies by Maria Pegano et al have shown the benefits of service and “helping behavior” in adolescent drug and alcohol treatment. While detailing these studies may be the topic of another post, this 2016 article entitled Can Helping Others Keep You Sober? would be a great place to start if you’re interested in learning more.

Why the Emphasis on Helping Others?

Those of us in recovery know the value of “getting out of ourselves and into others,” especially where staying sober and emotionally on track are concerned. We know that when someone is “out of self and serving others,” there are massive positive reward outcomes. People in long term recovery know just what this does for the process of getting and staying sober and what it essentially does in terms of substance addiction relapse outcome studies. These simple “acts” can most assuredly improve quality of life and overall level of happiness.

One of the greatest tools we instinctively know that we have internally is to shift our focus from thinking about ourselves and onto other people when all else fails as a sort of “master key” to humanity.  It seems no matter how far down on their luck someone is, human beings just seem to want to render aid and support to someone who needs it even if they are suffering themselves.

Those in 12-Step recovery have known about this for years. It is a recurring theme in 12-step fellowships and literature and recovery circles. In the opening line of Chapter Seven, Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book) itself declares, “practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when all other activities fail.” This book, authored in 1939, had the right idea even 80 years ago when providing strategies to help with our human condition and addictive issues.

What about Taking Care of Ourselves?

We’d like to emphasize the following caveat to everything above – getting out of ourselves is not a replacement for taking care of ourselves. It is simply a piece of the puzzle. There is a reason that the 12-steps also include principles such as self-examination, making amends, and meditation. Additionally, we wouldn’t suggest that someone blow off their IOP program or other counseling / therapy in order to simply serve others or have fun. What we’d simply like to state is that when all of the work on ourselves is done for the day, there’s only one thing left to do: turn the lens away from focusing on ourselves and get some relief. This habit goes a long way towards the healing process.

Why Getting Out of Ourselves Works

When someone has a behavioral or emotional issue, it is something within themselves that they are struggling with. Add to this the fact that when most of us are in pain, we have a tendency to metally laser-focus on the problems in our lives. Most of the time, even the traumas of our past which are still affecting us day-to-day are simply internal emotional hurdles by the time we hit recovery. When we turn our focus away from focusing on ourselves, these emotional hurdles get turned on their head for a little while. This effect is easy to observe even in early recovery from drugs and alcohol. The act of “getting out of self” can add tremendous staying power to our recovery and emotional state as we heal.

How to Get Out of Yourself

As stated above, those of us around enthusiastic sobriety or other forms of 12-step recovery tend to be surrounded by opportunities to get out of ourselves, as long as we’re willing to look for them. Here are some ideas:

  • Take a walk
  • Call a newcomer and ask how their day is going
  • Think of someone in your sober network that you haven’t talked with in a while and call them
  • Go to an AA event or sober social activity
  • Link up with some sober friends and get an activity started!

Benefits of Getting out of Yourself

Some of the possible positive benefits of getting out of self include:

  • Deepening the experience of getting out of the way of problems
  • Getting focus off of negative events
  • Breaking out of obsessive thinking (or at times completely forgetting whatever it was that was initially occurring)
  • Helping us let go of being connected with any problem
  • Developing the ability to return to a problem with a clearer perspective

As stated above, getting out of yourself isn’t a catch all tool – we still need to work through our problems and address any behaviors and thoughts that may be impeding our progress. However, some of the best stories about finding joy and connection have started with someone deciding to serve someone else. When you’re done working through whatever issue is eating your proverbial lunch, don’t forget to get out of yourself!