Just like alcoholism, there is no cure for porn addiction but only recovery. It is a continuous process that requires constant effort every day and consistently engaging with strategies that helped stop porn addiction.
Dr. Prerna Kohli
The path of recovery from addictions can be quite challenging since the addict has little or no control over their addiction, and no person should go through it alone. Addiction has severe effects on different aspects of the individual’s life. Porn addicts can have co-occurring mental issues along with the addiction, it adversely affects an individual’s personal and work relationships and the addict’s well-being. Hence, therapy is vital to help the individual’s through the process of de-addiction.
The therapist creates a non-judgmental and confidential space where the client can share their feelings without any hesitation. Therapy for porn addiction provides treatment in aspects of:
Treatment for co-occurring issues
Other mental illnesses and porn addiction can be co-occurring. Someone who has depression or anxiety could use porn as an avoidance mechanism and end up getting addicted to it. On the other hand, someone with porn addiction could manifest symptoms of depression because of the guilt & shame associated with it or anxiety as a withdrawal symptom. While, it is not sure what caused what, one thing is for sure i.e. such cases can be complicated to treat. So, the first step becomes to address the associated issues.
Individual therapy
Therapy not only helps the individual to navigate through porn addiction but also help maintain positive behavior in replacement for compulsive behavior, learn healthy coping mechanism. It also helps build up the client self-esteem, create awareness of their behavior patterns, set healthy boundaries. It also creates a better understanding of how the addiction is affecting them, what are the triggers and how to deal with it.
Family and couple therapy
Addicts often engage in hurtful behavior like lying and deceiving. It causes sexual dissatisfaction with real-life partners. Children of porn addicts might have stumbled upon explicit images which cause them damage and it can also cause discord in families. Family or couple therapy first of all help the family understand the addiction and then helps resolve all the presenting issues within the family.
If you or your loved one is going through porn addiction, do get in touch with an experienced psychologist to seek help.
To learn more about Dr Prerna Kohli click here
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