Internet porn has been described as the "crack cocaine" of sex addiction. In my experience I can corroborate this observation. What is disturbing about Internet porn addiction is that men become increasingly enticed into increasingly extreme sexual images including rape, heavy sadism, and even animal porn.
What I am most struck about these men is they have no intention of acting out this kind of behaviour in real life. It's almost there is something in the nature of the internet porn addiction that draws men to increasingly antisocial images. Why is this?
Well one reason is that some men who use Internet porn do so as a way of controlling their mood. If they are stressed, anxious, depressed, or just bored, they can recruit their interest in sex to shift how they are feeling. The problem with this is that masturbating when you're not naturally feeling horny can be difficult. The tendency is to go for increasingly new and novel images to get sufficiently aroused in order to cum.
The second reason is the vast array of sexual images that can be viewed in a very short period of time. In the days where the average man would hold a small number of mags this was unlikely to happen. You made do with the images that you had available.
The trouble with having access to so many images so quickly is that the mind is subject to the psychological process of "habituation". For each additional image you see, the "turn on" value attracts a diminishing return. The only way to keep the pressure on sexual arousal is to find increasingly extreme images. Images that are taboo also recruit the additional excitement of risk that enhances orgasm in some men.
My view on porn is generally fairly relaxed. What concerns me is that Internet porn plays to men's weakness to search out novel sexual images. As a result some men spend their lives hooked into a cycle of unfulfilling and empty sexual expression which steals their time and their money and puts them at risk of arrest.
If you feel Internet porn is becoming a problem to you, my advice is get a few good mags and sticks to them. This way you can wean yourself off the Internet, and still have an outlet for visual stimulation. Better still, find a partner who turns you on, and focus all your attention on them. If you still have difficulty, however embarrassing it might be, turn to a professional for advice.
Dr Phil Tyson is a Men's Psychotherapist based in Manchester in the UK. He offers:
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (cbt) for men in Manchester
- Counselling for men in Manchester
- Psychotherapy for men in Manchester
- Telephone and online counselling for men wherever you live
- Supervision and consultative support for therapists in Manchester
- Mediation for employment disputes in Manchester and the UK
- Group therapy weekends for men
