The rise in porn accessibility has meant that more younger men in their teens, twenties and thirties are being affected by erectile dysfunction. I notice this rise also in my clientele.

The reason being is that using porn is a detachment from any physical or emotional connection with a present person. Through masturbation using porn the unconscious mind learns to associate being disassociated with a person to a sexual release.

Porn is popular for many psychological reasons, often these are unconscious…

1. There’s no fear about performance
2. There’s no risk of rejection
3. There’s no expectation
4. There’s instant gratification
5. You can view any fantasy
6. There’s no need to go and build a friendship/relationship with someone

These anxieties and ‘benefits’ train the brain to avoid intimacy.

When guys struggling with porn come to me they are either single and struggling to form and maintain relationships, or they’re in a relationship and either not having sex or having unsatisfactory sex.

Porn can be an addiction like anything can. The definition of addiction being a behaviour you know is having a negative affect on your health, professional life or relationships.

If you want to stop or cut down watching porn, I can help using counselling and hypnotherapy. Things you can do to try and help yourself are…

Firstly is to admit that you have a problem

Next thing is to try self-monitoring. You do this by writing down each time you engage in porn with masturbation and examine the thought process and consequences of each pornography engagement episode.

What leads up to the behavior (e.g., stress, boredom), what physiological signs you notice (i.e. shortness of breath, sweaty palms, increased heart rate) and what were the consequences after the behavior (e.g., feeling guilty, relieved). This self-monitoring procedure can be helpful to determine the risk factors and influences on pornography engagement. Self-monitoring is also an intervention too. If we write down every time we do something we wished we didn’t, we are likely to think twice before doing it in the first place.

Psychological Considerations
Work to personify the person in the pornography pictures or video. They are not sexual objects or objects at all but are full human beings; they are someone’s daughter, son, mother, father, sibling, and friend.
They are people with hopes and dreams, chores, and hobbies. They aren’t objects at all. If you personalize them it is hard to exploit them or their images. If you imagine them as someone’s daughter or mother for example (or perhaps your own sister) you might not find pornography so engaging.
If you would like help and support with this please don’t hesitate to get in touch.