Are you trying to abstain from the viewing of pornographic materials out of concern that you may have developed an unhealthy habit? Have tried to do so to no avail in the past? It can be difficult when constantly being elicited to consume sexually explicit content. And often, porn consumption triggers are not so obvious, making recognition and behavioral management a challenge. To help you identify what these are, we have provided a breakdown of what may precipitate a return to porn when attempting to take a break. Moving forward you will be better prepared to manage your compulsion with some help from Kindbridge. Please keep reading.
Behavioral Triggers to be Aware of When Struggling with Porn Addiction
Trigger: Feelings of Anxiety, Stress, and Depression
It’s not just porn pop-up ads on your computer to watch out for, but certain feelings that pop-up and disrupt the flow of your day. Feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression can send you into the deceptively comforting arms of pornography.
When consuming porn, “feel good” chemicals dopamine and oxytocin are released and trick your brain into thinking that everything is OK. The activity appears to provide relief from the negative feelings you are experiencing. This is problematic because it can form compulsive behavior, as every time negative feelings manifest your brain nudges you to provide it with relief. Consequently porn becomes an unhealthy coping mechanism for people who struggle with anxiety, stress, and depression along with cooccurring conditions that share similar symptoms.
Solution: Nip this trigger in the bud by getting help to manage the symptoms of chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and cooccurring mental health concerns. A therapist will provide you with the tools needed to deal with negative feelings so that you have a healthier outlet. In addition, sign-up for Kindbridge’s self-guided porn addiction treatment platform (just $24.99) which can help you initiate change today.
Trigger: Your Digital Devices
Given your prior use of porn, there’s a good chance that your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, and smartphone are loaded with problematic apps. They are armed with push notifications that call you back when they notice your absence. Further, swiping through your apps may unveil icons that remind your brain that the content it craves is a tap away. While pornography apps are generally excluded from iOs and Android, apps like Tumblr are considered social networks (more on this below) but have adult-only portals where porn can be consumed. Browsing histories are also a concern. An attempt to enter the first few letters of a non-porn website domain name may autofill a porn site that you have frequented in the past and trigger you to view their latest streams of sexually explicit content.
Solution: Delete all apps that you have used to consume sexually explicit content in the past from all of your digital devices. Further, delete your browser history and clear your cache from Safari, Chrome, Firefox, MS, and any other you may use. In addition, unsubscribe from all emails and memberships with porn sites.
Trigger: Social Media
Sexually explicit content is technically not permitted on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and the ironically named X. However, there’s a fine line between what’s excluded and what’s allowed, literally, as all that it required is a small censorship dash over genitalia (etc.) to make content permissible. Further, your brain will have developed past associations between certain social media personas and porn, which can also trigger you to return to consumption.
Solution: Ideally, you would take an extended break from social media until therapeutic and self-guided interventions have loosened the grip porn has on your life. However, this is often not possible, especially when use is required for one’s occupation and/or to maintain familial and social communications. To ensure that social media doesn’t trigger your return to porn, initiate the following:
- Unfollow all profiles (porn stars, etc.) and pages (porn brands) that are directly associated with pornography
- Unfollow and/or block all people who often share porn adjacent content
- Mute posts from people you can’t unfollow (friends and family) who may share porn adjacent content
- Change social media algorithms to feed you content related to healthy alternatives that you’re passionate about
View our guide for how to take a Mental Health Social Media Break, when you can’t.
Trigger: Google Search
As with your digital devices and social media usage, a breadcrumb trail of past behavior remains on Google. Algorithms backed by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will have tailored your search experience accordingly. While pornographic content is generally excluded from being delivered on Google search for non-porn related terms, there is an increased likelihood of being delivered porn adjacent content because of your past behavior.
Solution: You can filter and blur potentially problematic content using Google’s Safe Search feature. Over time, Google’s algorithm will adapt to your new and healthier search habits.
Trigger: Entertainment Streaming Services
While pornography is not allowed on popular entertainment streaming services, there are a large number of movies and shows that push the envelope between R-rated content and softcore pornography. In addition, there are many documentaries about the porn industry and its adult film stars on these platforms which can easily trigger you.
Solution: This may feel a little odd at first, but use the parental/maturity controls provided by each streaming platform to keep sexually explicit content from being presented to you on the primary interface. This does not necessarily exclude you from watching adult programming, per se, as you can filter out content by type, including sex related themes. It’s not a perfect solution but it can mitigate exposure to triggers for those who have a strong compulsion towards sexually explicit content. Links for information on customized settings for the most common platforms are found here:
- NetFlix Content Filters
- Prime Video Content Filters
- Disney Plus Content Filters
- Peacock Content Filters
- YouTube Content Filters
With therapeutic intervention you will soon learn to be able to manage feelings and activities that once triggered you to consume porn in an unhealthy manner. Connect to our online counseling platform via the points of contact provided below to get started.
Learn to Overcome Porn Addiction Triggers
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