Reviewed By Priyanka Bhattacharjee, the Licensed and Practicing Clinical Psychologist.
Quitting Porn Cold Turkey
Have you wondered what happens when you stop watching porn? When you abruptly get off porn, even the slightest discomfort can feel like a serious problem. Without our go-to coping mechanism (compulsive behaviour), we tend to overreact and explode. We will be angry with ourselves; we will be angry with others, we will cry, we will be afraid, we will be lonely, and so on.
So, staying around in the early stages of recovery is not always fun. We must accept pain and use it as fuel for the journey. This is our (mostly emotional, not physical) form of withdrawal.
We know that if you are going through this process, you need to talk to a supporter or find yourself a support group wherein people understand sex and pornography addiction and the treatment process of your feelings. Uncontrolled withdrawal symptoms not only lead to the recurrence of porn and sex addiction, but also depression, anxiety, irritability, and similar problems.
Will I Experience Withdrawal Symptoms If I Quit Porn?
When you start questioning how to stop watching porn, Porn users in their recovery period are usually intimidated by the severity of porn addiction withdrawal symptoms when they stop browsing through their favourite porn site on a regular basis. This may be due to the widespread blind spot of relying on the false friendliness of online pornography.
The symptoms are not just physical; you can take over your thoughts and your view of the world (which looks gloomy). However, many of these men reported significant improvement after getting porn free for a period of time.
Some withdrawal symptoms that you may experience when you quit porn are:
- Insomnia and other sleep disorders
- Anxiety, stress and other forms of fear
- Headaches and body pains
- Stiffness in muscles, joints, teeth, jaws, genitals and other parts of the body
- Lethargy and Weakness Depression, despair and other types of sad emotions
- Agitation
- Lack of attention/focus (brain fog)
- Mood swings
- Frustration, irritability, and other forms of anger
Why Do I Have Such Symptoms When I Quit Porn?
As we said before, you are not alone. It is comforting when other people report their withdrawal symptoms so that you know what you are experiencing is normal. Some porn users report multiple mild withdrawal symptoms, while others report severe symptoms.
Once you understand and become aware of what happens when you stop watching porn, you will be able to identify your symptoms much faster.
The symptoms are similar because all addictions have certain neurochemical and cellular changes that affect specific areas of the brain. This does not mean that all dependencies will cause the same changes.
Alcohol or addictive substances can damage or disrupt additional information delivery systems (for example, the use of opioids reduces the level of opioid receptors in our body). Once you quit porn the reward center generates new nerve cell branches which are related to craving. Modern science has found that withdrawal symptoms can cause a series of neurochemical disorders, including:
- Further decrease in dopamine levels
- Decline in levels of opioids and endorphins
- Lower GABA, an anxiolytic neurotransmitter
- Increase in the stress hormone CRF and norepinephrine
- Increased dynorphin levels suppress and weaken your pleasure response after a week.
If you have withdrawal symptoms, it may be
How Do I Deal With Porn Addiction Withdrawal?
Even though porn addiction withdrawal can be quite difficult, it can have really good long-term positive effects. Remember that withdrawal is the first step towards recovery from porn addiction. Here are a few tips for you to deal with porn addiction withdrawal:
Realize that you are on the right track
Withdrawal symptoms can tell you two very important things about your situation:
- You acknowledge and realize that you are addicted to porn
- You are protecting yourself and fighting back against it.
Withdrawal symptoms are the way your brain increases anger. Your brain wants dopamine and you have just cut off its main supply.
When the brain is accustomed to long-term overstimulation, it no longer accepts that this overstimulation is over. As a result, neurochemical changes begin to occur in the brain. Hence, many users report withdrawal symptoms.
It may sound bad, but it is true. Just like how a bodybuilder who loves to burn because it is tearing his muscles to become stronger, we can foresee and embrace the pain of recovering from sex addiction.
Abruptly changing your lifestyle can be frustrating, but it just means that our brains are changing. Don’t think of withdrawal pain as a sign of how bad your physical condition is but as painful healing or a good soreness after exercise.
Try to distract yourself from the symptoms
At this stage now that you know the signs of porn addiction, you can completely transform your brain and help rebuild healthier connections. As you know, your brain needs dopamine. So here is a question: If you crave pornography, what can you replace it with? You can:
- Eat carbohydrates or sugary snacks
- Work out
- Play video games
- Sleep
- Strive to achieve your goals
- Call a friend
- Watch a video to make you laugh
Some of these habits are not particularly healthy. But they are more beneficial than porn addiction and can help you overcome withdrawal problems.
Surround yourself with people
When you are going through withdrawal symptoms, isolation can be your enemy. Get along with healthy and active people. Get out of your house. Maybe go on a date. Take a walk with your friends. Go out for a run. Go to church.
When you are struggling with the withdrawal symptoms of porn addiction, it is easy to isolate yourself. However, it is much more difficult to fall back into your bad habits when you have healthy people around you who take care of you.
Recovery Journey:
Recovery is difficult but necessary. Regardless of how much you love your addiction, or how much you believe in recovery, it will happen. For some people, it can be as easy as admitting their mistakes and moving on; for others, it can mean getting sober and following through with those plans.
There are many different models for recovery that can help you on your path. Treatment like: individual treatment, chemical dependency treatment programs, outpatient drug rehabilitation facilities, etc. If you’re ready to take action but don’t know where to begin, this guide can walk you through the process.
Recovery is a process by which we transform the negative feelings and emotions that stem from our addictions into something positive and useful. We start this process by recognizing and accepting our addiction, then working towards a successful and moderate withdrawal (or temporary “cold” turkey) in an attempt to get clean.
Once we’ve succeeded in overcoming our porn addiction, we can gently wean ourselves off of it, feel more secure, have great mental health, be happy, and also have a better sex life. The good news is that we can overcome any addiction, even the most intense ones like porn addiction or sex addiction. It may take time, patience, and a lot of perseverance, but it can be done.
If you’re interested in learning more about recovery, feel free to visit any of the recovery forums online or pick up the phone and call a few of the support groups listed below. You’re worth it, and the journey is beautiful.
Remember, You Are Not Alone
Now you know what happens when you stop watching porn. This temporary early recovery period can be hard. But you can get through it. However, obsessive/addicted porn users riding the pink cloud should be aware that if they do not cope with the withdrawal symptoms correctly their urge to use pornography will return and may become stronger than ever.
It is easy to relapse into porn addiction or believe that something went wrong in the healing process but there is really no need to relapse, and there is no problem in recovery. In this process, porn users will only encounter a delayed form of withdrawal. Remember, you are not alone and hundreds of other men go through this phase and come out happier and healthier.
