In recent years, the rate of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men under 40 has increased significantly. It is thought that the availability of online pornography may be to blame. Pornography-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED), is a specific type of ED, that is thought to be caused by over-exposure to porn. If you can get an erection when watching porn, but not with a partner, it is likely that you are suffering from PIED. In this article, we explore how porn causes ED, but more importantly, some tools you can use to help you kick the habit.
How does porn cause ED?
Dopamine
Over time, high exposure to porn can reduce your sexual responsiveness. This means that you may need to watch more extreme porn to become aroused, to get an erection or to orgasm. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain required for sexual arousal and getting an erection. When you watch porn – and masturbate – you get a huge influx of dopamine. Being exposed to such a high level of dopamine can dull the dopamine receptors in your brain. This means that the receptors need more and more dopamine to be stimulated enough to make you feel aroused. This desensitisation can cause erectile dysfunction, as you may not get enough dopamine stimulation in a real-life situation. You may have conditioned yourself to be sexually responsive to extreme porn, but not real-life sex. This can lead to erectile dysfunction.
Unrealistic Porn
Everyone knows that porn is not realistic. Pornstars are professional actors who often have greater flexibility and stamina than most people. Porn also often features extreme sex acts, which can be carefully staged to exaggerate certain aspects. The situations portrayed in extreme porn are unlikely to occur in real-life. Being exposed to this sort of material can make real-sex feel comparatively disappointing, resulting in a decrease of dopamine.
5 Tools to Help You Quit Porn
1. Web-Filters
There are loads of web-filters available that can block porn sites. Some you apply to your wifi, some you have to apply to each device. If you’re struggling not to watch porn, it’s a good idea to make sure you can’t access it from any of your devices. Many mobile internet providers, will block adult content for you at your request. If you think you’re likely to try and get around the web-filters, you could ask someone else to change the account password, so you can get access to change the settings.
2. Being Held Accountable
Apps like Ever Accountable or Covenant Eyes work by letting someone know when you watch porn. This can be really great if you respond well to peer pressure or if you have friends around you who can act as a support network.
3. Progress Tracker
Victory is a phone app that allows you to monitor your progress and identify patterns in your behaviour that make you slip up. This can be really helpful, because identifying triggers for your porn use, can help you overcome the factors that lead you to porn in the first place. Victory does have a religious angle, where you can ask people to pray for you, but if you’re not religious, the app can still be really productive.
4. Facts, Timers and Community
StopFap2 in an anti-fapping app, that will give you facts about porn when you feel the urge. It will also time your activity, and give you access to an online community for peer support.
5. Get Inspired
There are loads of websites available that give you real-life stories of overcoming porn addiction. Fight the New Drug has loads of videos to watch to educate and inspire you as you work to quit porn.
