3 Ideas to Help Ring in the New Year Without Your Porn Addiction

For many of us, seeing 2020 come to an end is going to be a joyous occasion. With 2021 on the horizon, you may be thinking about goals you want to set and achieve over the next year. For example, you are ready to say goodbye to your porn addiction. Yet, you wonder, with all the stress that continues to surround you, if recovery is possible.

Like any addiction, porn addiction is a difficult one to beat. However, you feel ready to take on the challenge and have high hopes for recovery. After all, you're eager to experience life without your porn addiction in 2021. So, what can you do to begin this journey? Where do you start?

Let's discuss porn addiction. We'll provide 3 ideas that may help you move toward porn addiction recovery as you ring in the new year.

What is porn addiction?

Technically speaking, you won't find porn addiction in the official diagnosis book known as the DSM. However, many clinicians will tell you, porn addiction is as real as any other addiction. The damaging effects and changes to the brain it can cause are also just as real.

Porn addiction is the uncontrollable compulsive urge to view pornography. While the intent may be to stop, when thoughts come to turn to porn, they are often so intense that opting out is no longer a simple task. Instead, life, or areas of life, become unmanageable without it. Over time, many begin to choose porn over family, work, vacation time, and anything else. It can change the way your brain intakes, processes, and stores information. Likewise, it can damage relationships, sometimes beyond repair.

However, there is hope. Millions of people are living life in recovery and enjoying the freedoms that come with it. With the right tools, porn addiction recovery is attainable.

3 Ideas to Help you Begin Your Journey Toward Porn Addiction Recovery

1. Commit to recovery. If your goal is to overcome your addiction, the first thing you can do is tell someone. Like many addictions, secrets, lies, and hidden agendas often accompany porn addiction. So, the first thing you can do is tell your partner, friend, or loved one you're ready to get help. Then, commit to recovery every morning of every day from here on out. While the journey won't be easy, knowing your commitment starts over every day can be a great first step.
2. Set Filters and Delete Apps. The next idea to help you on your path toward recovery is to limit access. After you tell your loved one about your desire for help and commitment to recovery, then it's time to delete everything you can. For example, delete saved websites, accounts, and apps. Then, you can ask someone to install an anti-porn filter on every device in your home, but they'll need to keep the password to themselves. Remember to include any children's devices too.
3. Come up with a plan to fill your time. It would be wonderful if a solid commitment and deleting access to porn is all it takes to achieve recovery. However, that's just helping you set up your line of defense. The intense work begins with that first trigger. For example, the initial thought, urge, and desire to turn to your porn addiction will likely come with great intensity. So, what can you do? You can come up with ways to distract. Examples include having a support person to talk to, exercise, journaling, and avoiding isolation. Any healthy, reliable idea is worth writing down. Over time, you'll have a list of options to turn to to help keep you safe from relapse.

I'm Committed to Porn Addiction Recovery, but I Need More Help

Another similarity between porn addiction and other addictions is the need for help. Many addictions are extremely difficult to overcome without support. So, you could reach out to a support group. Likewise, you could seek a professional therapist who specializes in porn addiction treatment.

There are many ways to overcome your addiction and achieve your goal of recovery. An essential part of your success will be to have tools in place that work for you.

At Paradise Creek Recovery Center, we understand how complex porn addiction recovery can be. We help clients acquire the tools they'll need for success. We may be able to help you ring in the new year with a relapse prevention plan in place. Likewise, we would love to see if we can help you find success on your journey toward recovery. Call us today.