THE HAZARDS OF PORN:
Pornography use has the potential to cause the following problems:
SOCIAL ISOLATION
-Withdrawing from social activity
-Developing a secret life
-Lying to and deceiving others
-Becoming self-centered
-Choosing porn over people
MOOD DISORDERS
-Feeling irritable and defensive
-Feeling angry and depressed
-Experiencing mood swings
-Pervasive anxiety and fearfulness
-Feeling powerless in relation to porn
SEXUALLY OBJECTIFYING OTHER PEOPLE
-Treating people as sexual objects
-Judging people primarily in terms of
their sexual body parts
-Disrespecting other peoples’ needs for
privacy and safety
-Being insensitive about sexually harmful
behavior
ENGAGING IN RISKY AND DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR
-Accessing porn at work or school
-Accessing child porn
-Participating in degrading, abusive, violent, or
criminal sexual activity
-Producing, distributing, or selling porn
-Engaging in physically unsafe and harmful sex
UNHAPPY INTIMATE PARTNER
-Relationship is marred by dishonesty and
deception about porn use
-Partner views porn use as sexual infidelity,
ie.”cheating”
-Partner is increasingly upset and angry
-Partner is concerned about the welfare
of the children
-Partner feels sexually inadequate and threatened
by the porn
-Relationship deteriorates due to lack of trust
and respect
-Loss of emotional closeness and mutual
sexual enjoyment
SEXUAL PROBLEMS
-Loss of interest in sex with a real partner
-Difficulty becoming aroused and/or achieving orgasm without porn
-Intrusive thoughts, fantasies, and images of porn during sex
-Becoming sexually demanding and or rough in sex
-Having difficulty connecting love and caring with sex
-Feeling sexually out of control and compulsive
-Increased interest in risky, degrading, abusive, and/or illegal sex
-Growing dissatisfaction with sex
SELF-LOATHING
-Feeling disconnected from personal values, beliefs, and goals
-Loss of personal integrity
-Damaged self-esteem
-Persistent feelings of guilt and shame
-Feeling controlled by porno
NEGLECTING IMPORTANT AREAS OF LIFE
-Personal health (sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and poor self-care)
-Family life (neglecting spouse, children, and household responsibilities)
-Work and school pursuits (reduces focus, productivity, and advancement)
-Finances (spending on porn depletes resources)
-Spirituality (alienation from faith and spiritual practice)
ADDICTION TO PORN
-Craving porn intensely and persistently
-Difficulty controlling thoughts of, exposure to, and use of porn
-Inability to discontinue porn use despite negative consequences
-Repeated failures to stop using porn
-Requiring more extreme content or intense exposures to porn to get the same effect (habituation symptoms)
-Experiences discomfort and irritability when deprived of porn (withdrawal symptoms)
Information taken from: 2008, Wendy Maltz & Larry Maltz, adapted from The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused By Pornography. www.HealthySex.com (Poster #2)