Quitting Pornography: The Science-Backed Truth on Its Effects and What to Do About It
- Mike Sonneveldt
- Sep 3
- 8 min read
What are the psychological and physical benefits of Quitting Pornography? And how can you stay motivated with practical strategies?
We discuss the science-backed psychological and physical effects of pornography, and its benefits when quitting.
Key Takeaways:
Pornography addiction is real. Not only that, it damages the brain - especially in the areas that deal with judgment, self-control, and moral decisions.
Quitting pornography may require dealing with it like any other addiction. You need to recognize triggers, temptations, and emotions/traumas that are leading you to it.
5 useful steps: 1) Recognize the addiction, 2) learn the triggers, 3) Prepare a plan, 4) Prepare to fight, and 5) Pray and seek the Lord.
Science-backed Research on The Destructive Nature of Pornography
Listen: Plenty of men want to quit porn.
A lot of other men haven’t yet realized they want to quit pornography.
In 2019, a survey of 4,260 Polish students, all of them pornography users, found that 51% had attempted to quit porn at least once. 72% of those who attempted to quit found themselves dealing with withdrawal symptoms during abstinence.
Overall, the vast majority of men have wanted to quit or abstain from porn at least once in their lives.
Pornography is powerful. It gives men heightened states of arousal, dopamine rushes, and a sense of control over satisfying their sexual desires. Unfortunately, research shows that it also offers addiction-like symptoms when men try to quit.
If most men were honest, they would admit pornography is psychologically and physically destructive. As addiction takes root, it takes more to reach the same high as before.
The National Library of Medicine includes an article titled “Pornography Addiction: A Neuroscience Perspective”. In the paper, it states, “studies of addicts show reduced cellular activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain area…[relied upon]…to make strategic, rather than impulsive, decisions. Patients with traumatic injuries to this area of the brain display problems–aggressiveness, poor judgment of future consequences, inability to inhibit inappropriate responses that are similar to those observed in substance abusers.”
In other words, a pornography addiction results in brain damage much like traumatic injuries do, when involving the areas of the brain that relate to impulse control and judgment.
The paper goes on to say that “In 2002, a study on cocaine addiction demonstrated measurable volume loss in several areas of the brain, including the frontal lobes.”
But that’s not all.
Quitting Pornography is About the Brain...and More
It continues, “In 2007, a VBM study out of Germany looked specifically at pedophilia, and demonstrated almost identical finding to the cocaine, methamphetamine, and obesity studies.[25] It concludes for the first time that a sexual compulsion can cause physical, anatomic change in the brain, the hallmark of brain addiction. A preliminary study showed frontal dysfunction specifically in patients unable to control their sexual behavior.[16] This study used diffusion MRI to evaluate function of nerve transmission through white matter. It demonstrated abnormality in the superior frontal region, an area associated with compulsivity.”
In 2005, Dr. Eric Nestler wrote a paper showing addiction was, in fact, a dysfunction of the mesolimbic reward centers of the brain. He wrote, “Growing evidence indicates that the VTA-NAc pathway and the other limbic regions cited above similarly mediate, at least in part, the acute positive emotional effects of natural rewards, such as food, sex and social interactions. These same regions have also been implicated in the so-called ‘natural addictions’ (that is, compulsive consumption for natural rewards) such as pathological overeating, pathological gambling, and sexual addictions. Preliminary findings suggest that shared pathways may be involved: (an example is) cross-sensitization that occurs between natural rewards and drugs of abuse.”
So what does this mean?
Quitting pornography is not just a mental thing. It’s not simply a spiritual thing. It attacks a man’s entire being.
We become addicted to pornography because it feels good, and we get a reward. Our brains associate the fulfillment of addictions like drugs and pornography with natural rewards like food, social interactions, and rest.
Simply put, porn lights our brains and bodies up. We like the feeling and want more of it. Over time, our brains become rewired. Unfortunately, that rewiring is not a positive result.
The Psychological Benefits of Quitting Porn
However, there is hope. Quitting porn not only helps stop the negative progression of effects but also can help improve focus, reduce anxiety, improve emotional regulation, and enhance self-esteem.
Men taking on the challenge of removing pornography from their life often report improved moods, better self-regulation, and an increase in ability to delay gratification. While the quitting process takes time, the slow and steady improvements make the process of quitting porn rewarding in itself.
Just like quitting any addiction, the process can also have helpful benefits physically.
The Physical Benefits of Quitting Porn
While the psychological often leads the physical, the physical benefits of quitting porn are profound. Unfortunately, more and more men are dealing with physical issues that are typically more common later in life. Problems like low libido, erectile dysfunction, and lack of motivation are increasingly showing up earlier in life for young men with powerful porn addictions.
Meanwhile, studies indicate that quitting pornography can lead to improved sleep, increased libido and sensitivity, higher energy levels, and motivation for healthy activity such as exercise.
Strategies for Quitting Pornography
For many people, especially in the religious community, a misunderstanding of the biological and psychological effects of pornography use means a latent disregard for the quitting process. While Christians may provide plenty of sympathy towards the severely addicted cocaine user or heroin addict, less patience seems to be given to the pornography addicted man.
In essence, plenty of men are told to “Pray more and stop doing it.”
Sadly, the pressure of having to stop coupled with a feeling that God isn’t just removing it means scores of men within the church are isolated and self-condemned in what feels like an impossible task.
Thankfully, reasonable strategies for quitting pornography do exist.
For any man, the process for quitting pornography is:
Recognize it is an addiction. Just like other addictions, the brain is being rewired to not just want the stimulus, but crave and eventually need it. On a positive note, the physical dependency does not threaten the life of the person, unlike some addictions such as alcohol addiction, in which the quitting can result in life-threatening complications.
Either way, acknowledging that what you’re dealing with is more than just a habit can help take the pressure off for immediate and perfect results.
Learn your triggers. I typically call triggers seeds. There are often situations or stimuli that begin the seeking process. Much like an alcoholic is more likely to reach for a drink when stressed, we seek out the behavior when we feel depressed, stressed, anxious, or alone. Obviously, sexually suggestive material can also be a trigger.
As a man heads down the path of pornography addiction, he also rewires his brain and body on how he sees women. Many men increasingly view women “objectively” as opposed to those with whom they desire to build a relationship. Extended pornography use can result in a diminishing of real-world emotional connections and an increase in simply desiring sexual satisfaction.
Men must recognize the triggers that start them on the pornography loop. So, list out your triggers. Begin observing those moments when you feel most susceptible to addiction urges, and write down how you feel, what is going on around you, and what you’ve seen.
Triggers often occur from something viewed, which may be innocuous, or from negative emotions and even past trauma.
Prepare a plan. Identify alternatives for managing stimuli and negative emotions. When you’re feeling depressed or lonely, go for a walk or drive to get a cup of coffee. If you find yourself tempted late at night when you’re tired (and your willpower is minimal), then go to bed before the urges begin to kick in.
Create reasonable plans that will remove you from the moments of temptation as best as possible, and begin to use healthy alternatives to deal with stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
Just as alcoholics don’t spend time in bars, you should avoid tempting pathways.
Get ready to fight. Remember, it’s an addiction. The drug addict will go through periods of heavy need that result in physical withdrawal symptoms. You will too. It’s normal. Those moments when you’re in bed late at night, wide awake with a racing heart and everything in you wants to grab the phone – that’s normal. You are retraining your body and brain, and neither of them wants anything to do with retraining.
Be okay with learning how to resist and struggle against everything inside you. Slowly and surely, giving in will get less and less, and you’ll find yourself beginning to have more control over the urges.
It takes time, patience, and perseverance.
Pray and seek the Lord. Our addictions are self-gratifying. Often at the expense of others. When we put our energy, focus, and desire into something other than ourselves, we grow in understanding the negative effects of selfishness.
Prayer is for the Lord’s strength, but understand that most times it won’t be an overnight transformation. You have lessons to learn. And prayer helps get your mind off of your gratification and onto the purposes of someone greater than yourself.
Seeking the Lord helps establish that men are at their best when selfless and humble. Whether Christian or not, recognizing something greater than ourselves helps us understand that our actions affect others, and the consequences of that can be beneficial or disastrous. It puts us in the proper position in life.
A Testimony of Quitting Porn
Luke knew pornography was destructive. But he couldn’t help it. He followed the destructive spiral. Desire would rise up, he’d take care of it, and guilt and shame would follow. Over time, Luke found himself desiring more and more extreme pornography, chasing after the high that just didn’t happen with the softer stuff like it used to.
Luke finally decided he needed to quit. It was destroying him mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Slowly, Luke learned how to observe his triggers. He noticed that depression and feelings of inadequacy often resulted in severe desires...even if after a few days. He recognized that even innocuous images of women might start the process, planting small seeds that, left unchecked, grew into full-blown needs.
Luke resolved to quit porn no matter what. At night, he would lie in bed, wide awake, shaking with anxiety and desire. His heart racing, he would at times have to physically restrain himself from grabbing his phone.
Some nights, he failed.
Other nights, he fell asleep, mind awash in screaming desires.
Over time, Luke noticed that those nights were fewer. The seemingly insurmountable wall of desire shrank. Luke progressively rewired his brain to not crave pornography, leading him to find contentment in other areas.
Eventually, Luke realized that enough time had passed and his brain had rewired enough that the strong desires were no longer big, massive cravings. They were smaller, easily recognizable, and preventable.
Quitting Porn is Possible
Research suggests that successfully quitting pornography can take a year or two to truly rewire the brain. More serious cases may take 2 to 3 years; however, the hardest part is often within the first 6 months to a year.
Pornography is destructive.
No one would argue that cocaine is a beneficial or even harmless pastime. Likewise, it’s time for both the addict and the non-addict to understand that dealing with a pornography addiction is so much more than a simple habit. It’s not just a leisure activity. It’s not just a sin issue. It’s a psychological and biological prison.
Sadly, it can quickly become a full-blown addiction that alters the brain. However, just like other addictions, conquering it is possible.
Start small, track your progress, and get professional help if needed. But no matter what, it’s time to start quitting porn today.
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