Can a woman be addicted to porn?

Even though pornography consumption affects both men and women, true addiction is an often underestimated disease, especially when it involves women.

When can watching pornography become a problem?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the number of hours spent watching pornography that is addictive. Even if that can contribute to it, it is especially the feeling of suffering which is associated with it which matters.

When one suffers from his porn consumption, it is because there may be a discrepancy between moral or religious convictions or a link with the type of pornography watched. This feeling of shame, disgust or guilt gradually sets in as consumption becomes addictive and can even go as far as isolation and depression.

What about porn addiction in women?

According to a rare study on female pornography addiction, about 3% of women may have problematic addiction. One of the hallmarks of addiction is loss of control with longer viewing than originally intended.

Gradually, daily tasks are neglected in favor of consumption, even going as far as a lack of sleep or forgetting to eat.

How to cure porn addiction?

Become aware that you have a problem and the first step to then go to consult. Working on the spiral of addiction through cognitive and behavioral therapy (CBT) in particular, with a psychologist, an addictologist, or even a sexologist, allows you to take a step back from your behavior in order to change it in the long term.

Source: AM Baranowski et al. Prevalence and Determinants of Problematic Online Pornography Use in a Sample of German Women. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 8, 1274 – 1282. Covering 485 German volunteers, aged over 18 and three-quarters of them students.

Find out more: “Before I was addicted to porn: The method to stop pornography”, by Florent Badou.