Quitting porn is a personal choice and the impact differs for each individual.
With limited research on the subject, we’ve turned to available studies and anecdotal evidence to provide insights into what one might expect during this process.
In this article, we’ll discuss the potential outcomes and benefits of choosing to quit porn, offering a balanced and understanding perspective on the topic.
We’ll cover:
- How to classify your porn use
- General porn quitting timeline of short-term, mid-term, and long-term
- 3 physical benefits of quitting porn
- 3 mental and emotional benefits of quitting porn
- FAQs about quitting porn
Related Read: Which Are The 7 Best Porn Blocking Apps in 2024?
Quitting Porn Timeline: What to Expect
Quitting pornography is a process that differs depending on the person.
Many still debate the effects of porn, though there is strong evidence it is addictive and harmful. Likewise, the scientific community is still developing ways to classify porn addiction. There is still disagreement on how to diagnose it or treat it.
Research can take years to conduct and publish. Because of:
- constant use of personal digital devices like phones and laptops,
- free porn sites with millions of videos with every fetish under the sun represented, and
- the increase in permissibility surrounding pornography,
studies on porn conducted even a decade ago can be seen as outdated. Clinical diagnosis and treatment lag and people are left to online forums when they think something’s wrong.
Quitting porn: The Effects on a Timeline
Before we jump into the effects of quitting porn on a timeline, it’s helpful to classify your own porn use.
The side effects of quitting porn will differ depending on several factors.
These include:
- What kind of porn you look at (videos or images, violent or specific genres)
- Your gender & sex drive and other personality traits specific to you
- The types of sexual behaviors you perform while watching it
- How you access it (phone or computer)
- How long you’ve been looking at porn
- How frequently you consume porn
To determine how addicted you are, check out Dr. Kevin Skinner’s 4th, 5th, and 6th levels of porn addiction.
If one of these levels describes you well, then Dr. Skinner says porn withdrawal symptoms may occur:
Level 4: Do these describe you?
- Porn impacts my life because of less focus on work, school, and relationships
- I am wondering if there I have a problem
- I feel irritable if I can’t watch it
- I have attempted to stop & failed
- I am beginning to feel hopeless
Level 5: Do these describe you?
- Porn has become a daily routine or I can’t go a few days without it
- I think about it regularly even when not watching it
- I have an increased awareness that porn has an “outsized influence” on my life
Level 6: Do these describe you?
- I use porn daily & feel out of control
- I am losing or starting to lose things in life, such as work, school achievement, desire for partner, entire relationships, beliefs
If your porn use falls within one of these categories, it’s reasonable to expect that your porn-quitting process will come with withdrawal symptoms. You’ll likely experience a tougher time the higher level you are—but don’t let that stop you from trying.
The Porn Withdrawal Timeline
1. Short-term (0 to 14 days without porn)
Studies discuss that typical addiction-withdrawal symptoms might manifest in the few days and weeks after quitting porn. This is because addictions to drugs and addictions to behaviors like using the internet or looking at porn create similar reactions in the brain (Alavi et al., 2012, Blum et al., 2015, Love et al., 2015).
Watching porn releases high levels of dopamine in the brain. Researchers studying the neuroscience of porn explain:
“the continued release of dopamine into the reward system when an individual compulsively and chronically watches Internet pornography stimulates neuroplastic changes that reinforce the experience,” (Love et al., 2015).
This means that mood swings related to dopamine levels plummeting without porn stimulation are possible.
During this time you might experience:
- Mood modification, irritability, depressive feelings (Fernandez et al., 2019; long-time porn addicts Reddit thread)
- Restlessness, boredom, cravings for porn (long-time porn addicts Reddit thread)
- “Zombie-like numbness to pleasure and emotion,” feelings of dullness and helplessness (Wilson, 2014).
- Brain fog, fatigue, headache, decreased motivation (Fernandez et al., 2021)
- Insomnia (Wilson, 2014, Fernandez et al., 2021, Reboot Nation video).
As one person quitting porn wrote on an online forum, “You’re a dopamine addict who just eliminated their best source” (long-time porn addicts Reddit thread).
This sums up well what happens when you stop watching porn in the initial days and weeks: The body responds to the lack of dopamine rushes that porn (and the sexual release accompanying it) was delivering.
2. Mid-term (14 to 90 days without porn)
The side effects of quitting porn listed above might last a few days, two weeks, or even up to a few months.
It’s tough to say how long you’ll feel acute symptoms of quitting porn because:
- Everyone’s use patterns differ
- Everyone’s reasons for being addicted are different, and
- Everyone’s ability to fight addictions is different
One distinct withdrawal symptom that happens “around 2 weeks up to the first couple months,” is the flatline (NoFap).
The flatline is a period of decreased libido or sexual interest. In one study, one third of respondents experienced the flat line (Fernandez et al., 2021).
As one person who went through it described the flatline, “After a few days of brain tantrums (cravings), I went into flatline for weeks. Basically, I felt totally indifferent about girls, sex, everything… It was like somebody just pulled the plug on whatever machine provides my sex drive. No libido at all” (Wilson, 2014).
Between 2 weeks and three months, you might expect these effects of quitting porn:
- Flatline (no sexual interest)
- Continuing mood alteration & depression
- Intense, random cravings
Source: long-time porn addicts Reddit thread, Wilson, 2014
3. Long-term (past 90 days)
In studies on recovering drug addicts, 90 days marks a return to control in dopamine reward pathway systems, and dopamine production in the brain returns to normal levels (Hanlon et al., 2013).
However, triggers remain. You might have fewer acute symptoms, but old triggers to look at porn can remain. (Fernandez et al., 2021). One commenter described constant smartphone scrolling on social media as a problem for him when trying to quit porn (Reddit post, “how breaking my phone…”).
It’s also important to remember that issues you experienced pre-porn might resurface if porn seemed to help you ignore them, or continue if they were always problems you had.
One Reddit commenter writes, ““PMO numbs all your true emotions. If your life is missing essentials, when you remove the opiate that is porn you’ll start to feel how bad your life is. You’ll feel the loneliness, the unresolved childhood trauma, the pain of past betrayal, your own failures. Don’t avoid these feelings. Have courage and face them as they arise and eventually you’ll heal” (long-time porn addicts Reddit thread).
After 3 months, you might expect:
- Less acute symptoms like headaches or insomnia
- Continued triggers
- Continued problems that existed pre-porn addiction
Wondering how to block porn? Start your own porn-quitting timeline right now with the best-rated porn blocker, Canopy.
Those are the symptoms, but what about the benefits?
3 Physical Benefits of Quitting Porn
The side effects of quitting porn can also be positive.
Once past any acute withdrawal symptoms, many studies and anecdotes cite the physical benefits of quitting porn—from better sex life to more energy.
1. Better sex life
- People were less likely to use porn the day after they had sex. Heterosexual men in relationships were less likely to have sex with their partner if they watched porn that day (Vaillancourt-Morel et al., 2020).
- Respondents cited improvements in partnered sex and sensitivity after abstaining from porn (Fernandez et al., 2021).
- Another study found that among compulsive pornography users who experience low sexual desire during sex, quitting porn for an extended period of time can result in successful partnered sex (Bronner & Ben-Zion, 2015).
- Respondents reveal revitalized sex lives with partners after quitting porn: “The reward for 4 months of no porn has been an improved sex life with my wife” (Wilson, 2014).
2. Less sexual dysfunction
- For problematic porn users, the likelihood of erectile dysfunction is higher (Jacobs et al., 2021).
- Half of respondents had a decrease in ED problems after a period of abstaining from porn and masturbation (Fernandez et al., 2021).
- Porn users who grow accustomed to specific porn can begin to compare and prefer pornography and masturbation to sex with a partner and experience dissatisfaction with their relationship (Wright et al., April 2021).
- More porn use increases the likelihood of “sexually dominant behaviors, distancing them from their partners, and reducing their sense of sexual satisfaction.” (Wright et al., March 2021).
- The more porn used, the more likely the respondent was to request acts seen in pornography and think of porn when engaging in sex with a partner (Sun et al., 2016).
Related read: How Porn Affects Relationships
3. Increased energy
Whether perceived or mental rather than physical, many who quit porn say they feel more energy.
- Abstaining from porn led to more energy and productivity, one respondent wrote: “ “No porn, no masturbation and I had more energy, more mental clarity, more happiness, less tiredness” (Fernandez et al., 2021).
- After quitting porn, multiple respondents mention increased energy (Wilson, 2014).
Are you ready to regain control of your sexual desires? One of the best porn blocker apps is Canopy. Block porn with Canopy here.
3 Mental and Emotional Benefits of Quitting Porn
Addictive drugs affect not just the brain’s reward circuit, but the physical body– heroin users can experience collapsed veins and meth users can lose their teeth.
If someone classifies themselves as addicted to porn, they might experience some physical issues, but almost certainly experience mental and emotional issues. Quitting porn can help.
Some of the mental and emotional benefits of quitting porn include:
1. Delayed gratification
An important mark of maturity, and something that helps people live productive, meaningful lives, is the ability to delay gratification.
- One study hypothesized that porn users would have higher rates of delay discounting, which is “devaluing larger, later rewards in favor of smaller, more immediate rewards.” The researchers found that those abstaining from porn for the duration of the study had an increased ability to delay gratification, or decrease delay discounting (Negash et al., 2015).
- This ability is a great one for those seeking control in general over their lives. This study corroborates ex-porn users’ reports of feeling more in control and empowered after quitting porn (long-time porn addicts Reddit thread).
2. Increased sociability
An overwhelming number of porn quitters cite an increased ability or desire to socialize.
- Whether it’s decreased social anxiety or feeling an increased emotional connection with others, quitting porn seems to come with newfound sociability. (Fernandez et al., 2021; Wilson, 2014; long-time porn addicts Reddit thread, Your Brain on Porn personal account 1).
- Studies have found that shyness and social anxiety is increased in porn users (Luster et al., 2013; Yoder et al., 2005).
- Many respond that porn and social anxiety seem to be linked, without suggesting causality (Your Brain on Porn social anxiety).
3. Stronger emotional responses (in general)
Alongside an improved emotional connection with others, those who quit porn see an increased ability to ‘feel’ in general.
- One finding from quitting porn was deeper emotions. One former porn user wrote, “I just ‘feel’ on a deeper level. with work, friends, past times, there have been waves of emotions, good & bad, but it’s a great thing,” another wrote, “My brain can get so much more excited about little things and things that aren’t pure pleasure…like socializing or writing a paper or playing sports” (Fernandez et al., 2021).
- Another former porn user says “I seem to feel more than I used to,” (Wilson, 2014).
Are you ready to gain control over your life and emotions again? Block porn with Canopy here.
Quitting Porn – Questions That Might Come Up
Why is quitting porn so hard?
Quitting porn is hard because your brain gets used to the dopamine hits, as described in this video. Your Brain on Porn lists research showing the addictive nature of pornography.
Dr. Kevin Skinner, referenced earlier, writes,
“Maintaining sobriety is much like preparing for and running a marathon— it requires a lot of work. The initial phases are very hard. They require strict discipline and grueling days. Eventually, enough preparation has been made and the race begins. In the initial stages there is strong motivation. However, the wall is eventually hit and withdrawal symptoms manifest themselves” (Treating Pornography Addiction: The Essential Tools for Recovery).
Can you masturbate when quitting porn?
According to the few studies that exist and online forums, there is no general consensus on the answer to this question. Many suggest that you might not want to without porn, or that it’s not a problem as long as masturbation isn’t compulsive or paired with negative emotions (Reddit thread “can you masturbate…”)
However, if your depression and anxiety coming from your porn and masturbation addiction is related to moral or religious concerns, quitting porn and not quitting masturbation will probably not help you.
How do you quit porn?
Quitting porn is a different process for everyone, but there are definitely helpful tips for ridding yourself of the need for porn. Check out our article on how to quit porn.
Citations and References
- Treating Pornography Addiction: The Essential Tools for Recovery
- Alavi et al., 2012
- Blum et al., 2015
- Love et al., 2015
- Fernandez et al., 2019
- long-time porn addicts Reddit thread
- Wilson, 2014
- Reboot Nation video
- NoFap
- Hanlon et al., 2013
- Reddit post, “how breaking my phone…
- Vaillancourt-Morel et al., 2020
- Bronner & Ben-Zion, 2015
- Jacobs et al., 2021
- Wright et al., April 2021
- Wright et al., March 2021
- Sun et al., 2016
- Negash et al., 2015
- Your Brain on Porn personal account
- Luster et al., 2013
- Yoder et al., 2005
- Your Brain on Porn social anxiety
- this video (Your Brain on Porn dopamine video)
- Your Brain on Porn
- Reddit thread “can you masturbate…”
- Dangers of Sexting (Consequences)
Worried about your children as well? Here’s our review of the science of the effects of porn on teenagers.
