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How To Quit Porn Forever: 11 Science-Backed Methods

how to quit porn

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The effects of porn are often personal.

If you’re feeling the negative impact of porn in your life it’s understandable to want to quit or take a break for a while.

We’ve already written about the effects of quitting porn here, but what about *actually* quitting? How do you do that?

In this article, we look at multiple sources: first-hand Reddit accounts and scientific studies.

We find 11 methods for how to quit porn for you to try.

Table of Contents

  • 11 Best Ways to Stop Watching Porn 
    • This section discusses 11 methods for quitting porn. It’s chock full of research and first-hand accounts.
  • Porn Withdrawal: What to Expect and How to Fight it 
    • This section discusses the many withdrawal symptoms that are possible when quitting porn and how you can combat them
  • 7 Signs that Watching Porn is a Problem
    • This section discusses the indicators in your life that your porn habit is a problem
  • 8 Negative Impacts of Porn
    • This section cites research-backed drawbacks to looking at porn 

Related: Block porn for good with Canopy (you’ll even avoid inappropriate pictures across every website, like Twitter, YouTube, and lingerie websites).

How to Quit Porn – 11 Best Ways to Stop Watching Porn

1. Therapy

Porn addiction falls under the umbrella of Reward Deficiency Syndromes (Gondré-Lewis et al., 2021). Other issues classified as RDS include PTSD, anxiety, and depression to name a few. Courses of treatment for porn addiction have not been generalized. But, therapy can be extremely helpful (Derbyshire & Grant, 2015).

Many types of therapy can be helpful. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps porn users. In CBT, the client works with a therapist to change their thinking and respond more effectively to their addiction or condition. 

In a study on CBT for internet addictions, “95% of clients [able] to manage symptoms at the end of the twelve weeks and 78% sustained recovery six months following treatment,” (Young, 2013).

Another CBT option suggested by some psychiatrists is dopamine fasting. Under the guidance of a therapist, porn users can gain control over addictive behaviors (Fei et al., 2021). 

2. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness

Mind-body centering exercises are another way to quit porn. Meditation helps people with addiction because:

One study found meditation can help people trying to figure out how to quit porn addiction specifically.

The researchers write that mindfulness helped with:

  • “improving affect regulation,
  • stress coping, and
  • increasing tolerance for desires to act on maladaptive sexual urges and impulses”

(Source: Reid et al., 2013). 

One ex-porn user outlined how to quit porn addiction with meditation. He was able to use meditation and slowly phased out porn from his life, eliminating cravings or desire for porn. He writes, “you take control of your weak moments instead of pretending you can eliminate them altogether,” (“Meditation Gate” forum poster).

Many different online forum posters report meditating, many with good results. Others say meditation is helpful with other tools like exercise or porn blockers (“How could meditation help me overcoming my porn addiction?”, Zhang et al., 2019).

3. Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins and can help with depression and anxiety symptoms (Mayo Clinic). One study even found exercise on par with taking antidepressants (Blumenthal et al., 2007). 

Exercise might not be your “how to quit porn fast” solution. (Actually, none of these necessarily work “fast.”) It also might not be the only thing that helps you to kick the habit. But we know it has definitive benefits for people who can’t stop watching porn:

Exercise is also a common theme on forums discussing the best ways to stop watching porn:

4. Finding alternatives for dopamine boosts (short- and long-term)

When an urge to watch porn hits, find a dopamine-producing activity to do.

Some ideas include: 

  • Eat a snack
  • Exercise
  • Go outside in the sun 
  • Play video games
  • Listen to a favorite or happy song 
  • Work on a goal 
  • Call a friend who can make you laugh

If you want to know how to quit porn forever, you have to consider long-term dopamine-boosting activities. For example, an exercise routine or eating well. Studies show that what we eat impacts our response to:

  • stress,
  • impulse control,
  • even risk of relapse into addictions 

(Jongkees et al., 2015; Adams et al., 2015; Mahboub et al., 2021) 

Another long-term way to boost your happiness is by living generously. Whether it’s volunteering or donating, giving makes you happier (Park et al., 2017; Lawton et al., 2020). Aside from the mental benefits, you’ll be out of the house and engaged with others—with less time for unhealthy habits. 

5. Fasting, cold plunge, other willpower-building activities 

Self-control or willpower can be cultivated (Muraven et al., 1997; Oaten & Cheng 2010). We talked about exercise’s many benefits, but it’s also helpful for building discipline.

Like exercise, some other things to do that build self-control include:

  • Fasting or dieting 
  • Cold showers or cold plunges
  • Drinking less or not at all

Many online forum posters say building willpower is a good tool for fighting porn addiction. They mention drinking less or working out as examples. By doing these things, you build up control over your body. When you have control over your bodily impulses, you can use it however you want (“How to increase willpower”; “this is about self-control”). (“How to increase willpower”; “this is about self-control”).

6. Addressing underlying issues

People who look at porn may find that it’s a coping mechanism for some underlying issue. Some reasons for looking at porn could be: 

  • depression or anxiety, 
  • previous trauma, 
  • self-esteem issues, or
  • loneliness 

Researchers say there is more to learn, and many say they look at porn simply because of boredom or sexual pleasure. But porn use is also associated with things like stress reduction and emotional distraction (Bothe et al., 2021). 

You might find yourself unable to stop looking at porn. It might feel there’s a void it fills. For many, it’s not porn, but rather another problem in your life that needs fixing. One online forum poster summed it up well: 

“Porn is not the reason you’re a procrastinator. Porn is not the reason you’re depressed. Porn is not the reason you’re lonely. Porn is not the reason you haven’t been able to lose weight or gain muscle. Porn is the symptom. You watch porn to escape reality. You watch porn to manage your emotions. You watch porn because you’re bored, lonely, stressed, depressed, angry, isolated. You watch porn to feel good for a moment, to replace uncomfortable emotions and situations in your life” (“Complete guide to quit porn”).

Another wrote, “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…”).

7. Reducing triggers

Identify and eliminate triggers for porn use to make your life easier. For many, triggers can be found everywhere. The most common triggers are found on the internet or on your phone.

One online poster described his phone addiction. For him, the triggers on it went hand in hand with his porn addiction (“How breaking my phone addiction broke my porn addiction”). For some, how to quit internet porn is hand in hand with how to quit the internet in general. 

Some common triggers include:

  • Social media (Instagram, Facebook) 
  • Movies and TV
  • YouTube
  • Online ads

(Source: Fernandez et al., 2021)

One online forum commenter wrote,

“I quit a number of years ago, some other things to remember: Delete social media apps that trigger you – I deleted IG, and blocked Twitch. They caused me too many temptations that led to me doing stuff so I had to stop.” 

Note: You can block all unexpected pornographic images across every website (without blocking the site itself) with Canopy.

You might find it helpful to delete apps or get off social media entirely. You can also change your environment or habits during typical “porn time”:

  • Making sure someone is nearby when you’re using any personal devices,
  • Leaving devices out in common spaces rather than bringing them into your bedroom
  • During the time of day you end up looking at porn, fill that time intentionally or find a way to make it impossible.

8. Join an online forum or support group 

Joining some type of support group also helps many people quit porn. Group therapy and support groups can be helpful for people with porn addiction (Derbyshire & Grant, 2015). 

Because the medical field has yet to even classify porn as an addiction, it can be harder to find tried and true ways to quit. Alcoholics and drug addicts often find the most success with support groups. 

Whether it’s in person or online, finding a group of people you can be honest with who will understand can be extremely helpful. One online forum with over a million users is Porn Addiction and Compulsive Sexual Behavior Peer Support Forum on Reddit.

9. Building self-efficacy 

“Believe in yourself” seems like a cliché saying on a poster found in a grade school classroom. But it’s actually good advice for quitting anything, even porn. “Self-efficacy evaluations not only predict successful abstinence, but are also related to coping activities during maintenance,” (Diclimente, 1986). 

Self-efficacy is the belief one has in their own ability to do things or act a certain way. Thinking you are a pathetic porn user, or that it will be impossible to quit, is the best way to fail at quitting porn. 

As one online forum poster writes, “Develop an indestructible belief in yourself. One of the main reasons we quit goals is because deep inside we don’t believe we’re actually able to do it” (“Complete guide to quit porn”).

Researchers often talk about perception with porn use. Religiosity and feelings of shame about porn use often determine a person’s:

  • perceived mental health,
  • physical health or
  • self-esteem. 

Similarly, a newer term coined in research is “Self-Perceived Problematic Porn Use (SPPPU). SPPPU is when someone identifies  as addicted to porn because:

  • they think they can’t regulate their porn consumption,
  • their use interferes with everyday life.”

(Source: Sniewski at al., 2018)

Whether or not someone believes they are unable to stop watching porn greatly impacts their mindset when quitting. Many online forum commenters echo the idea that feeling in despair, pathetic, or shameful are all impediments to quitting porn. 

One commenter writes, “I would say to remember that it’s not shameful. I disagree with the sense that self-degradation upon relapse for any addiction is somehow helpful. Shame breeds an increasing lack of self-worth which leads to sadness and depression that will produce a carelessness spiraling into more relapse and it’s just a negative cycle of self-hatred” (“Best ways to quit pornography”).

If you really want to quit porn, aside from shame or self-loathing, and build up your self-worth and self-efficacy. 

 10. Start small & embrace entire holistic change 

Like drug addicts who wean off their drug of choice, some online forum posters say they have had more success if they slowly stop using porn. Some say counting days has hindered their mindset and ability to quit.

“Abstinence is NOT Recovery,” one commenter writes. “What people usually try to do is go as many days clean as they can. That’s all they do. That’s all their goal [is]. They achieve a certain amount of days, then for whatever reason they relapse, so they start over and repeat.” (“Complete guide to quit porn”).

Gradual quitting isn’t for everyone. Research suggests quitting cold turkey can work better (Cheong et al., 2007). If you want to know how to quit porn cold turkey, the other options in this list work well. 

For others who want to reduce their porn use or find that cold turkey hasn’t worked, a gradual method might work better. 

One online poster writes, “Start small. If you just quit, you’ll get back to it eventually. Don’t do streaks, don’t count days, that’s b******* and it will only demotivate you. Look, if you gap 10 times a week, then you decide to stop but wank it once after 6 days, that’s huge progress! Start small, then progressively do it less and less. If you do it once a day, start by doing that every other day maximum. Then you’ll crave it lesser and lesser. Then you can start to reduce it again and again until eventually you don’t do it anymore” (“Best ways to quit pornography”).

11. Add porn blockers to your devices 

No matter what device you use, there are settings to prevent explicit material from even showing up on your screen. Check out our article How to Block Porn on All Devices for adding porn-blocking settings to many different devices. For what the protection settings can’t cover, there are many porn blocker apps that will block nudity or porn from your phone.

Not only can seeing explicit images or videos be a trigger, but these blocks can also keep you accountable if you experience a moment of weakness.

Porn blocker apps can block entire websites, categories, and apps that have explicit content on them. Canopy, set apart by its groundbreaking technology can:

  • Block images and videos with nudity on web browsers and some apps
  • Make real-time decisions about content rather than relying on a list of bad sites 
  • Filter websites and some apps, block any app 
  • Prevent images from being taken with nudity (preventing sexting)
  • Allow an accountability buddy to keep you in check 

“The idea is you need to cut out your ability to even access triggering content when you get an urge”  (“Men of Reddit who have successfully Quit porn”).

If you want to know how to quit porn forever, you might have to use every single one of the methods listed. But if you think it’s time to stop watching porn for good, start with blocking porn with Canopy here. 

Porn Withdrawal: What to Expect and How to Fight It

Some researchers say porn addiction is just like substance addictions and can come with withdrawal symptoms of:

  • depression,
  • dysphoria, and
  • irritability

(Source: Love et al., 2015).

Everyone’s chemical makeup is different and everyone’s pattern of using porn is different, too. The length of time these withdrawal symptoms will persist also varies by person. So when you’re wondering how long does it take to quit porn? Or, how long are these withdrawal symptoms going to last? The answer might be a few weeks to a few months, but will depend on you.

But here are some typical documented withdrawal symptoms:

Physical withdrawal symptoms

Many people say they watch porn because of boredom. So it makes sense that feeling restless and bored are part of the porn withdrawal experience. Instead of allowing these symptoms to drive you crazy, fill your time with an energy-exerting activity.

Insomnia is a big one for porn quitters because often porn addicts look at porn every night before sleeping. Getting back to basics helps: commit to a sleep schedule and routine, only sleep in your bed/bedroom, don’t look at any screens for an hour or two before bed, etc. 

If you’re really struggling, temporary use of melatonin or even a sleeping pill might help you get over the initial withdrawal insomnia. This is something you should probably discuss with a doctor, but might be helpful. 

The “flatline” or failure to perform sexually is a common porn withdrawal response. Many report it happening between 2 weeks and the first couple months of no porn (NoFap).

Simply knowing that this is a normal reaction can be helpful for many people quitting porn. Many online forum commenters describe how worrisome it can be, but that it passes with time. 

These are typical withdrawal reactions for many kinds of addictions. Keep up your routines and add dopamine-producing activities (exercise and a healthy diet). You can consider over-the-counter medicine for headaches. If you’re feeling these symptoms all at once, be sure to check with your doctor that something else isn’t going on. 

Mental withdrawal symptoms 

All of these symptoms might make you feel like being alone, but being alone is probably the worst thing for a recovering porn addict. You might consider group or individual therapy, a support group, or making sure you’re spending time with close friends. 

  • “Zombie-like numbness to pleasure and emotion,” feelings of dullness and helplessness (Wilson, 2014). 

You can also fight these symptoms by talking about them with a close friend or therapist. These (and really any mental withdrawal symptoms) can feel trapping and isolating. Fight the urge to ignore these feelings and take them on alone, which can make them worse.

The posts “Complete guide to quit porn for good and improve your life” and “Atomic Habits of going porn free” are helpful. They discuss holistic changes for fighting porn.

Instead of just figuring out how to quit watching porn, you might need to change your mindset and many of your ways of living in order to really feel better. 

Read more on this topic: Effects of quitting porn (the timeline)

7 Signs that Watching Porn is a Problem 

If you suspect that your porn-watching is problematic, it probably is. Typically, researchers describe problematic porn use in terms of the degree of: 

  • impaired control, 
  • salience, 
  • mood modification, 
  • interpersonal conflict, and 
  • general life conflict 

(Source: Fernandez & Griffiths, 2021).

Here are some examples of signs your porn addiction is a problem in your life:

  • Less ability to focus on work, school, and relationships
  • Wondering if there is a problem or awareness that porn has “outsized influence” in your life
  • Feeling irritable if unable to watch it 
  • Attempting to stop & failing
  • Beginning to or feeling hopeless
  • Using daily or semi-daily, can’t go a few days without it, feeling out of control
  • Losing important things: job, school achievement, desire for partner, relationships, beliefs 

(Treating Pornography Addiction: The Essential Tools for Recovery). 

Again, answering the question “Am I addicted to porn?” or “Is my porn habit a problem?” are really only questions you can answer. Speaking with a therapist, trusted friend, or mentor might help tease out the answer. 

8 Negative Impacts of Porn

This is not an exhaustive list of the negative impacts of porn. But, it touches on the mental, physical and relational impacts researchers have found porn impacts users. 

If you’re worried about the toll porn can take on a relationship, check out our article “how porn impacts relationships.” In it, we dive into the data available and discuss them.

Citations and References

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