What happens when you quit porn?
On your porn-free journey, you will experience initial challenges as you cope with withdrawal and try to build new habits. But if you stay disciplined and power through the initial flatline, your brain and body heal, and you will find a new balance.
So, what exactly are the mental and physical benefits of quitting porn? And how long does it take for you to be free of porn addiction? Let’s find out.
Why Quit Porn?
Watching porn, even casually, carries hidden physical and mental costs.
People who watch porn are more likely to report sexual dysfunction challenges and lower relationship satisfaction. People addicted to porn often struggle with mental health challenges of dopamine dysregulation, stress, anxiety, and depression. Watching porn is also linked to feeling internal conflict and guilt.
What happens when you quit porn? It opens a door to a better life. Quitting porn reverses the harmful physical, mental, and emotional consequences of pornography and restores your dopamine sensitivity.
What Happens When You Quit Porn Physically?
What happens when you quit watching porn – physically?
The most dramatic effect of quitting porn happens on your brain and nervous system.
Regular porn use floods your brain with dopamine, the neurochemical associated with pleasure and reward. With frequent exposure, your brain develops a tolerance and downregulates the dopamine receptors.
What happens to your brain when you stop watching porn?
Your brain gets an opportunity to recalibrate its dopamine reward pathways.
What happens to your body when you stop watching porn?
When your dopamine levels stop suddenly, you will get withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and insomnia.
However, these detox effects are temporary, and after 90 days of quitting porn, your brain’s reward pathways return to baseline levels. As your nervous system stabilizes, you can escape the overstimulation and lethargy of porn to make you feel naturally rested and more physically alert.
What Happens When You Quit Porn Mentally?
What happens when you quit watching porn – mentally and psychologically?
The most profound challenges and benefits of quitting porn are experienced mentally and emotionally.
Here are the most common short term mental challenges of quitting porn –
1. You are saying No to an Easy Outlet of sexual release
Porn has become a convenient outlet to relieve sexual tension. But, what happens when you quit porn? Many people experience a temporary flatline period where they have to struggle with low libido and sexual interest.
When your brain is hooked on to the dopamine high of porn, non-sexual intimacy and real-life sex can feel less stimulating in comparison. However, as your brain adjusts its reward systems, your interest in real-life sexual activity will be restored.
2. You are losing an easy form of stress relief
Research has shown that 56% of men admit to watching for relaxation and to ease tension. In such cases, porn becomes a convenient coping mechanism for managing anxiety and stress. What happens when you quit porn? You take away this quick fix.
Now you have to look for healthy coping mechanisms and resolve issues that are causing you stress. Once you have overcome the initial anxiousness and irritability, you can focus on lasting recovery by addressing underlying issues.
3. You might experience withdrawal symptoms
Your body has gotten used to the neurochemical hyperstimulation of porn. So, what happens when you quit porn and deny usual stimulation? Your body and mind protest by showing withdrawal-like symptoms.
It is common to experience symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, brain fog, irritability, mood swings, and cravings for pornography. This restlessness is common and temporary as your neural circuits adjust to the lack of intense stimuli of porn. .
4. Your fix for boredom and negative emotions is Gone
When people feel bored, lonely, or restless, porn often fills that gap. What happens when you quit porn? This easy fix for negative emotions is gone. So, the discomfort can make you feel emptiness and experience social anxiety.
Porn helps you detach and numb yourself from the lows of real life by keeping you constantly high on dopamine and other neurochemicals. Now, you need to manage the discomfort and emotions of real-life situations that porn once helped you avoid.
The good news is that any challenges of quitting porn are a passing phase. As your body and mind adjust to life without porn, here are the positive mental health effects that you will experience –
- Quitting pornography frees up your time for life-giving hobbies. You have all this extra time and energy that you can redirect towards exercise, learning new skills, and creative projects.
- When you are not constantly distracted by cravings for pornography, you can focus on your goals. Having a meaningful purpose helps you engage with life better and stay motivated.
- Using porn to manage stress only masks the underlying issues. Quitting porn allows you to reduce anxiety and depression by tackling the root cause and developing healthy coping mechanisms.
- Once the brain fog of porn is lifted, you will notice improved mental clarity and focus. You can concentrate better and have greater control over your impulses.
- Quitting porn helps your relationships by improving trust, intimacy, and emotional connection. Couples also experience greater sexual intimacy and satisfaction.
- Being free from porn helps you relearn sexual arousal and reverse porn-induced sexual dysfunctions. The improved erections and libido increase sexual confidence and reduce performance anxiety.
- The secrecy and moral conflict of porn can be a vicious cycle. Quitting porn frees you from this shame and guilt. It makes you feel more confident and authentic.
- Porn creates a distance between you and God. Quitting it removes a barrier to your spiritual growth and supports you to become aligned with your values.
How long does it take to Quit Porn
Now that we know what happens when you quit porn physically and mentally, let’s have a look at the porn addiction recovery timeline –
1. First Week
This is the toughest period where you will experience intense withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, anxiety, headaches, and so on. As your brain and body adjust, it is normal to feel a seesaw between intense craving for porn and a total lack of interest.
2. Weeks 2 to 4
Flatlining or low libido sets in around week two. Moodiness, fatigue, social anxiety, and brain fog might persist as you get deeper into the new porn-free routine.
3. After a Month
This is a turning point as the withdrawal symptoms begin to subside and the beneficial effects become more pronounced. You will experience fewer cravings and better mood regulation.
4. After Three Months
By 90 days, your dopamine reward system is largely normalized, and you will feel only occasional cravings. While the triggers remain, you will feel more emotionally stable and focused.
How can BlockP help you Quit Porn?
BlockP is the best porn blocker that supports your journey to quit porn addiction by reducing urges and boosting discipline.
- BlockP uses AI and network-level filtering to detect and block explicit content in real time. It blocks all undesirable text, video, and images to prevent accidental exposure that can trigger the urge to watch porn.
- It instantly blocks millions of adult websites and also lets you enable custom keyword blocking to filter your personal triggers. It has password protection to prevent uninstall and relapse in moments of temptation.
- You can add your partner or a trusted friend as an accountability partner and entrust the BlockP password to them. The porn blocker will alert them with notifications when they try to access porn.
- BlockP lets you minimize distractions with its focus mode that restricts distracting Apps. Its meditation prompts and motivational quotes help you regulate your digital consumption.
- The porn blocker also has a supportive online community where you can connect with other people who are going through the same struggle. The community provides accountability and motivation for recovery.
