REDMINUTE No. 3

Dr William Struthers answers the question “What is porn addiction?”

There has been plenty of public debate about whether compulsive viewing of pornography is actually an addiction but first we need to start with a definition for porn addiction.

Neuroscientist and author, Dr William Struthers likens porn addiction to a drug addiction. For example, drinking wine doesn’t make you an alcoholic.  You can also drink wine in an unhealthy way without being an addict.  

A person who suffers from an addiction is someone who has lost their ability to control their intake  which means the drug has power over them. They will have cravings for the drug and often be thinking about how they will get their next fix and they will chase that fix despite the negative effect that might have on their life. If we think about pornography in the same way some signs that someone is struggling with porn addiction will include:

  • cravings for the next opportunity to view porn
  • viewing porn even though their life is falling apart around them
  • they’ve tried to stop viewing pornography but found that they can’t control themselves

The Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST) is a test used by professionals to assess the degree that their patient might be struggling with sex or porn addiction. You can take an online version of the SAST test here.