Am I addicted to porn?
It's not about how often you watch. It's about whether you can stop when you want to.
What the WHO says
The World Health Organization lists compulsive sexual behaviour disorder in ICD-11: a long pattern of failing to control strong sexual urges, causing real distress.[1]
Control matters more than frequency
In a survey of 3,419 young men, the problem was not just how often they watched. Losing control over it was what went with sexual problems.[2]
Signs worth taking seriously
- You keep promising yourself "last time", and it isn't.
- It still pulls even when you don't enjoy it. Wanting and liking are different brain systems. Dopamine drives wanting, not pleasure. That is why you can crave something you no longer even enjoy.[3]
- You feel worse after, every time.
- It's affecting sleep, work, or your sex life. In a survey of 3,419 young men, 34.5% of the guys who struggled most with porn had erection problems. Among the guys who struggled least: 12.9%.[2]
You're not the only one
In a US national survey, about 1 in 10 men reported real distress from struggling to control sexual urges and behaviour.[4]
This page isn't a diagnosis. If you're struggling with your mental health, talk to a doctor or a professional.
Questions
How do I know if I'm addicted to porn?
The key sign is loss of control: repeatedly failing to stop or cut down despite wanting to, and feeling real distress about it. How often you watch matters less than whether you can stop.
Want a plan instead of willpower? Quit90 builds your 90-day plan and shows your quit date.
Sources
- World Health Organization, ICD-11 code 6C72, Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (in force since 2022). icd.who.int
- Jacobs T et al. (2021). Associations Between Online Pornography Consumption and Sexual Dysfunction in Young Men: Multivariate Analysis Based on an International Web-Based Survey. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance 7(10):e32542. publichealth.jmir.org
- Robinson TE, Berridge KC (2025). The Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction 30 Years On. Annual Review of Psychology; Berridge KC, Robinson TE, Aldridge JW (2009). Dissecting components of reward. Current Opinion in Pharmacology. www.annualreviews.org
- Dickenson JA et al. (2018). Prevalence of Distress Associated With Difficulty Controlling Sexual Urges, Feelings, and Behaviors in the United States. JAMA Network Open 1(7):e184468. jamanetwork.com