Welcome to our rebooting/porn use FAQ page. The answers are based on years of hard-won wisdom shared by recovering users, whose comments are sometimes included along with relevant research. Most questions have multiple links.
If you want to understand the underlying mechanisms and brain changes behind porn addiction and related symptoms watch Your Brain On Porn: How Internet Porn Affects the Brain and Adolescent Brain Meets Highspeed Internet Porn.
For more details on the science, read Start here for an overview of key concepts and follow the links, or visit the Articles section. This 18 minute video addresses common myths and propaganda – PORN MYTHS – The Truth Behind Addiction And Sexual Dysfunctions, by Gabe Deem
FAQs on Sexual Problems
- Are my sexual problems (ED, DE, low libido) related to my porn use?
- Research confirms enormous rise in youthful ED
- Any suggestions for healing delayed ejaculation (DE) or anorgasmia?
- I’m straight, but attracted to transsexual or gay porn (or gay attracted to straight porn). What’s up?
- Is my fetish porn-induced?
- Am I asexual?
- Unusual masturbation techniques causing problems?
- Is my premature ejaculation (PE) related to my porn use?
- What do experts tell young guys suffering from ED (the good & the bad)
- Studies linking porn use or porn addiction to sexual dysfunctions, lower arousal, and lower sexual & relationship satisfaction
Rebooting Basics (see rebooting basics page)
- What benefits do people see as they reboot?
- What does withdrawal from porn addiction look like?
- Will a relapse set me back?
- What stimuli must I avoid during my reboot (did I relapse)?
- What about fantasizing during a reboot?
- Do I have to have sex in order to rewire?
- What if I masturbate (edge) or watch porn without orgasm?
- Why doesn’t tapering work for most in porn recovery?
- Will stopping porn solve my problems?
- Is porn making my social anxiety/confidence/depression/anxiety/OCD/bipolar worse?
- Can porn use blunt my emotions?
- Can porn use affect memory and concentration?
- Any connection between orgasm, abstinence, and blood testosterone levels?
FAQs on Rebooting Challenges
- I quit using porn and now I feel worse. Is this normal?
- HELP! I quit porn, but my potency, genital size, and/or libido are decreasing (the Flatline)
- Started young on Internet porn and my recovery from erectile dysfunction is taking too long.
- How do I know when I’m back to normal?
- How do I cope with porn flashbacks?
- What is “the chaser effect?”
- What about ‘blue balls’ or ‘lovers’ nuts?’
- Too many wet dreams and porn dreams?
- What about wet dreams? (advice video)
- Educating your therapist
- Must I destroy/delete all my porn?
- Why am I feeling so sad about giving up porn?
- I relapsed or am in danger of relapse. (Emergency Measures)
- I’m rebooting and my erections are painful.
- I need porn to calm me or put me to sleep.
- Does post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) occur with porn addiction?
- Does it help to view porn use as immoral?
- Is porn a bigger challenge for religious people?
- What do I do when I have too much sexual energy?
- Why is intermittent use (long abstinence with binges) an addiction risk?
Rebooting With a Partner:
- Rebooting with a partner: What about sex?
- What do I say to my mate?
- Porn-induced ED: What do I tell my girlfriend?
- What if my partner is a porn addict?
Tools for Change and Recovery
- Tools for Professionals (includes CPDs in the UK)
- Solo Tools
- Tools to Connect With Others
FAQs on Internet Porn Addiction:
- Neuroscience-based studies on porn users and sex addicts
- Does porn addiction cause irreversible damage to the brain?
- Why did my porn use escalate?
- Why is the idea of sexual variety so enticing?
- What are the symptoms of excessive Internet porn use?
- Why do porn cues still trigger a rush (sensitization)?
- I’m not an addict. What happens if I “reboot?”
- How is Internet porn different from porn of the past?
- Is porn a bigger problem for men than women? What about porn & aggression?
- Studies reporting findings consistent with escalation of porn use (tolerance), habituation to porn, and even withdrawal symptoms
- Studies linking porn use to poorer mental-emotional health & poorer cognitive outcomes
- Why am I addicted while my friends are not?
- What’s it like to use porn after rebooting?
- What about Virtual Reality (VR) Porn?
- There are no scientific studies that say porn is addictive, right?
FAQs on Masturbation, Ejaculation, Prostate:
- Masturbation & Ejaculation Articles
- Are there any guidelines for healthy masturbation?
- Masturbation, Recovery and Sexual Health (Jordan Green, SASH)
- Don’t I need to ejaculate frequently for prostate health?
- What about ‘sexual exhaustion?’
- What about semen leakage?
- Frequent urination during reboot?
- How do I masturbate without porn?
- What causes post-orgasmic symptoms?
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