77: One Year of Porn Addiction Withdrawals | What to Expect During Your First Year After Quitting & How to Stay Sober

I recently had someone reach out to me directly to ask about porn addiction withdrawal—what it really feels like, what challenges come up, and how to get through it. Their question instantly took me back to the beginning of my own porn addiction recovery journey.

When I was six months sober, it was one of the most beautiful yet difficult times of my life. I was learning so much about myself. But I was also facing challenges I never expected.

You might have heard people describe withdrawing from porn as mild—a process that only lasts days or weeks. But I’ll be honest, that hasn’t been my experience, nor the experience of the clients in my program or the people I’ve volunteered with. For most of us, porn addiction withdrawal is a longer, more complex process.

Why Does Porn Addiction Withdrawal Feel So Hard?

First, let’s be clear: You’re not crazy if you feel like quitting porn is a battle. Pornography is highly addictive—some studies suggest it’s as addictive, if not more, than cocaine. It hijacks your brain’s reward system, creating a dopamine rush that can feel impossible to resist.

Here’s the kicker: withdrawal from porn mimics some of the same symptoms of porn addiction itself. Why? Because using porn spikes dopamine to extremely high levels, which damages your brain and inhibits its capacity to produce its own dopamine in the short and long-term. To cope with this, you go back to porn again and again to get that “hit”. But when you quit, your brain is suddenly deprived of these dopamine spikes altogether, and this leaves you feeling unmotivated, unfocused, and disconnected from others. 

BUILD THE NO MORE PORN LIFESTYLE

FREE WORKSHOP: The 8 Keys to Lose Your Desire for Porn

FREE EBOOK: The 10 Tools to Conquer Porn Cravings

Schedule a FREE CONSULTATION

Intensive Porn Addiction Recovery Program

Join My Email Newsletter

$ Donate $

MORE EPISODES

Anger, Porn Addiction & One Simple Mental Technique to Overcome Both

How to Tell Your Wife About Your Porn Relapse

The 4 Root Causes of Porn Addiction

Stop Porn Cravings | 7 Tools to Overcome Fantasizing & Lust Habits

Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music
License code: QYMIBDWARLOERWX1

The Balance of Gray
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

No More Desire