Here are five points on understanding the underlying causes of porn addiction and how to address them…

There is no definitive answer to this question as it can depend on an individual's personal beliefs and values, as well as the context in which they are viewing pornography. Some people may argue that viewing pornography can be a healthy form of sexual expression or a way to explore one's own sexuality. However, it is important to consider the potential risks and consequences of viewing pornography, including the potential for addiction, negative impacts on relationships, and the potential for harm to individuals depicted in the material.

A look at what codependency is, how you can identify it, and three ways to overcome it. We hope that by the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of codependency and be on your way to recovery.

Atomic Habits, by James Clear, summary and review by Blair Bisher of BPB Counseling in Boston, MA.

Super quick way to self-identify addiction. Isolation, negative consequences and lack of control. If all three of these things exist as it relates to any one behavior in your life, you can feel confident that you fall somewhere on the spectrum of addiction.

Isolation. Do you find that you are increasingly isolated? Are you eliminating people from your life? Are others reducing the time they are spending with you? Are you declining social invitations so that you can spend more time alone, oftentimes spent acting out in your unwanted behavior? Increased isolation is a great indicator of addiction. Sobriety and healthy sustainable living are impossible without community.

Negative consequences. Are you finding that your life is impacted negatively by this unwanted behavior? Maybe it's a loss of sleep, spending more money than you would like to, feelings of shame and guilt that you cannot shake, impacting relationships… Addictive behavior will always show itself to impact in a negative way. Even if you think about the addiction cycle, the first stage which is preoccupation, you still have not turned toward using, or acting out, but simply living in a world of preoccupation, a fantasy world, can have considerable negative consequences, right? So whether you are simply fantasizing about acting out, or spending time acting out, any time you are finding negative consequences in your life from a certain behavior or thinking this is another sign that they're very well may be an addiction at play.

Lack of control. Lastly, have you ever tried to stop, or simply reduce, these unwanted behaviors and found yourself to be unable? If you have tried to quit and cannot, you have become aware that this behavior has more control over you than you do it. This is often a very discouraging realization, understanding your limits and degree of powerlessness. Oftentimes, we simply try to cut back a little bit, and if you fail in your attempt at reducing the behavior, that can also be a helpful indicator that there may be an addiction at play… Or rather that there is very likely an addiction at play.