All About Pornophobia, the Fear of Pornography, and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is Pornophobia?

Pornophobia is the Fear of Pornography and, like all other fears and phobias, can cause significant anxiety and stress if you suffer from it.

You may fear pornography in itself or you may fear being ‘caught’ using pornography.

There may be a number of reasons why you developed Pornophobia, for example:

• You may have been brought up to believe that pornography (or sexual desire) is wrong or even ‘sinful’.
• You might be worried that using pornography will somehow damage you or become addictive.

Although phobias are often described as ‘disorders’, there is no valid scientific evidence that Pornophobia is the result of any kind of biological fault or chemical imbalance as proposed in the biomedical models of mental illness.

On the contrary, Pornophobia is much more likely to be the result of your own, subjective evaluation (what you think your experiences mean) of what happened to you and is therefore better described as a psychosocial symptom.

Pornophobia Symptoms & Behaviours

All phobias, including Pornophobia, create feelings of anxiety because phobic objects or situations are always perceived as a threat.

Consequently, the symptoms of Pornophobia are both specific and generic and may include:

• Avoiding pornography magazines or websites.
• Worrying you might accidentally open a porn website.
• Obsessive thoughts or anxiety about the impact of pornography on society or individuals.
• Difficulty in discussing or acknowledging the existence of pornography.
• Discomfort or disgust with the subject matter of pornography.
• Avoidance of situations or people that are associated with pornography.
• Belief that pornography is morally wrong or harmful to individuals or relationships.

Moreover, you may have all, some or even different symptoms to these listed here and this is due to the subjective nature of Pornophobia.

Furthermore, you should also be aware that many of these somatic symptoms (symptoms felt in the body) listed above WILL subside over time and rarely last for more than 20 to 30 minutes.

What Causes Pornophobia?

it is likely that your Pornophobia is the result of either traumatic experiences or adverse situations that you experienced at some point in your life.

You may, for example have inadvertently opened a pornographic website and be worried that your partner might think you are a regular user as it is stored in the computers memory.

It is also possible that you grew-up in an environment where porn was openly used leaving you feeling emotionally confused about relationships.

What’s more, because the Fear of Pornography has never been linked to any biological factors, the most likely explanation for your Pornophobia is the way that you understood and made sense of your earlier experiences.

Counselling and Therapy for Pornophobia

We can offer you a number of different types of therapy and counselling for your Pornophobia the Fear of Pornography.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had your phobia.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your phobia is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for Pornophobia on the following links:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Pornophobia
• Counselling for Pornophobia
• Pluralistic Therapy for the Fear of Pornography

Although all forms of psychotherapy use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Furthermore, research also suggests that the therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Could Reality Therapy Be Right For You?

Reality Therapy is an approach which argues that your Pornophobia, the fear of pornography, is a product of the way that you think internally and not the result of any kind of external influence.

It also argues that any past experiences which you may believe are the cause of your phobia, are no longer influential because those situations are no longer happening and therefore do not exist.

By teaching you how to take responsibility for the way that you feel, Reality Therapy can help you to stop creating the anxiety and stress associated with your phobic trigger as well as significantly improve the sense of control you have over the trajectory of your life going forward.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming Pornophobia or recovering from related mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular phobia and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.