A reader kindly submitted this what’s your story? contribution:

Hi my name is Ed, I am a recovering addict but I have become addicted to porn item. Now looking for suggestions or help to stop this terrible habit. I know nothing good will come of this but my attic brain doesn’t know when to stop.

If you have any suggestions please let me know thanks

Firstly, thanks to Ed for sharing his concerns - that’s a great start to facing up to any addiction issue.

Every porn addict will be able to relate to the sensation of being out of control. Compulsive behaviour really can feel as if another part of you is taking over. When faced with a potential porn session, you might have a little internal argument with yourself, but the routine and numbing comfort of your habit just keeps winning. An hopeless cycle of behaviour sets in.

An essential part of the recovery process is fully understanding that the responsibility for change is 100% on you. For many, this can be a daunting prospect; you’ve learned to depend on your habit at many different levels.

The next step is to fully realise and accept that you are completely capable of taking action to bring about this change. Understand that the process of change may be difficult, painful and intimidating. There may be setbacks and things that don’t work. Recovery means learning to give yourself permission to fully accept all these facts, and persist with positive steps for change.

It might not feel like it right now, but your habit is contributing something to your life; it developed for a reason. It might be providing some form of protection, routine or distraction. It might be meeting some need that you are fully aware of, or are yet to discover; this is another major part of recovery.

Committing yourself to a recovery plan will certainly help you to see these changes through. Some methods of addiction recovery take a different approach to responsibility, but I have found 100% personal acceptance to be the most successful. You may need to check out several different approaches to find one that will work for you, but hopefully these basic suggestions and the other resources on this site will provide a good starting point.

I wish you every success.