Communication With Partner About Porn Use is Important

Even Cosmo magazine is talking about the effects of porn, and how it can add frustration or stress to a relationship – but readers may not realize how serious excessive use of porn can be.A recent article in Cosmopolitan magazine addresses the ways a partner’s pornography use or addiction can create negative emotions and effects for the female partner or spouse who is involved romantically. The article quoted University of Florida research in which more than 300 women answered questions about their partner’s use of pornography and their associated feelings.

Unhappiness was a notable result when a woman’s partner was involved in frequent or excessive pornography use. Feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction with sex were also noted from the women whose spouse or boyfriend used higher levels of porn. Additional research has noted that many women feel unable to “measure up” to women in pornographic material and compare their partner’s porn use to cheating.

The article encourages readers to have a conversation about it with their partner if they are experiencing negative emotions related to his porn, and reminds women that a man’s pornography usage may be related to the arousal he gets from it.

However, experts in the pornography and sex addiction fields continually note that excessive viewing of pornography can indicate much more is happening behind the scenes. Over time, pornography creates a brain level response related to pleasure that becomes a true craving, and also allows the viewer to “numb out” to escape stress or negative feelings. MRI imagery has shown that viewing pornography has an impact at the brain level, similar to other addictions, and that the impact continues to get stronger the longer the material is used. A person addicted to pornography eventually loses control over their thoughts or desires for it, even when consequences are known – such as the loss of a job or relationship.