When 22-year-old Manish Pahwa joined a neighbourhood group yoga class, his family was shocked. Pahwa was an archetypal geek right down to his square spectacles who would stay holed up in his room all day glued to his laptop. Pahwa had resorted to yoga in the hope that it would help wean him off his addiction to pornography. He had started watching pornography as a high school student. But when it escalated to spending hours masturbating while watching porn videos and nearly failing his fourth-year engineering exams, Pahwa realised his "hobby" had gotten out of hand.

 

It's a predicament that was also documented by Terry Crews, the star of popular sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, in a string of videos posted on Facebook a few months ago. The actor opened up about his porn addiction and spoke in great detail about his struggle against an obsession that almost ended his marriage. People say, 'hey man ... you can't really be addicted to pornography'. But I'm gonna tell you something: If day turns into night and you are still watching, you probably have got a problem."Porn addiction is usually described as an addiction to constant and compulsive sexual activity with constant use of visual pornographic material, while at the same time ignoring the far-reaching outcomes of it on one's physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being.

 

While the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), does not list porn addiction as a mental disorder, many voices have been raised to include internet addiction in the DSM, with special focus on online pornographic addiction, given its high prevalence."Nowadays with pornographic content being so easily available, it's an addiction one can be easily afflicted with," shares Dr Bharat Shah, psychiatrist, Lilavati Hospital. "Leave alone laptops or computers, now with 4G and 3G connections, our phones make sure that the next fix is ready."

 

It's a common myth that it's men alone who watch porn. But Mumbai Mirror columnist Dr Mahinder Watsa said there has been a substantial increase in the number of women watching and getting hooked to pornographic content. "Easy availability is again to blame," he says. A survey by website Pornhub revealed that nearly a quarter of their viewers are women. The survey also revealed that India is the third-largest porn watching country in the world, after the US and England. While films such as Shame, Thanks for Sharing, and Don Jon have touched upon this addiction, the topic largely remains taboo in the mainstream.

 

The red flags

 

From hormonal adolescents to curious adults, everyone has at some point in their lives watched pornography, at times to even just let off some steam. But the warning bell should sound when occasional viewing turns into an all consuming pass time. "It's a thin line that tips you over to be an addict," says Dr Shah. "You know you are an addict when you want to stop watching porn, but you cannot. One is aware of all the consequences - but yet the compulsion is so strong that one cannot function if they don't give into that desire."

 

Experts list out six indications that you may be addicted to porn:

 

1 You spend more than ten hours a week watching pornography

 

2 You have problems getting an erection or ejaculating, or having normal sexual intercourse with your partner

 

3 You plan your day around your watching porn

 

4 You choose watching porn over meeting friends and family

 

5 Watching porn is your go-to recreational activity, something that tides you over boredom and gives you a lift when you are feeling low

 

6 You constantly reprimand yourself for watching porn

 

Feeling the blues

 

We all might have laughed when in an episode of Friends, Joey boasts about his "huge stack of porn" being a testament to his masculinity. But pornography is not just an assertion of masculinity, or something that can be dismissed under the garb of "boys will be boys". An obsession with pornography can have far reaching effects on physical health and emotional well-being, not to mention the time and money that's invested into the habit. Porn addicts have complained of exhaustion, numbness and about the mind being in overdrive. "With constant porn watching, even when you have switched off your laptop, your mind is still reeling from all visual stimuli one has ingested," shares Dr Parul Tank, consulting psychologist, Nimai Health Care.

 

Your libido goes for a toss

 

If a person has spent hours watching graphic sexual content and drawing sexual gratification from it, they will have virtually no desire to have sex with their partner. "Having already spent their sexual energy in front of a computer, they are not aroused by their partners anymore. This often leads to conflict in a relationship," says Dr Watsa.

 

Loss of work days

 

As with any other addiction, a lot of time and energy is expended. A lot of people bunk work regularly to indulge in their addiction.