Whether you’re seeking help for yourself or a loved one, our community will tell you that recovery from a porn addiction is not only possible, it’s absolutely within reach. However, that timeline will look different for every person.
“There are still times where I’ll mess up a little, and I feel like I’m starting from square one again.
However, even though my fight is not over, my life has been so much better without pornography. “ – Cole, 3 years into fighting porn.
To help answer your questions, we’ll talk about factors that affect how long recovery will take.
Together, we’ll break down the porn addiction recovery process into manageable steps, helping you regain control over your life.
Let’s start by exploring the question you came here to answer: how long does it take to recover from porn addiction?
Table of Contents
- How Long Does It Take to Recover from Porn Addiction?
- Can You Fully Recover from Porn Addiction?
- Factors That Affect Your Porn Addiction Recovery Time
- The Process of Recovery
- Self-Assessment Questions: Where Are You in Your Recovery Journey?
- Recovery Tips by Stage
- Tips for Overcoming Relapse
- Helpful Resources for Achieving Recovery from Porn Addiction
How Long Does It Take to Recover from Porn Addiction?
Quick Answer: Recovery timelines can vary significantly depending on individual circumstances, but positive change is often visible within weeks to months.
Recovery from porn addiction seems less daunting when you think of it in phases and not a strict timeline. Knowing what to expect helps you to prepare wisely.
Remind yourself, “This is a normal phase. I am on the right path and am making progress!”
Phases of Porn Addiction Recovery
PHASES | WHAT TO EXPECT |
Coping With Porn Withdrawal, Identifying Triggers, Shifting Focus (Weeks) | The first few weeks to a few months often involve challenges such as: anxiety, depression, loss of libido, insomnia, & irritability. Focus and positive support are vital. |
Building New Habits & Rewiring Brain Patterns (Months) | With proper support, online accountability tools, professional therapy, and commitment you set to work building new healthier habits, even if you experience some relapses. |
Reaching New Goals (Months) | Step by step, cheered on by your accountability support, you’ll celebrate months of being porn free. |
Maintaining Long-Term Recovery (Years) | Maintaining your freedom becomes a core value and normal practice of your life. Often you find yourself helping others who are just starting their journey to freedom from porn! |
No matter how long recovery takes, it is important to remember that positive change can happen in every phase. Don’t let yourself stay stuck, though!
Can You Fully Recover from Porn Addiction?
While there is no one-size-fits-all timeline, change is possible even when you’ve tried many times before and failed.
“I was addicted for almost 40 years and have been porn free for 6 months at the age of 72.
Old dogs really can learn new tricks!” – Jim, happy Ever Accountable member
Understanding Recovery
Recovery is not a straight line, and the process will look different in some ways for each person depending on their unique situation.
It means healing, not perfection.
Cole says, “If you had a relapse for the first time, tenth time, or thousandth time, that doesn’t mean that your progress is all gone. You still made a step that you wouldn’t have taken if you hadn’t started fighting back.”
As Cole shares in his story, relapse is a common part of porn recovery. Many people who successfully recover from porn addiction experience setbacks along the way. The key is to view these setbacks not as failures, but as opportunities for growth and learning.
What does recovery actually look like?
- Acting on daily porn recovery goals
- Ditching shame so you can grow
- Focusing on becoming who you want to be
- Reaching out for help to your support network when you feel weak
- Allowing your accountability partner to kindly call you out and also cheer you on
- Feeling a deeper sense of self-control
- Enjoying healthier relationships over time
- Rebuilding trust with a betrayed partner
- Renewing your sexual health
- Restoring a sense of self-respect
- Respecting other humans as worthy of love, not as objects of lust
- Experiencing renewed mental focus and clarity
“It has been over two years since I have viewed porn, and I am very proud of that! Now I have a feeling of self respect.” ~ Bruce, happy Ever Accountable member
No matter how long it takes, like Bruce, you can absolutely recover. You’ve already taken the first step by seeking help and information—and that’s something to be proud of!
Factors That Affect Your Porn Addiction Recovery Time
There are many factors that influence how long it will take you to recover from porn addiction. Understanding these factors can help you set realistic expectations for your own recovery and allow you to plan accordingly.
Personal Background
Everyone’s story is different. Your personal childhood experiences play a significant role in how quickly you can recover.
Like Cole, many tell Ever Accountable that their first exposure to porn happened between ages 8-10 when vital brain development is ongoing. Most never tell a parent or trusted mentor.
Sadly, porn becomes a “secret friend” that hooks them to self-soothe or feel powerful with “dopamine hits”, which can deeply root this habit over time. Even worse, it distorts a child’s development of healthy ideas of love, sex, and relationships.
Severity and Duration of Addiction
If you’ve struggled with porn addiction for many years, or face other challenges in your life (e.g., mental health issues or unresolved trauma), the road to recovery is often longer.
On the other hand, if you’ve only recently started using porn or haven’t been addicted for as long, recovery may come much faster.
However, this doesn’t mean that long-term addicts can’t recover—only that they might need more time, dedication, and support.
Underlying Issues
Many people who struggle with porn addiction also feel anxious or depressed, sometimes due to traumatic life challenges like the death of a loved one, divorce, or even abuse.
Co-current addictions like screentime addiction or a food or alcohol addiction are not uncommon, either.
These issues can prolong the recovery process, because they need to be addressed alongside a porn addiction. This is essential for long-term recovery and emotional well-being.
Level of Commitment
How motivated are you? Is an important relationship on the rocks? (Maybe you got an ultimatum from your spouse or girlfriend).
Or perhaps you’re just DONE with long, lonely nights seeking novelty with an actor on a screen.
If you’re ready to radically change your routine and your life —the faster you can make progress.
If you’re willing to do whatever it takes, therapy, self-reflection, community support, and online porn accountability tools like the Ever Accountable app are proven paths to success.
Support Systems
“I thought I was a dirtbag and a horrible human being, that something was fundamentally wrong with me, and I had to hide that part of me, my shadow side.
My healing only began when I showed vulnerability, shared the darkest parts of myself with people I could trust…” – Shawn Blymiller, author of Primal Cries: 7 Proven Steps To Overcome A Sex And Pornography Addiction.
Everyone needs someone.
Whether it’s family, friends, a therapist, or a support group, having trusted people to lean on can dramatically speed up your recovery time.
Staying on track and motivated with support is much easier when you use tools like the Ever Accountable online accountability app. But what happens when you keep trying and failing?
Relapse and Setbacks
Relapses are part of the porn recovery journey for many with deeply rooted porn habits.
Remember: the only people who make mistakes are the people doing the work. The key is to learn what triggered a setback. (We can help you with that, too, so keep reading).
When you commit to keep going on the road to porn recovery, and you adjust your porn-fighting strategies, you will succeed!
The Process of Recovery
“White-Knuckle Change is…stopping the behavior without tending to the cause.” – Steven A. Luff, licensed marriage and family therapist, author of Faith and Sex.
We want to help you move beyond “White-Knuckle Change”!
Let’s break down some porn recovery steps, so you can see ways to improve your porn-fighting plan.
1. Acknowledge the problem.
No more excuses! Being gut-wrenchingly honest with yourself and trusted others is the first step toward healing. Truth-telling is a vital part of the porn recovery process.
2. Set personal goals for your porn recovery.
While your goal is to quit porn, your main focus should start with who you want to become in six months, a year, five years and so on. Get crystal clear and write these steps down.
- Dream big and be kind to yourself. List EXACTLY what kind of friend, co-worker, community member, husband, wife, father or mother you wish to be.
- Set specific, achievable goals for becoming that person. “I will look for the good in others and will compliment them on what I see.”
- Write your specific goals down. Post them where you can see often, like the screensaver on your phone.
Want to learn more about achieving goals? Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy is an easy goal-setting book to get started.
3. Connect with positive support.
Cutting porn out of your life will leave a void when you’re triggered, lonely, stressed, or bored. You need a trusted support person.
“You contact your accountability partner to help you make decisions that confirm your goodness, value, and worth… This must happen BEFORE you act out.” – Steven A. Luff, therapist and author of Faith and Sex
It’s a huge help to have friends who understand the porn struggle personally. That’s why online porn recovery communities like Live Free Men exist, or SheRecovery for women. These safe spaces are often where people find new friends and accountability to help them reach their goals!
4. Develop healthy coping strategies.
Developing healthy coping strategies includes ways to divert you from reaching for porn, including exercising, practicing mindfulness, box breathing, or journaling, among many other options.
These can help you manage urges and emotions in the heat of the moment. This takes practice and accountability.
The Ever Accountable app helps you stay accountable by tracking your progress and alerting your accountability partner if you’ve slipped up.
5. Build new, positive habits.
Compulsive porn use harms your brain – and your actions follow your mindset.
Your dopamine receptors and brain ruts in your nervous system need to form new paths to pleasure in NEW ways.
How long does it take for dopamine receptors to heal? Again, that depends on your situation.
If you radically change your daily routine to include mindful movement, you could speed up the process.
“Movement is medicine,” says Shawn Blymiller, Primal Cries (pg 61), who discovered “hot yoga” was very helpful for him.
Blymiller notes exercise increases GABA,a neurotransmitter that calms your nervous system. As a former porn and sex addict, he recommends combining different types of exercise with time outdoors in nature to up your dose of GABA such as:
- Forest bathing
- Hiking
- Running
- Gardening
Rewiring your brain will take time, but your dopamine receptors will heal.
A side benefit is a renewed sense of well-being, enjoyment, and satisfaction from new, healthier activities.
6. Move past relapse and keep growing.
Relapse is common, and it’s essential to not beat yourself up in the process. Use it as a learning opportunity for growth and self-reflection. We call this “failing forward.”
Make notes about each time you relapse in a journal. Examine what triggered you, and led to the relapse. What could you change next time?
7. Celebrate small wins! (Share the joy…)
Recovery isn’t an all-or-nothing journey. Every victory, no matter how small, is worth celebrating. Whether it’s a day free from porn or a week of progress, take the time to acknowledge your accomplishments. Celebrate in your journal, too.
Getting clean accountability reports from an online porn accountability app is a reason to share a “fist bump” with your accountability partner.
Self-Assessment Questions: Where Are You in Your Recovery Journey?
Reflect on these 10 questions to assess where you stand in your recovery and how long it might take:
- When did you start using porn regularly?
- If you consider yourself addicted to porn, do you participate a sex addiction or porn recovery community?
- Have you identified what emotions or environments typically trigger your urges?
- How many times have you tried to quit, and can you identify what worked or didn’t work?
- Are you dealing with past trauma or unresolved emotional issues in a healthy way?
- Do you currently use professional help/therapy for sexual addiction or past traumas?
- What radical changes in routine are you willing to make? Give up social media?
- Have you set effective online boundaries (like accountability software or porn blockers) between you and pornography?
- Do you have a trusted accountability partner you reach out to regularly?
- Do you feel unconditionally loved and supported on your porn recovery journey?
Do you see areas where you can improve? Write down the changes you need to make and share your goals with an accountability partner.
Recovery Tips by Stage
For Beginners:
- Manage urges by keeping distractions away. Use our “Habit Tracker” to see ways you can improve.
- Discover your personal porn triggers. You can take our “Porn Triggers Quiz” here.
- Practicing mindfulness, movement, and breathing exercises in weak moments.
- Set boundaries on every online device using apps like Ever Accountable.
- Schedule weekly time with your accountability partner.
- Join a porn recovery community for added support and fresh perspective.
- Journal your story, who you wish to become, your successes and your failures.
- Stay motivated by setting short-term goals and regularly celebrating small wins.
For Mid-Recovery:
- Check in regularly with your accountability partner. Thank and encourage them in their struggles, too.
- Celebrate longer-term sobriety, but don’t take it for granted!
- Manage cravings by keeping up with your newer, healthier habits .
- Refocus on your goals of who you wish to become. We all need reminders of what is important in life.
For Long-Term Recovery:
- Maintain healthy habits by staying diligent and avoiding complacency. Many keep using an accountability app for years. Once you taste freedom from porn, you know it’s worth the effort.
- Keep growing by helping others on the porn recovery journey. The younger generation is the first to be “raised on porn”. Without older, wiser, seasoned porn-fighters sharing their encouragement and support, they will be left to struggle alone with porn’s many subtle harms. Where would you be without the support you received along the way?
Tips for Overcoming Relapse
Relapse is not the end of your porn recovery! Jeremy Lipkowiz, a holistic porn recovery coach says learning about the three phases of relapse – mental, emotional, and physical – will help you avoid them.
If you experience a relapse, here are a few tips for getting back on track:
- Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with compassion and kindness. You deserve another chance. Keep faith that you will learn from your mistakes.
- Be honest with yourself and others. Don’t make excuses. Just call it what it is.
- Reflect on what happened. Understand what led to the relapse and make adjustments to your plan.
- Reach out for support right away. We make it easy to reach out with the “Relapse” button inside the Ever Accountable app.
- Always set a time to talk over a relapse with your accountability partner. Also talk to your support network like a porn recovery therapist or your sex addiction group for additional guidance.
Helpful Resources for Achieving Recovery from Porn Addiction
- Therapy and Counseling: Professional support can help you identify and address underlying issues contributing to your addiction.
- Movement and Mindfulness: Change up your daily habits to repair brain ruts.
- Dedicated Accountability Partner (s) Again, don’t go this journey all alone.
- Support Groups for porn recovery/ sex addiction: Joining a support group, either in person or online optimizes your success.
- Improve your mindset: Taking an online porn recovery course helps you focus on taking the next step.
- Ever Accountable: A powerful app designed to help you stay accountable for your online activity, track your progress, and receive support when you need it most.
Conclusion
While the timeline for recovery from porn addiction will vary from person to person, every step forward is a victory. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll experience the positive changes that are waiting for you.
Since porn hides everywhere, tools like Ever Accountable are vital to shorten your recovery time and keep you focused on your goals.
Take that next step today! Try online accountability FREE for 14 days.
*Ever Accountable’s blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or therapy, though we often link to medically reviewed studies.
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