How do I know if I’m addicted to sex or just have a porn habit?
I think we can use the example of alcoholism to help answer this question.
How do you know if you’re an alcoholic? You know if you have to drink every day. Do you have to drink only on weekends? Do you have to get in a car accident or have your license revoked? There are alcoholics who live under overpasses, so that person is obviously addicted to alcohol. However, there are high society people who drink a glass of wine every night (and wouldn’t feel normal without it). Another example is people who get loaded every weekend on beer and get out of control a little bit.
It’s not necessarily the amount or frequency that determines alcoholism. The same is true of sexual addicts. People can be involved in sexual behavior at almost any level and to any degree. However, that particular behavior either becomes embedded and they can’t break free, or they move on to bigger and better things.
That’s the sign of addiction.
Other signs of addiction include keeping secrets, feeling shame, financial problems, problems at work, family or relationship issues, or challenges in your relationship with God. If you’ve tried to quit countless times but keep going back to unwanted patterns, these are signs of an issue and you would do well to take a look at it.