u/Big_Goal3675

To our brains porn is just a source of dopamine right. So my question is how is it any different than like a YouTube video or even a tiktok? Our brains don't know that it's porn or that it's a tiktok it just releases dopamine regardless.

My point/question regarding this line of questioning is that why is porn considered an addiction by many people and other forms of social media/content are not ?

Do you think it has something to do with the religious / society shame that is cloaked around sex? Like if sex had no societal shame built-in for many people would porn be considered an addiction or just another form of consuming content.

Please let me know your thoughts, I'm almost 50% sure I'm coping but I was just curious and wanted to get my thoughts out there.

I'm a 22-year-old guy who has been struggling with a chronic porn/masturbation addiction for the past 5 years. I've been trying to quit on and off, primarily because my girlfriend has been strongly encouraging me to stop.

The problem is that I keep trying and failing. Every time I relapse, I deeply disappoint her, and I can see her self-worth plummet as a result. I absolutely hate that my actions are causing her so much pain, and the shame of constantly falling back into old habits is eating away at me.

I genuinely want to get better-both for myself and for her-but I feel completely stuck in this cycle. What do you guys suggest I do to finally beat this? Any advice, strategies, or resources would be hugely appreciated.