Tell-tale signs that YOUR man is addicted to porn, according to experts trends now
Is your man no longer interested in sex and coming home late every day because their work is 'busy'?
Logically, you might assume they're cheating on you.
But be warned, it could be actually be a sign they're addicted to porn.
That is according to two leading psychotherapists in the field, who have witnessed the poorly-understood compulsion end marriages.
Dr Paula Hall, of not-for-profit online therapy programme Pivotal Recovery, said that much like how cannabis acts as a gateway for harder drugs, a porn obsession might potentially send users into spirals.
'Many people start with online porn but then progress to chat, webcam, adult hook up sites and offline real-life encounters,' she told MailOnline.
Nathan Jones, clinical director of the London Centre for Addictions, said addictions to explicit content can 'rewrite' the user's brain and skew what they find arousing.
Two leading psychotherapists have witnessed porn addiction end marriages and some experts have even treated patients who watch X-rated content for up to 14 hours a day
'Internet porn conditions the sexual arousal template to violent, degrading and genres of porn that go against the user's innate erotic tastes and orientation,' he said.
And unlike other, more traditional addictions, there is no stopping point.
Mr Jones said: 'The alcoholic will eventually black out, the drug addict will overdose, the gambling addict will lose all their money and be forced to stop.
'But the porn addict can literally continue 24 hours a day, seven days a week.'
Up to one in 20 Britons show some signs of addiction, research suggests.
In some of the most extreme cases, experts have treated patients who watch X-rated content for up to 14 hours a day.
The actual truth of how many men – and even women – suffer is a mystery, however. Thousands, perhaps understandably, avoid seeking professional help out of shame and embarrassment.
Yet experts agree that rates are on the rise, thanks to smartphones making explicit content available anytime, anywhere.
So, what are the tell-tale signs your man is addicted to porn? And how can he beat it?
Reduced interest in the bedroom
Rather than porn sparking an intense wave of sexual desire, it can actually act as dampener to the real thing.
Dr Hall said a lower libido was a classic sign shared among many porn addicts she has treated.
Mr Jones added that chronic use can even impede a man's ability to get an erection by rewiring their brain and changing what sexually arouses them.
'The brain is trained to be aroused under specific circumstances: being alone, multiple tabs open, various genres of porn – being a voyeur and constant novelty,' he said.
'The person can then only gain an erection watching pornography and not be aroused with a real-life partner.'
Up to one in 20 Britons show some signs of addiction, according to research, and experts agree that rates are on the rise thanks to smartphones making porn available anytime, anywhere
Mr Jones recalled how one client once commented 'real women are essentially bad porn – why would I bother with a real person?'.
Spending more time alone with devices and becoming protective over them
An endless catalogue of images and videos of explicit content are merely a few taps away nowadays.
As such, Dr Hall said if a man starts behaving differently around his phone or tablet, it could be another sign that he's addicted.
'Tell-tale signs are spending more time alone with devices, taking their phone into the bathroom or using the laptop in the study, rather than on the sofa with you,' she said.
Other behaviours to watch out for, she revealed, include 'becoming unusually twitchy if you pick up their device' and changing their password to something you don't know.
Avoiding social events to feed their addiction
Is your partner constantly flaking social events or blaming insane work deadlines for them being late home?
It might be another sign they're addicted, said Dr Hall.
Men gripped by their love of extreme content can make excuses to avoid social gatherings with their partner in order to spend time feeding their obsession.
She added that the most common excuse for such behaviour in porn addicts is usually work commitments.
'People often hide behind stress at work for spending more time online and not being interested in sex,' she said.
Porn can actually act as a dampener to sex, with Dr Paula Hall saying a lower libido is a classic trait shared by addicts she has treated
Using porn as an 'anaesthesia'
Millions of men enjoy porn regularly and suffer no issues as a result.
But a sign they are, or are becoming, an addict is what motivates them to look at explicit content.
Mr Jones said a key sign of a problematic relationship with X-rated content was if they were using it as an 'escape'.
'The behaviour is used to
