Why is porn addiction the hardest addiction?

I may be new here, but I do know a thing or two about addiction, and PMO'ing is an addiction like any other addiction... only tougher.

Most of those things you mentioned require external "props" to do them: gaming requires a computer or game console, eating requires food, sleeping... well, you got me there, but you've got to get up sooner or later, if for no other reason so you can game or eat. Or get to work. Porn? Nothing needed for that, beyond memory and a free hand and some privacy (or no privacy... some like it risky, don't they?) It's always right there inside your head, and there's no escaping your own head. All you can do is work like hell to change it.

Self-control is a tough nut to crack, too. I beat an opioid addiction, but that wasn't voluntary; my workman's comp carrier decided to stop paying for the clinic and Rx's. I've been sober for 18 months, but there I have the support of a community of people, and phone numbers, so it's not as hard as going it alone. Use this site and the tools and people here when you find yourself ramping up again. Or head out into a public place... shopping mall or theatre or something. Or even better, do both. I find that using a phone for internet use less than ideal, but it IS doable.

It's really tough, because there's never a break... you have to fight 24-7-365 for control, without respite, except maybe for sleep, and even then, there's dreams, also beyond your control.

Hang in there. Keep coming here. Community can help where going solo isn't going to work.

 

TRIGGER ALERT
Because porn is a place where you can fulfill most of your sexual fantasies without doing much (It's like a getaway from reality)
I guess that you'll never give a "deep throat" to your girlfriend, force her to have sex with you or sleep with your friend's mom.. fix me if I'm wrong

 

Among all addictions, porn is the strongest one because it is connected to one of the most important aspect of life: reproduction. For a long time, reproduction has played a tremendous role in the survival of humans. So, we became inclined to sexual intercourse for the sake of survival. The problem of addiction to porn is that your brain is confusing real women with virtual women (on screen). Your brain is convinced it has found a way to access unlimited number of women. Plus, PMO is the path to reward with no resistance. Overcoming addiction to pornography require a great level of involvement and introspection. I hope this explanation will somehow help you.

 

A lot of good points here already. Another aspect is the novelty of porn use, and accessibility. You can watch porn for hours a day, every day, and never watch the same thing twice. When you get high, the high itself is pretty much the same (this was my experience smoking weed for years, and popping molly). With porn, however, you can find anything you could possibly think of and you'll always be left wanting a little more. Hence why people develop these wold fetishes. And it all comes with ridiculous accessibility...all you need is internet and a phone or computer. With anything else there's at least some process to obeying your cravings or urges.
Also, it feels good while were doing it, and it appeals to our most basic primal urges, which we've distorted.

 

It's the combination of instinctual needs (reproduction) and the fact that you don't need any substance. Instead, the substance is in our heads/on our phones and triggers are all around us and those triggers are, again, touching our instinctual needs..

 

I think having to fight it alone, not counting online forums like this, make it harder. If I was addicted to smoking or alcohol and trying to quit, it would be something my wife and i can do together. I would be able to talk to her if I felt the urge to smoke/drink and would have some real life support if close to a relapse. I know a lot of guys do open up to their SO, but that's just something I can't do. Makes it harder when I'm feeling a certain way but have no one to talk to about it.

Also, as has been said, it's just easier to get access to. If out of beer/cigarettes you have to go to the store to get some. With P, we just have to do type in a few letters on our phones or computers and we have it. I also work from home, so having that easy access to p when I'm stressed at work or having a bad day just makes it harder to quit.