Hey Dr Sue — How Does Pornography Affect Us Mentally, Emotionally And Physically?

I get a lot of questions about this — is it safe to use porn? Is it okay to use porn?

Some of the research on this is really flawed, but before I dig into that let me start with this.

If you’re comfortable with viewing porn, then good on you. I’m assuming here that the porn you’re viewing is legal. If it’s not, then that’s a problem.

If you’re not comfortable with the idea of using porn, then it might not be okay for you. If it makes you feel bad or dirty, or it goes against your morals, values, or ethics, then it may not be right for you.

If you’re okay with viewing porn, but it’s causing problems with your partner, then it’s not okay in your relationship. But before you give up porn, or try to hide it, I would suggest having a conversation or two with your partner about why they’re bothered by your porn use.

Since we don’t really do education on porn, people may not understand why people use it. Your partner may make some inaccurate assumptions about your porn use — like you’re watching it because you’re not satisfied with your relationship. It may be that your partner views the behavior as cheating. It may be that they feel threated by you viewing porn. Until you actually talk about it, there’s no way…