{"id":1288,"date":"2026-08-08T03:20:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/how-a-former-gb-olympian-curbed-his-porn-problem-and-the-signs-and-steps-to-recovery\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:20:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:20:01","slug":"how-a-former-gb-olympian-curbed-his-porn-problem-and-the-signs-and-steps-to-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/how-a-former-gb-olympian-curbed-his-porn-problem-and-the-signs-and-steps-to-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"How a former GB Olympian curbed his porn problem – and the signs and steps to recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How<\/figure>\n

Former Team GB diver Freddie Woodward first realized he had a problem with pornography during his teenage years. “Every time I sat down to revise, all I wanted to do was open those sites,” he recalls. By age 12, he was regularly visiting what he describes as “hardcore” sites. As his career progressed\u2014culminating in representing his country at the Olympics\u2014he found himself watching adult content several times a day.<\/p>\n

Now 30, the Olympian has spoken to the BBC about how he eventually curbed his habit by fundamentally shifting his mindset. “You can’t be the person who is trying to quit porn. You have to be someone who doesn’t watch porn, and that takes a lot of work,” he says.<\/p>\n

But how can you tell when a porn habit has crossed the line into unhealthy territory, and what steps can you take to regain control? While “porn addiction” has become a common phrase, it is not an officially recognized condition on its own. Sex and relationship psychotherapist Silva Neves explains, “We know a lot of people have a problem with porn,” noting that such concerns have become increasingly prevalent among his clients. However, experts remain divided on whether it constitutes a true “addiction” akin to substance dependence, and on the best approaches for treatment.<\/p>\n

Researcher Campbell Ince from Australia’s Monash University says the vast majority of clinicians now agree that people can suffer from “problematic porn use,” but much remains unknown about its causes and effective treatments. Consequently, there is no definitive checklist of symptoms or standardized treatment protocols for those worried about their habits.<\/p>\n

Some clinicians approach the issue as a compulsive sexual behaviour disorder\u2014a condition recognized by the World Health Organization. Psychotherapist Dr Paula Hall, who works privately at the Laurel Centre and runs a not-for-profit service, describes this as sexual behaviour that “feels out of control, is causing significant distress, and despite repeated attempts to control it, they can’t.” The NHS also acknowledges that it is possible to become addicted to “just about anything,” including sex.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the warning signs<\/h2>\n

So what are the markers of an unhealthy porn habit? According to Neves, it’s “not about the frequency or duration, it’s about the damage to your life.” This could manifest as arriving late to work because you were up all night watching porn, prioritizing it over commitments to loved ones, or even viewing it in the office.<\/p>\n

Ince, whose research focuses on problematic porn use, suggests asking yourself two crucial questions: Can you actually cut back or adjust your habit when you try? And do you continue watching despite enjoying it less and less? For Craig, a recovering addict in his late thirties during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was this loss of control that marked a turning point. “I don’t think it ever became a huge issue for me until lockdown, where that extra pressure, extra isolation, just compounded the issue. I didn’t know how to get it to loosen its grip on me,” he recalls.<\/p>\n

When shame clouds judgment<\/h3>\n

Ince cautions that many people may feel distress about their porn use due to social, moral, or religious reasons\u2014but that does not necessarily mean their habit is out of control. Neves agrees: “Someone could be watching porn for five minutes, three times a week\u2014and because they have a lot of shame, they think ‘I’m an addict.’ But then there might be someone who watches it every day and thinks it’s fine.”<\/p>\n

Hall encourages clients to “get away from the idea of ‘I’m either an addict or I’m not'” and instead focus on how much it is affecting areas like studies and relationships. TV presenter Ore Oduba last year publicly shared his 30-year struggle with porn addiction, which began at age nine. He described it as “destroying my life from the inside out,” telling the We Need to Talk podcast that it was “the thing from a very early age that I was running to as a response to a lot of trauma.”<\/p>\n

What drives problematic porn use?<\/h2>\n

The exact causes remain unclear, and experts stress that much more research is needed. “The scientific examination is certainly accelerating, but there is a very long way to go,” says Ince. It might start as a way to escape other issues in your life, such as a stressful career or relationship breakdown, suggests Hall. There may also be “predisposing factors”\u2014like trauma, early childhood issues, or negative self-belief\u2014that make it harder to curb use.<\/p>\n

Craig, now 40, says porn became a “tool to turn to for every one of life’s ups and downs.” He remembers feeling he was “broken, that there was no way out,” before recovery helped him think differently. Hall also points to the digital environment and the role of algorithms in making people “addicted by design.” Both she and Neves note that AI-generated porn is exacerbating the problem by enabling users to create “exactly what they want and need.”<\/p>\n

Steps to recovery<\/h2>\n

If you’re worried about your porn use, Ince recommends seeking support from a qualified and experienced professional. A registered psychologist can be particularly helpful because they may consider your mental health more broadly, “and we know that co-occurring mental health problems are more or less the rule, rather than the exception,” he says.<\/p>\n

For Craig, it was therapy for his mental health that first revealed his porn use might be unhealthy. “Porn addiction was like a contributing factor,” he learned. His therapist suggested a 12-step programme for sex addiction, a model created by Alcoholics Anonymous, which he credits for his recovery. “I didn’t necessarily find it easy and straightforward to step away from my addiction. I feel I’m in a good place now, but also acknowledge the fact it’s one day at a time.”<\/p>\n

Finding the right support<\/h3>\n

Currently, there is no central, dedicated NHS service for those struggling with porn use\u2014though some local services offer support, and you can talk to your GP. Treatment more often comes from private practitioners, support groups, or online self-help. Ince advises doing thorough research to find the right fit and warns against online resources that may offer generic advice.<\/p>\n

Some practitioners help clients cut out porn entirely, while others assist in “integrating it into their lives in a way that is functional,” says Neves. Understanding any underlying factors is a crucial part of treatment, adds Hall. There are also practical steps you can take yourself, such as installing blocking software on your devices. Hall also suggests recognizing when you might feel more susceptible\u2014like when stressed or alone\u2014and planning alternative activities in advance.<\/p>\n

However, Hall believes there should ultimately be more support on the NHS, particularly early intervention before porn can take over a person’s life. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care responded: “It is troubling to hear accounts of individuals becoming addicted to pornography at such a young age. It reinforces the importance of the online safety laws we have put in place to prevent children from accessing harmful content.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Team GB diver Freddie Woodward first realized he had a problem with pornography during his teenage years. “Every time I sat down to revise, all I wanted to do was open those sites,” he recalls. By age 12, he was regularly visiting what he describes as “hardcore” sites. As his career progressed\u2014culminating in representing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myhealtho.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}