SOARING numbers of middle-aged men are being treated for porn addiction, experts have said.
Some patients’ lives are being ruined by searching internet sex sites for around half of their waking hours, therapists revealed.
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Sufferers are said to have become addicted to the dopamine hit they get from their brain when viewing X-rated images.
At just one clinic — UK Addiction Treatment’s London centre — they get two new patients a week — all aged 50 and above.
And experts fear that is the tip of the iceberg of addicts across the country.
Addiction gets worse for many as dopamine highs reduce over time, meaning they have to search adult sites for longer.
In 2018, the World Health Organisation recognised excessive porn viewing as a mental illness.
The NHS also reported a rise in cases of younger men addicted to porn who suffer erectile dysfunction.
Lee Fernandes, of UKAT clinic London, said: “Dopamine addiction stems from anything that gives the feeling of pleasure.
“We are seeing that a lot in people who watch a lot of porn.
“Dopamine is released by doing things we enjoy.
“These triggers can be anything from a nice meal to watching pornography.
“This natural high is then chased, in the same way a heroin user chases the feeling they got after their first hit.”
Cat Etherington, of the Naked Truth Project, which works to tackle the damaging effects of porno- graphy, said: “Compulsive porn use can tear relationships and families apart.”