1. Assess behaviour, not morality
Our original ten-question self-check explores goals, use, situations and daily-life effects over the past four weeks. It is not a validated diagnostic test. Charts display your selected answers without an overall score or addiction label. Frequency, shame or a conflict with personal values alone do not establish a disorder.
2. Understand your patterns
The exercises explore situations, thoughts, feelings, urge intensity and consequences. This helps identify personal patterns and choose suitable protected times, access barriers and alternative actions.
3. Practise distance and flexibility
Urge surfing, a longer exhale, cognitive distancing and if-then plans help create a choice between an urge and an action. Early controlled or clinical studies of cognitive behavioural programs and mindfulness-based relapse prevention report promising results. However, the evidence base is still smaller than for many established mental-health treatments.
4. Plan for setbacks
A slip is not treated as total failure. Users examine the trigger, limit the immediate consequences and return to their plan with a small adjustment.
What PornLess is not
PornLess does not diagnose, promise a cure or replace psychotherapy, sexual-health advice or medical treatment. Research on specific treatments for problematic pornography use is growing but remains methodologically limited. Seek professional support when loss of control is severe, psychological distress is substantial or others may be at risk.
Sources and further support
- WHO: ICD-11
- WHO: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic requirements, 2024
- Hallberg et al.: randomised trial of cognitive behavioural therapy, 2019
- Hallberg et al.: internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy, 2020
- Holas et al.: mindfulness-based relapse prevention, pilot study, 2020
- Kraus et al.: Validation of a Brief Pornography Screen, 2020
- López-Pinar et al.: Psychotherapy for problematic pornography use, meta-analysis, 2025
- German Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists: finding a therapist in Germany