Mum reveals crippling porn addiction

A woman has revealed she used to hide in her bedroom closet with her computer while suffering from a crippling porn addiction, which lasted two decades.

Erica Garza has admitted she started watching porn when she was just 12 years old in a new memoir called Getting Off.

The 35-year-old from the US went from a self-conscious Catholic schoolgirl to someone hooked on porn, saying it was all a combination “of shame and sexual excitement” that she had come to depend on.

Erica Garza was addicted to porn for two decades. Photo: Facebook
Erica Garza was addicted to porn for two decades. Photo: Facebook

“My methods of getting this only became darker and more intense, wreaking havoc on all aspects of my life,” she told the New York Post.

“I used to hide with my computer in the bedroom closet. Part of the thrill was that I might get caught.”

Erica says she believes it all came from her struggle to fit in at school in LA while she suffered from scoliosis and was forced to wear a back brace. She would seek an escape and that is what porn became.

Her addiction started when she was 12 years old. Photo: Facebook
Her addiction started when she was 12 years old. Photo: Facebook

What started with softcore porn on late-night cable TV eventually developed with technology through her teens and she eventually even unable to have sex without porn on.

“It felt like a relief for me because we had a sort of wall between us,” she explained.

She reveals her addiction in a new memoir called Getting Off. Photo: Facebook
She reveals her addiction in a new memoir called Getting Off. Photo: Facebook

It got to the point where she was watching hard-core porn and engaging in risky and violent sex, even with complete strangers.

Finally, in her early 30s, Erica realised her addition was stopping her from bonding with men. It was then she met her how-husband, who encouraged her to talk about why she used porn.

The now married mother-of-one said with the help from her husband, yoga and therapy she didn’t watch porn for six months. Now she only uses it occasionally in a healthy way.

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