But then, less than two weeks ago, Dr. David J. Ley published an article in Psychology Today titled “Your Belief in Porn Addiction Makes Things Worse.” Ley, a clinical psychologist, reviewed recent data collected by Joshua Grubbs at Case Western over the course of not only one study, but also follow-up research that further validated the initial findings.

Ley’s summary stated the following conclusions:

Seeing oneself as a porn addict was predicted not by how much porn one views but by personal religiosity and moral attitude towards sex.
Daily porn viewing is only “weakly related to feelings of anger.”
Self-labeling as a porn addict is “strongly correlated to depression, anxiety, anger and stress.”
Actual quantity/time of porn viewing has “no reliable relationship to emotional issues.”

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“The evidence is strong that proponents of porn addiction treatment are actually causing psychological suffering. People who listen to them, and who fall into believing that porn is addictive, actually get worse. Medicine is supposed to help people – ‘first do no harm.’”

Whether or not sex addiction should or should not qualify as an acknowledged mental health issue, the usage of that term is harming people, not helping them.