With the advent of high speed internet, porn addiction has reached epidemic proportions. In fact, researchers who are studying porn addiction have found that one of their greatest challenges is in finding control groups of men who do not watch porn to contrast with those who do. Apparently the porn-free man is a rare breed.
The destructive implications of regular porn viewing are now widely documented. The repeated viewing of pornography actually changes the brain structure of the person viewing it.
Pornography exacerbates the release of dopamine in the brain – the feel good neurotransmitter. The excess of dopamine then creates an excess of Delta FosB – a molecular brain switch that tells the brain to get more stimulation, that is, to find more and different kinds of porn for additional stimulation. Over time the pleasure response center in the brain numbs to every day enjoyments. The pleasure response center is trained to require stimulation that is only accessible through porn. Not only does the porn addicted person need more each day, he will often need more varied and extreme kinds of porn to stimulate himself.
Is all this really so bad? Umm, yeah. Long-term effects of porn use include depression, difficulty focusing, difficulty accomplishing tasks, social anxiety, erectile dysfunction, an inability to create romantic relationships, and an inability to enjoy intimate sex with a partner. The symptom that usually gets a man’s attention is erectile dysfunction.
Internet porn creates erectile dysfunction as the numbed out, over stimulated brain of the porn user sends weaker and weaker signals to the penis. This creates a lower reaction to porn sites over time, a drop in libido, and eventual erectile dysfunction.
Fortunately, for the man who is willing to do his self-growth work, the brain is malleable and can heal if he gets help. This could look like professional therapy, twelve-step recovery (check out sex addicts anonymous saa-recovery.org), and filtering his computer with a porn filter (netnany.com).
The website, yourbrainonporn.com gives a comprehensive look at this epidemic and offers hope for the porn addicted person.
Check out Gary Wilson's Tedx talk, The Great Porn Experiment, for more: