How Porn Addiction Affects the Brain (E209)

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Behavioral addictions are stigmatized because they feel like more of a choice because there’s no substance changing your brain. However, process addictions or behavioral addictions like porn do actually change the brain in similar ways. In this episode I’ll explain why porn is so addicting, brain changes from porn, and how porn influences us to objectify women and see them as sex objects. Porn has another layer of addictiveness beyond brain changes, it causes novelty seeking. This destroys relationships and I will explain more about why porn promotes novelty seeking, being unable to enjoy regular sex, and warning signs to look out for that you or a loved one are addicted to porn.

What to listen to next:

E170: Why the First Year of Sobriety is so Hard (it's Dopamine!)

E128: Why Cravings are So Powerful (Attentional Bias)

E203: Why You Still Want Alcohol Even When You Hate It (It’s Dopamine!)

E201: Your Dysregulated Stress Response

E202: WTF is “The Work”?

E204: Can Anyone Get Addicted to Alcohol?

Get support for porn addiction:

Porn Addicts Anonymous (12 Steps) https://www.pornaddictsanonymous.org/

The Addicted Mind Podcast https://theaddictedmind.com/episode-260-unraveling-the-complexities-of-sex-and-porn-addiction-with-dr-paula-hall/

The Addicted Mind Shame Webinar https://theaddictedmind.com/shame

Therapy Brothers Podcast (Call in Show) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/therapy-brothers/id1500794877

Unhooked Podcast Breaking Porn Addiction https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unhooked-breaking-porn-addiction-podcast/id1648984850

Relay App https://www.joinrelay.app/porn-recovery

Find a therapist that specializes in porn addiction (sort by zip code, insurance, and select sex addiction under "issue") https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists

Resources I offer:

• Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life

• Sober Group Coaching Program

• Anger Management

• Free resources

Listen to the full episode in your podcasting app: Apple Spotify other apps

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Cite:

Gillian Tietz. How Porn Addiction Affects the Brain (E209). Sober Powered. 2024

Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.

Sources

1. Rissel, C.; Richters, J.; de Visser, R.O.; McKee, A.; Yeung, A.; Caruana, T. A Profile of Pornography Users in Australia: Findings From the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships. J. Sex. Res. 2017, 54, 227–240

2. Gorman, S., Monk-Turner, E., & Fish, J. N. (2010). Free adult internet web sites: How prevalent are degrading acts? Gender Issues, 27, 131–145.

3. Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2007). Adolescents’ exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects. Sex Roles, 56, 381–395

4. Ward, L. M., Reed, L., Trinh, S. L., & Foust, M. (2014). Sexuality and entertainment media. In D. L. Tolman, L. M. Diamond, J. A. Bauermeister, W. H. George, J. G. Pfaus, & L. M. Ward (Eds.), APA handbook of sexuality and psychology, Vol. 2. Contextual approaches(pp. 373–423). American Psychological Association

5. Willis, M., Bridges, A.J. & Sun, C. Pornography Use, Gender, and Sexual Objectification: A Multinational study. Sexuality & Culture 26, 1298–1313 (2022)

6. Alarcon, R. Online porn addiction: what we know and what we don’t- a systematic review. J of Clin Med. 2019.

7. De Oliveira, L, Carvalho J, Nobre P. A systematic review on sexual boredom. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Feb 23, 2021.