Porn Addiction and Your Brain

Using pornography can affect the brain in powerful ways. Depending on how often you view porn, your age, your mental health status and other factors, porn can be highly addictive. Like addictive substances such as alcohol and drugs, it works through the reward system, which involves chemicals like dopamine, and operates in a way that is parallel to substance addictions. Some researchers argue that over time, porn use rewires the brain and can lead to other severe mental health issues. However, you can reverse the damage with a combination of counseling (especially with a counselor who is expert in sex and porn addiction), time, effort, and abstinence.

1. Dopamine and the reward system

When you watch pornography, the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and motivation. Dopamine tells the brain, “This is important; remember this!”  As a result, dopamine reinforces behaviors the brain thinks are rewarding. This is similar to what happens with food, social media, gambling, or drugs.

Over time, frequent exposure can make the brain start to associate pornography with strong reward signals. The brain remembers stronger reward signals and tends to gravitate towards the behaviors that produce them. This can result in cravings which signal the desire or need to repeat the behavior. If the rewards of viewing porn become stronger and more immediate than the rewards of other behaviors, a strong need to repeat the behavior can develop.

2. Desensitization

Some studies suggest that very frequent use of pornography may lead to reduced sensitivity in the reward system. In other words, because of the large amount of dopamine released, the dopamine receptors in the brain begin to retract so as not to be overwhelmed. With fewer receptors available, a great amount of dopamine is necessary to get the same effect. This is akin to tolerance in alcohol addiction, and  can result in:

• Reduced interest in previously stimulating material

• Needing more extreme or novel content to feel the same excitement

• In some people, reduced sexual responsiveness with real partners

This process can be compared to what drug users experience as tolerance. Dose and intensity must be increased to achieve the same level of effect.

3. Conditioning and habits

Because the brain is good at learning patterns, ongoing use of pornography can condition the brain to associate arousal with:

• certain visual cues

• specific scenarios

• being alone with a screen

As a result, porn users often develop a ritualistic approach to their viewing and masturbatory habits. These patterns and rituals are often experienced as providing relief from negative emotions and other life difficulties. They can become rewards for managing life’s demands. Once the brain has assimilated the pattern, just being at a screen may be enough to trigger it.

In addition, for some people, engagement in this pattern of porn use can make it harder to feel the same arousal in real-life situations. Sex with a partner requires getting outside of oneself, engaging with that partner’s needs, and being spontaneous, which is quite the opposite of the self-focused, self-concerned, ritualistic experience of masturbating with porn. In addition, the very imagery of porn with its distortions and exaggerations, may make real sex seem less exciting.

4. Effects on attention and impulse control

Heavy or compulsive use, according to some research, can lead to changes in brain areas related to:

• impulse control

• decision making

• attention

The impact on impulse control and decision making can sometimes lead heavy users of porn to take greater risks to achieve the level of sensation they desire. In addition, porn use may become a preoccupation. Continuous planning for and thinking about using can diminish attention and reduce the individual’s ability to be present with others.

5. Psychological effects

The mental impact of porn use depends a lot on the person, the depth of involvement with porn, and the type of porn that is viewed. For example, viewing porn that depicts things in conflict with your values may cause you to experience cognitive dissonance, shame, or depression. Often users experience shame and guilt due to the types of things they view and the lying and hiding involved in ongoing porn use. Depression often results when use is compulsive and there have been successive failures to stop. Plus, the exciting nature of porn and great variety of images and experiences depicted may lead to both relationship dissatisfaction and unrealistic expectations about sex.

6. Signs of porn addiction vs normal use

Porn use exists on a spectrum. Many people use it occasionally without major problems, but for some it can become a compulsive or addictive behavior. “Normal” or casual use patterns don’t interfere with daily life. If yoiur use is "normal," all of these should apply:

• You can choose when to watch it and easily stop

• It doesn’t interfere with work, school, or relationships

• You don’t feel strong urges if you don’t watch

• Your sexual interest in real partners is still healthy

• You don’t need increasingly extreme material to feel aroused

• If you decide to stop for a while, it’s not very difficult

Porn Addiction / Compulsive Use

Porn addiction or compulsive porn use has a number of recognizable characteristics. If you experience any of these, you may want to consult a professional, like the therapists at EMDR Associates, to get help. Here are the characteristics:

a. Loss of control

• Trying to stop or reduce use but failing repeatedly

• Spending much more time watching than intended

b. Escalation

• Needing more extreme, novel, or longer sessions to get the same excitement

• Regular content becomes less stimulating

c. Interference with life

• Neglecting work, school, hobbies, or relationships

• Staying up late or missing responsibilities to watch porn

d. Emotional dependence

• Using porn to cope with stress, loneliness, boredom, anxiety, or sadness

e. Withdrawal-like symptoms. When trying to stop, you experience:

• irritability

• restlessness

• strong cravings

• difficulty focusing

f. Sexual dysfunction (for some heavy users):

• trouble becoming aroused with a real partner

• decreased sexual satisfaction

• pornography‑induced erectile dysfunction 

Consider professional help when:

• the habit feels out of control

• it is damaging your relationship

• it causes serious distress or shame

• it interferes with your daily functioning

  
  

The therapists at EMDR Associates provide a safe, nonjudgemental approach to help you assess your porn use and build a path to freedom from compulsive use and out-of-control behavior. If you have an addictive relationship with porn, we would be honored to assist you in your journey to a more peaceful and satisfying way of living.