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Gary Wilson says some people are permanently damaged

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by Hisself, Jun 26, 2017.

  1. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Just saw one of Gary wilson's recent presentations on porn on the brain. If you want to find it on YouTube, it's his talk in Istanbul. About halfway through the presentation he says there are now cases showing up in the past few years of guys who's sexual function has been permanently damaged by porn use and will never heal. He didn't go into any further detail about why he thinks that and what makes them different and I don't know why he wouldn't elaborate. It kinda scares the shit out of me and I can't find any further information on what he means. What are your thoughts on this guys?
     
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  2. Kulka1

    Kulka1 Fapstronaut

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    Hmm, Interesting, I would like to know his case and why Gary said so.
    Can you give a link to this conference?
     
  3. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Just look up Gary wilson Istanbul on YouTube its the first video that comes up
     
  4. I Free I

    I Free I Guest

    Honestly , As much as I believe Gary Wilson's thoughts about porn ( of course ) & his views on many other things, I can't agree with him on some people being permanently damaged from it ... Maybe he's speaking in a sense that these guys will never heal because they'll never truly give it up . I could be wrong but that's how I feel... Everybody can heal but everybody's healing process is different .
     
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  5. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    I thought that might have been what he was saying at first, that maybe they won't heal because they won't quit, but I rewatched it a few times and it is definitely not what he was saying. His views on recovery have changed a little in respect to this topic because he has seen more extreme cases recently.
     
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  6. I Free I

    I Free I Guest

    Ok, yeah like I said, it ultimately depends upon the person,how much they viewed porn,etc.etc. but needless to say, I still find that hard to believe ... I don't look at addictions as diseases, they are just addictions that can be overcome with a little to a-lot of work . Sickness is Sickness (Whether you can heal them or not), Addictions are Addictions .
     
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  7. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Addictions maybe but what about severe porn induced sexual dysfunctions? I could see that being more likely to be a permanent thing than addictions would be..
     
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  8. NF104534

    NF104534 Guest

    I think it's best to not jump to conclusions just yet; but, let's for a minute entertain the idea that some of us have permanently damaged our brains. What then? Well then we learn to adapt and strive to live a life the best we can with our new disability. Even if I found out my brain is one of the ones permanently damaged, it still doesn't change anything regarding the type of life I want to live, a life with no pmo, or the steps necessary to live that life.
     
  9. I Free I

    I Free I Guest

    Yeah I know what your saying but I still think any sexual dysfunction can be healed (depending upon age of course) . This is interesting though, I'm going to have to do more research on this .Thanks for sharing this by the way :emoji_bow:

    Glorious Mindset !
     
  10. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    It would change the type of life I want to live in the sense that I would never be able to have the type of relationship I wanted with a women. I'm 8 months free of pmo and I've seen many improvements in my life including some pied improvement but not to the extent that I feel that I could function normally. I am not sure what to make of my progress or Gary's take on this topic but I want to get as much feedback as possible to increase my knowledge on this topic. This is the first I've ever heard of permanent damage and it's been something I've been worried about for the past 8 months. Coming from someone as reputable as Gary makes me take this viewpoint very seriously.
     
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  11. Your brain isn't "damaged" it just might be more susceptible to pornography because of dormant sensitization. If you abstain from cues associated with your porn use, you should be fine. Additionally, the longer that you go, the further that you wire your brain to a person rather than to pornography, the easier that it gets. And now you have life experience to tell you that pornography won't bring you to fulfillment.

    More research is needed regarding DeltaFosB and how long it might keep a pathway sensitized, or what other mechanisms might be a part of it. But it isn't as simple as your brain getting "damaged." Hypofrontality and other things that might be considered "damage" by some people are reversible. You're referring to habits ingrained in your reward circuit, which can be overridden by your prefrontal cortex.

    Drugs, on the other hand, can create permanent brain damage through their toxicity, which can destroy brain structures. Thankfully it doesn't appear that pornography does this.
     
  12. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Thank you for your response Alexander! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge, as I've said earlier in this post I have seen major improvements in all areas of my life due to nofap including pied improvement. I feel I have a bit of a unique case in that I've had a fetish since childhood before porn use and never had thoughts about sex even before porn. I had one specific fetish that I would get off to my whole life so I feel that some of my wiring is innate and may be irreversible. That is one reason I take what Gary said very seriously. I would encourage you to check out what Gary said for yourself from his presentation in Istanbul and see if you agree with it if you haven't already heard what he has to say on this topic. Thanks again!
     
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  13. lantti

    lantti Fapstronaut

    And thus are permanently damaged.
     
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  14. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    I said earlier in this post that I rewatched it multiple times and that this was not what he was saying. Anyone can see this look up on YouTube "Gary Wilson Istanbul" see for yourself.
     
  15. lantti

    lantti Fapstronaut



    This video? but i meant my comment more of an conclusion than review of that video, sorry for confusion.

    But now that I watched the video: I think it is entirely possible that brain has been damaged beyond recognizion. It's physical damage. You can't use your hand if it's cut off. I don't know if that is what he meant, but who knows? Can drug-use cause permanent damage to brain? Brains are used to it's own dopamine, but never there have been so easy way to orgasm every fucking day four to ten times.
     
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  16. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Exactly, this is the first I've heard of people beyond repair but it doesn't entirely surprise me. It scares me because back when I had a drug problem I would take drugs to stay up for days pmoing. That makes me feel possibly beyond full recovery.
     
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  17. lantti

    lantti Fapstronaut

    But you seem to have 240 under the belt. You should know now if there is something missing. And to be honest, having a scar or two, even if it's in your brain, is quite manly. It could've done much worse damage;)
     
  18. DBug

    DBug Fapstronaut

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    That shit's scary. I mean I agree with the guy that said he'd still try to live his life to the fullest extent but still... being permanently damaged would be a major setback. There are so many things I wanna try!
     
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  19. Porn Free Wanderer

    Porn Free Wanderer Fapstronaut

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    Let's all calm down for a second. Yes, the prospect of being permanently damaged is potentially scary, but we don't know to what extent he was talking about. The answer to the question "Will I ever heal" is simply "We don't know". We don't know what damage you've done. Don't they say that as addicts we will be forever recovering? At least that's what they say other addictions, so I don't see how different we would be.

    My take is this: We will never know what our potential might have been if we'd never watched porn in our lives. The time we've wasted, the opportunities we've missed and so on. We'll never know. What we do know is the state that porn left us in at our worst level. Some of us (myself included) actually got used to living that way to the point where we just thought "this is normal". Once we manage to quit porn and get ourselves away from it, a ton of empirical evidence suggests that we can improve in many aspects of our lives. We should be focusing on achieving that improvement and being the best we can still be. This talk is not a reason to give up.
     
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  20. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    I'm never going to give up, my life has improved 1,000 times over in the past 8 months but I'm still not close to being over pied. The video is on this thread now and what we are talking about is permanent sexual dysfunction not addiction necessarily.
     
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