Dr. Todd L. Love (PsyD, JD, LPC) AMA! Ask an expert anything about porn addiction and rebooting!

Hi, Doctor.
Thanks for your help.
Well, they say porn addiction has a relation to rewarding mechanism in the brain. With what can we substitute seemingly rewarding porn addiction with sth that is not addictive but rewarding the brain?
Thanks.

 

Hi Doc,

How long would you say would be the average recovery time for porn addictions?

How could a councilor make it easier for a porn addict to approach him/her, since it is obviously very difficult for a person to admit that they are addicted to porn.

 

I'm currently in an evil cycle, where I genuinely don't believe in ever becoming truly happy. I've done more than 2 months of nofap before, but I fell in and have been feeling down ever since. The only thing that keeps me on my toes and happy is playing league of legends.
Is there any way to escape this cycle?

 

I would like to ask why you believe nocturnal emissions happen, even though I am having sex consistenly?

 

I would love to if it kept a consistent schedule. It happens so irradically and seemingly without purpose that I don't understand it.

It happen this morning and I just had sex day before yesterday. I was under the belief that we had them to get rid of waste, but how can that be if I just had one today. It has happened on many occasions. Most of the time it's after a period of abstinence, but it does occasionally happen immediately after sex.

What I'm trying to say is, why, if there is a discovered reason, do I have nocturnal emissions immediatly after sex, even though it is consistenly thought to be because we were not having sex and a way for our body to release?

Also, is it common for me to have emissions not accompanied by dreams? I can't remember once when I actually had a dream.

 

Hi doc, I start viewing sexual images probably since the age of 7-8 and grew up in a home where my parents argued alot and verbally abused me. Life was going good until the 4th-5th grade where a girl started making fun of me because of a physical feature i had, after that happened i was always afraid to go up to my friends when they were around her because i didnt want to be made fun of. The first time i masturbated was at the age12-13 around 8th grade. Up until this point i was still always afraid to talk to my friends during school and i would only talk to them after school. This made me isolate myself and now I think i have social anxiety and just feeling anxious and tense all the time. Could rebooting from PMO and fanstasy possibly bring me back to when I didnt have these kinds of negative thoughts? Thank you.

 

Dear Dr. Love,
A lot of people have been viewing sexual images for a very long time. I myself stole bra catalogues when I was five. Was this sort of thing common before the digital era or are children increasingly exposed to things they wouldn't ordinarily be in the past?

 

Is there official research documenting how long it takes people to find pornography on the internet?

 

Thank you guys for this opportunity. If my question was already made, please ignore this. I ask: Ok, i am no longer watching porn. Will my brain come back to normal? Or it will be permanently damaged?

 

Hello there! Is it possible for anyone to rid themselves of sexually objectifying random people while recovering from addiction? Such as no longer staring at breasts and behinds?

 

Hey, I was wondering for your dopamine receptors to heal from excessive masturbation, how important is it to avoid other pleasures, such as junk food, binging netflix etc?

Also, how much will fantasising slow down reboot(given you arent masturbating at all)?

 

Calling Dr. Love (Sorry, I had to!)

I am 17, and I Prematurely Ejaculate while making out with my girlfriend. Fully clothed, just kissing and holding eachother.

Is this due to me watching Porn and Orgasming, my previous inexperience with girls or both?
Thanks, WSMS.

 

My question is simple.
WHY do we watch porn and get attracted to sexual things?

 

You don't need a Ph.D. for that one, @justcause47 . You are biologically and chemically programmed to be attracted to sexual things, for the sake of procreation, the survival of your own genetic code, and the continuation of the human race.

Or so I believe.

 

No,We're not 'biologically programmed' to do so. If all the things that you mentioned were true ALWAYS,then Gays and lesbians would not have been there.
Just think,why there is an attraction of a male with male,even though they can't reproduce,in your words,they can't be attracted to sexual things, for the sake of procreation, the survival of your own genetic code, and the continuation of the human race.

 

What age group is your average client with a porn addiction from?
Have you noticed a connection between porn addiction and underlying unresolved emotional issues in your clients with porn addictions?
Can compulsive pornography use become a coping mechanism?
What are the psychological mechanisms behind sexual objectification, both of others and of oneself?
What is the best way to counter sexual objectification in oneself besides staying away from sexual stimuli?
Have you seen a connection between porn addiction and misogynous opinions in the individuals you have known with porn addictions?
What are the respective roles of dopamine and oxytocin in human sexuality?
Does the absence of oxytocin release during a PMO session contribute to the pathological nature of porn addiction?
Is porn addiction similar to other addictions?
What causes pathological behavior in the porn addict?
What do you consider a "normal" sexuality free from pathology?
What is the primary feature of the internet that produces addiction to things like pornography?
As a legal expert, do you think that porn addicts are responsible for their actions during the time they are masturbating to pornography?
What kinds of problems do you think the introduction of virtual reality pornography will cause in society?
Is porn addiction simply caused by hypersexuality or are there other factors in play?
Have you seen a higher rate of social, psychological and emotional problems among millennials? If yes, do you think these problems are connected to pornography use?
Is there a connection between certain symptoms of ADHD, such as brain fog, lack of motivation, inability to focus and impulsiveness, and porn addiction? Will rebooting help manage some of these symptoms? Have you seen instances where a reboot has reversed or even eliminated symptoms of ADHD?

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this. I have two questions:

1. If porn addiction is another example of a dopamine addiction gone wrong, how can you balance your dopamine levels in a way that doesn't repress your sexuality?
2. How have you taught your clients to love and accept themselves, particularly if they're high achievers or experience childhood trauma such as abandonment?

 

Hi! Two days ago I met a psychiatrist and after discussing problem related to porn addiction, anxiety, brain fog, depression, unable to focus and constant playing of events from past and future events. He came to a conclusion that I have OCD.

My question is can this problem be treated from NoFap as these medications have side effects?

I am a porn addict for nearly a decade and have been masturbating (like when i am about to reach climax I stop and continuously do that till I find the perfect porn or scene).

I feel constant tiredness, unable to focus on studies and feel like I have no purpose in life. Day #1 today. Yesterday I masturbated like 4 times.

Sorry I have posted the same post from reddit as I have blocked that site for the nsfw subreddit by which I tend to relapse everytime.

 

Well, in every code there can be some form of change and mutation, but the general rule is that heterosexuals can biologically bring life, and homosexuals cannot. This does not mean that there won't be some deviation now and then. Sure, guys like guys, gals like gals, and that's fine, but in essence the reason we are attracted to sexual things is to bring life.

The need for love and the need for procreation are two different systems, I suppose. Those systems may not always be in sync, but you cannot deny the clear biological aspect of sex, which brings all of the other reasons together.

Feel free to disagree, man.