Research Paper Claiming Porn-addiction is NOT a Real Thing

They clearly have a bias going in. First they assert that the only reason for the belief in the problem is religious dogma that sex is bad. Then they claim it’s believed to be seen as a problem because of societies view that sex is bad. They believe it’s only seen as a problem because the “ porn addict” has been conditioned by religion or society to view it as a problem. Another issue-porn addiction, sexual compulsive behavior ,only affects a very small portion of society. I believe this will change as we are starting to see problems now with younger generations. Why the huge rise in ED among very young men? I don’t need a study to tell me my husband is an addict. I’ve been with him 35 years. I’ve seen that he’s an addict. I truly do not know why they accept gambling addiction, food addiction, but argue that porn or sex cannot be an addiction. Everything about the model of addiction fits my husband. They can come up with a thousand studies telling me it’s not, but I’ve witnessed first hand that for my husband it is. For decades they said smoking wasn’t harmful, and in fact it was prescribed by doctors to help calm nerves! My aunt was told by her doctor that they would help with weight control and anxiety. They did. They also gave her lung cancer. It took decades before people saw the damage and there are a lot more smokers than porn addicts. There are many people on this site who want to quit and can’t. Who do not see anything wrong with it but for them it’s ruining their life. It ruined my husbands life for 40 years. He had no idea it could even be an addiction. So how many others out there have no idea what the problem is because there is so little education about it and in fact studies like this touting that it’s all in your head? One of the benefits of getting older? You can look back and see and know that scientist don’t always get it right in spite of how sure they are. Lol. In the 1970’s I remember hearing that the world was going to freeze. It was on the news every night. It was in magazines. Now they say “ oh only a few scientists believed that, the others pointed to global warming” except at the time they really did not. Or at least there was virtually no reporting of it. Not a peep. I love how they rewrite history. Here’s the thing, many people can look at porn and not use it compulsively, not get addicted to it.. just like drugs and alcohol. I’ve used porn, I’ve drank alcohol, I’ve been on heavy duty opioids. I’m not addicted to any of them. My husband used to drink alcohol. Once we knew about his porn addiction he gave up alcohol. Quit cold turkey. No withdrawals, no struggle. He hasn’t had a drink in over 3 years. Porn on the other hand. Lots of withdrawals. Lots of struggles. Porn is his drug of choice. You’re young. Quit now before it destroys your life. No one needs pmo.

 

The medical establishment has a framework diagnoses fit in. The American Psychiatric Association uses the IDSM as the de facto reference for mental disorders. Currently it doesn’t even consider sexual addiction (porn is typically treated as a sex addiction by sex therapists b/c symptoms, treatments, effects, trauma etc. are almost identical). The IDSM instead classified sexual addiction as a “compulsion disorder’s a much broader definition than an addiction.

Does it make a difference? Depends CTSMs have been treating sex addiction and more recently porn addiction with addiction models similar to alcoholism, drug addiction and other behavioral addictions with success. But still many in the psychiatric field claim sex addiction isn’t a thing.

the problem gets compounded b/c then mainstream non-medical society doesn’t take it seriously. “Sex addiction? That’s an addiction I wouldn’t mind having!” is commonly heard from folks.

The real issue is that addiction in general has been thought of as a MORAL issue and not a MEDICAL problem. I recommend reading The Urge by Carl Erik Fisher a psychiatrist and former alcoholic who explores this conundrum in-depth.

 

It looks like this individual had a preconceived idea and then cherry picked studies to support that preconceived idea.

That's not science.

I mean, hell, I could write a research paper that followed the same methodology entitled "Groupthink in the Denial of the Existence of Werewolves: Wolf-Negativity, Theoretical Monsterphobia, and Political Manipulation".

All I have to do is:

1. Find a few dozen papers published by people who also agree that werewolves are real and that the lack of belief in werewolves comes purely from cultural conditioning
   
2. Do not investigate or even attempt to refute any papers or studies that hold any different viewpoints on the existence or non-existence of werewolves
   
3. Make blanket statements about how anyone who disagrees with me has been brainwashed by "Christian Wolf-Negative Male-Dominated Radical-Feminist Patriarchal European Cultural Norms" and therefore must not be credible
4. Conclude that werewolves are real and claim that I have arrived at this conclusion through science

 

There’s a great ted talk: Paula hall we need to talk about sex addiction. On YouTube. Her book is helpful too

 

The hundreds if not close to a thousand scientist researched research papers on Yourbrainonporn.com thanks to the late Gary Wilson refutes anyone claiming porn addiction isn't real.

Then the anecdotal evidence of p addiction is endless, lol what a outrageous claim. I'm laughing actually.

 

If porn is not an addiction, why I had cravings all these years, consuming content over content over content?
If porn is not an addiction, why I could an erection only when watching porn and not in real life situation?
It is scientifically demonstrated that porn turns on the dopamine reward system like every addiction.
Now I’m rebooting after years of addiction, why I’m having withdrawals symptoms like depression, brain fog, anxiety, nausea like I suddenly stopped taking a drug?
Please somebody answer these questions.

 

Researches like Debra Soh believes that your root cause of problems is mental issue like DEPRESSION, ANXIETY or other and porn consumption is a coping method.
Brain someone who consumes a lot of p..r doesn't have changes like brain of alcohol/drug addicts

 

There is more and more research showing it does have the same changes. Research shows that for drug users the dopamine starts before the ingestion of the drug, it starts with the ritual( ie, heating up the spoon ) with porn it also starts with the particular ritual each addict has, ie hunting and searching or getting the bed ready etc. I believe it’s the amen brain research that has shown this ( but my memory is crap so could be wrong)

 

Sighh....

1) This is Nicole Prause, she is a well known porn-industry shill.

2) There are like 40-50 neuroscience studies showing that porn can cause similar addiction-related brain changes as drugs, and only like 2 to the contrary. The media ignores the bulk of the studies because they're not in corporate interests.

3) Read YBOP for more informationa bout this.

 

"Sex researcher" - yeah yeah, ok. I take my addiction knowledge from neuroscientists who specialize in the study of addiction, not from "sex researchers."

 

This is an old post, but I really am tired of this pop science post-modern weirdos try to pass off as legitimate.
There are numerous studies that prove otherwise.

 

Sometimes doubters come through and question the concept of porn addiction, they say looking at videos, pictures, can’t possibly meet the criteria of addiction, I mean come on. Be serious. So I say, do your own experiment. Don’t take other people’s claims & counterclaims for granted, don’t try to let sociologists talk you into or out of whatever you already wanted to believe anyway. Find the truth for yourself. It’s very simple, Bob. If porn isn’t addictive, then quit. Just don’t do it. For, oh, two weeks.

If you don’t get irrational cravings to look at porn, if you don’t find yourself bargaining with yourself and trying to bend the rules, if you don’t have to actively distract yourself in order to not look at porn, congratulations. You can ride off into the sunset with the belief that porn isn’t addictive, for you. All I ask is that you leave the rest of us alone, provided we’re not being obnoxious in public places. But if you do crave, and bargain, and have to distract, congratulations. You just proved to yourself that porn is addictive.

“Yeah, well,” you might say, “under that criteria food is addictive, air is addictive. We need that.”
Well, yeah. But you don’t need porn.
“But maybe we do, maybe it’s a part of healthy sexual expre-”
STFU. Stop talking, you’re not fooling anyone, unless it’s yourself and that’s pathetic. You do not have an inherent psychological need to leer at women and whack the mole, or polish your weird looking pickle. Don’t be gross. Don’t be obscene. If you have any sexual “need,” it’s to have real world sex, to satisfy the urge to reproduce, not engage is this strange parasexual practice where they simulate a mockery of the healthy bonding ritual, and you tug your turgid tumescence into a sock. Get a life.

“Ok so it’s addictive, but it’s not hurting anyone.”
*Peruses the literature showing ED in men under 40 was virtually nonexistent until around 2002, when Internet hit a critical mass and went mainstream.
*Examines articles claiming rampant disease and abuse in the porn industry.
*Painstakingly notes the mountains of anecdotal evidence from SOs, independently reporting eerily similar behaviors of depleted empathy, increased despondency, fits of irrational anger, and general asshattery from their heavy porn-using mates.
Sure, whatever you say, Bob. I know it’s a bit of a Catch-22, but one symptom of addiction is denial. But you do you. If you change your mind, though, the Basics are up there and journals are over here, and there’s plenty of people here to answer your questions.

 

same bullshit, different day. Theres a lot of terrible, bogus "research" out there.
The evidence for porn addiction is staggering and overwhelming. The science that supports it is well researched and understood.
The evidence for the porn industry's billion$ to influence thinktanks and corporate actors is equally well-known.

It's also just freaking common sense. Of course its real, why the hell else do you think thousands of people are on this site trying to break the habit?

Not sure why this thread is here really. Just going to spread doubts among recovering addicts. Not the best for a place like this where we know whats up and are trying to improve.

 

can you bring those studies here?

 

I'm also on this web site and i have been here before. It helps me a lot.
However I'm on my day 40 and i feel nothing. Nothing at all. Despite my anxiety which i felt before. I'm not advocating porn. I think it is detrimental and not needed.

My question: Is my anxiety a result of porn usage or is my porn usage a coping mechanism in anxiety?

 

porn is not the reason your life sucks.

 

I hesitate to make blanket truth claims about individual situations, so I’ll only say it can be both. Porn is a brilliant distraction from a lot of things, so in this capacity it is a coping mechanism for a preexisting condition. However, at best it only distracts. It doesn’t resolve any underlying issues, so as soon as you come off the dopamine rush, you still have the anxiety to deal with. At worst, it’s possible porn exacerbates a range of mental health issues, some in non-intuitive correlations, including depression and anxiety. In this capacity, it can be operating as a cause.

It is important to implement other positive countermeasures to anxiety as you attempt to recover from porn addiction. Don’t merely eliminate porn, replace it with practices that will help stabilize your position. Exercise is also not an obvious behavior to associate with depression or anxiety, but there is an undeniable correlation. You could propose confidence as an explanation, but it’s strictly chemical in my case. Regular running makes me feel better. Other good practices are staring at nature, regular prayer or meditation, fostering relationships and practicing hobbies, and of course, as a last resort, medication. It may require time and experimentation to find your combination, but there is likely a solution for you. Porn is definitely not includes.