The definition of addiction

I think the medical "addiction" language is really just word-play. Compulsive porn use is an addiction as far as I'm concerned. The medical and research communities are behind in their work on this topic. I think that will change soon.

As far as addiction goes, the payload of a drug like cocaine is a state change in the brain; i.e. something changes in your brain's chemistry due to what you ingested that makes you feel good for no external reason, other than the drug you took. Addiction occurs when the brain changes affect your behavior in so far as you wind up with an impulse control problem because your cravings for the drug become so strong, you'll do anything to get more drug. You become a slave to your drug; you are addicted to your drug. The impulse control problem doesn't happen on its own; it is the result of over-use of the drug to begin with.

Porn is an addictive drug because, although you don't ingest anything, you are exposing your brain to a stimulus that results in changes in your brain chemistry that make you feel good for no external reason other than the "drug" you took; i.e. the images you watched. Orgasm following porn use provides further neurochemical reward and reinforcement of the feedback loop that starts with watching porn and ends with orgasm.

The main difference between PMO and a physical drug you ingest is that the high induced by some drugs can last for hours, whereas a porn and orgasm induced high doesn't last that long. It's like taking mini drug shots that have to be repeatedly ingested to continue getting high.

Addiction is just a word. Words are useful because they allow us to relate patterns of similarity to each other efficiently. It's useful to call porn abuse an addiction because the resulting behavior is so similar to other known addictions. To debate whether or not it's actually a "real" addiction is not useful in my opinion.

 

I totally agree with you sender. I took an evening course in the bio-chemistry of the brain at the Uni where I live, and I actually used the definition I learned there as the basis to sort out my own addiction to porn. If anyone is interested in the seven points of addiction I use you can find the list in my journal: http://www.nofap.org/forum/showthread.php?16780-Starting-a-NoFap-Challenge&p=86185

I definitely consider it to be an addiction. Just as gambling can be.

 

I consider it to be a dopamine addiction coupled with a compulsive act that leads to the desired reward. Same goes for gambling and over-eating. Gambling ruins your finances, porn ruins your sex life, Over-eating ruins your health, all reward the brain with feel good chemicals. Yet all can be enjoyed in moderation.

 

When you don't feel like you're free to choose whether to watch it or not - when it's a mandatory part of your life despite you knowing that you'd prefer to be free of it, and that it's not good for you - that's when you're not in control, that's when your subconscious self has taken over your conscious self. That's what I call addiction.

 

Where did you hear that porn can not be an "addiction"?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/addiction/

That was the first result when i googled addiction...

I know for a fact that addiction to food and impulsive eating causes brain changes. Its not that the drugs are neurotoxic, but that the brain is triggered into the impulsive actions. I've been a year in alcohol recovery and a year sober. I eat, breath, sleep recovery. I'm not going to get into that, but anyways porn and masturbating can without a doubt be classified as an addiction. Impulse control is a part of most addicts issues and addressing that helps.

Look. The point is many people on here cannot live satisfied lives without porn and masturbating. They fantasize about it throughout the day. Making it one day without masturbating is a miracle to some people. Sitting in front of a screen with your tool in your hand watching people screw is a problem. It is selfish and a multidimensional problem that does screw peoples lives up.

And where do you get that gambling addiction is not an addiction either? There are support groups like SLAA (sex and love addicts anonymous) and gamblers anonymous. All modeled after alcoholics anonymous. And people do recover.

Porn and masturbation addictions are criticized the same way AA is criticized by drunks. It is usually criticized by people who think its no big deal. They live unexamined lives and the TV and movies joke about it like its impossible to live life without it just like many people cant imagine life without alcohol.

If your on here you have a problem. And no 30 day 60 day 100 day reboot bullshit is going to magically cure you. There are deep issues and at least a year of brain healing and even then to avoid relapse you should help others via this site.

The criticizers are wicked people. If you think sitting around slooging in tissues is no big deal and cool and everyone does it and you want to just slow down how much you do it. Your on the wrong site. This isnt justify your addiction.com

 

Your not reading those criticisms to keep a level head about things. Thats like an alcoholic reading about the benefits of wine on your health articles. Your reading it to justify your porn and masturbating. If you don't want to do live the rest of your life as a porn watching masturbator. Then stop reading stuff that will make you question if its a big deal or not. You won't quit masturbating if you read that garbage written by addicts justifying there sickness.

 

Gambling addicts can gamble away life savings. Houses. Lose families. Wind up holding up liquor stores and going to jail for life to pay off bookies and get killed. That is a story I heard on lockup.
Porn addicts that turn to escort services. Ones that don't that lose there wives and kids. I'm remembering a true life where a guy was addicted to porn and his wife made him move out and he had kids.
If those are just really excessive habits and not addictions than the heroine addict that loses everything and winds up in jail is just a really excessive heroine user right?