Assessment and treatment of excessive pornography use: A review

Finding it increasingly difficult to get work done on my thesis proposal, so I decided to do some 'productive procrastination'.. Looked up pornography addiction through my school's database and found an article published last week: The assessment and treatment of adult heterosexual men with self-perceived problematic pornography use: A review. Anyways, below is the abstract followed by some quotes I pulled out supported with my commentary! Read along if interested.

"Indeed, brain scan studies have shown that the brains of self-perceived pornography addicts are comparable to individuals with substance dependence in terms of brain activity as monitored by functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) data"

• Shit son! Wonder what mine is like considering I abused painkillers and booze for a while. Would the effect it's had been less if I had not self-percieved it as a problem years ago? They say ignorance is bliss.

"Pornography addiction, similarly, has been excluded from formal classification because of the lack of published scientific literature in the field"

• Having it classified in the DSM would help with people taking it seriously..

"Therapists and clinicians are underprepared when it comes to managing problematic pornography use. Individuals who perceive themselves to have problematic use of pornography face a difficult situation in which therapists lack the sufficient training necessary to manage pornography use"

• Sums up my experience in therapy... Yet to talk with somebody in the professional world who can relate in ways that this forum offers.

"The qualities specific to Internet pornography credited for this global dissemination is known as the Triple-A Engine: accessibility, affordability, and anonymity.

• Accessible: At all times (pretty well)
• Affordability: Free
• Anonymity: In my room behind a screen, no login required

"Firstly, even though the words ‘pornography’ and ‘porn’ are often seen as negative, research has shown that self-perceived effects of pornography are generally positive, with little, if any, negative effects. Even persistent and frequent use can be considered a healthy form of ‘passionate attachment’ to a highly valued activity and reflect a harmonious passion, as opposed to a compulsive or obsessive behavior"

• What the?! Only if your fucking delusional, which I was for a long long time. For me, harmonious passion is finding the flow state on a hike or bike ride, definitely not while in my room mastering to some chick getting pummeled like she stole something...

"When individuals with SPPPU consume pornography, research indicates a it may be a maladaptive coping strategy and form of experiential avoidance, which is an effort to cope with and manage unwanted thoughts or negative feelings even though the coping strategy itself leads to additional harm"

• My story in a nutshell.. "Of course I had sex before," knowin' I was frontin' I said, "I'm like a pro, baby," knowin' I was stuntin' But if I told the truth, I knew that I'd get played out, son. Hadn't been in pussy since the day I came out one. But she don't know that". Scrawny kid in high school lacking the sack to take action.. Probably didn't help that I was already enjoying the anonymity of porn for a number of years already.

"The case for pharmacological approaches as a potential treatment option for SPPPU lacks the scientific rigor necessary for widespread clinical implementation"

• Thank fuck for this, far better ways to overcome this addiction than poppin' pills. CBT anyone?? Tho if things are real real bad then I can see how meds might be necessary, as seen with mental health disorders.

"Bostwick and Bucci's case study followed a man self-reporting as addicted to pornography, who spent up to 8 h per day online, masturbating until tissue irritation or fatigue ended the sessions"

• Shit son rnd 2!! Only time I've gone to failure is on the rowing erg... Poor guy

"Indeed, disturbed family and social relationships are often considered diagnostic criteria for SPPPU"

• Gotta be straight with my parents this Christmas and start some therapeutic practices to resolve long-lasting issues, especially with my dad who lives with bipolar. Things haven't been easy.

"Results indicated ACT as an effective treatment intervention for SPPPU, with a 92% reduction in viewing at post treatment and an 86% reduction at 3-month follow up. ACT's efficacy could be because its approach is fundamentally rooted in mindfulness."

• Wow, by far the most successful treatment I've come across in this paper so far. First time I have heard of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, definitely going to read more into it. Definitely into mindfulness these days

"Lastly, it may be useful to explore mobile and online applications since they seem to provide a viable and potentially useful vehicle for implementing such interventions in a cost-effective and efficient way.

• The irony! In my opinion, the ease of access to pornography through the same devices is a cause for concern.

"While the case for the existence and prevalence of SPPPU is strong, many questions remain regarding the assessment and treatment of problematic pornography use primarily due to the underwhelming state of existing literature"

• Maybe I'll change my thesis and help the cause??

Let me know what you guys think!

 

Like I said, sometimes ignorance is bliss, definitely applies to research in the health field. I guess there's a fine line between ignorance and denial tho. If somebody thoroughly believes that their 'unhealthy' behaviour does not affect their health negatively then they fair better than somebody who perceives their behaviour as being unhealthy yet can't get away from it. Seen pretty well across the board with any addiction/disorder.

The mind is all powerful.