Can Looking At Porn Cause Changes in Brain Function?

Tens of millions of people throughout the U.S. consume some sort of pornographic or sexually explicit material. Current scientific evidence indicates that some of the individuals who participate in this commonplace activity can develop a behavioral addiction as a result their pornography use. Behavioral addiction produces some of the brain changes normally associated with substance addiction. In a study published in May 2014 in the American Medical Association journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers from three German institutions conducted tests designed to determine if people who consume a lot of pornography experience some of the characteristic brain changes found in individuals affected by behavioral addiction.

Sex Addiction and Chronic Relapse

Martin had been working the steps for a full three years, though he hadn’t been “clean” that long. The longest he’d gone without slipping or sexually acting-out was four months. He considered that length of time a miracle. Folks in the program had recommended the use of a net nanny—software that blocks porn—but he’d uninstalled it more than once on his home computer and continued to use his smartphone. The temptation was too intense; he was surrounded by sex and couldn’t seem to say no.

How Much Porn Before You’re a Sex Addict?

Many people want to understand pornography addiction, perhaps when trying to evaluate a loved one, or when trying to understand their own behavior. But “how much porn before you’re a sex addict?” may be the wrong question. Perhaps in our search to understand pornography addiction, we should be asking not about quantity, but about the relationship between the viewer and pornography use.

Don Jon Disappoints and Misleads

After the recently released and quite good sex addiction themed film Thanks for Sharing, there was a lot of hope that the even more recently released porn addiction themed film Don Jon would be equally accurate and compelling. Unfortunately, it is not.

The film’s main character, Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), is a Jersey Shore wannabe obsessed with his car, his pad, his male friends, his body, his religion, and porn. He masturbates to porn multiple times each day, even though he consistently picks up hot women for casual sex. In fact, he is so successful scoring with “dimes,” as he and his friends call attractive women, that his buddies have nicknamed him “Don Jon.” (Many scenes will be triggering for sex and porn addicts, so the film should be viewed with extreme caution.) Unfortunately, Jon’s in-person sexual encounters are far from mind-blowing, and as soon as whatever woman he is with has fallen asleep, he is out of bed, logging onto his laptop for the fix he finds online. At several points during the film he readily, even gleefully, admits that he prefers porn to the real thing.

‘Don Jon’ Shows Numbing, Distancing Effect of Porn

A recent movie about porn addiction is capturing national headlines, but not for the sheer nature of the complex addiction itself. Rather, critics are talking about how the movie “Don Jon” portrays the nature of addiction as a force that separates individuals from genuine emotional connections.

Written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who also held the starring role in Don Jon, the movie is noted for its parallels in story to the numbing effect of pornography addiction in a person’s real-life. Repeated, emotionless sexual scenes are shown during the first parts of the movie, including online porn and sex with multiple partners, allowing viewers to catch a glimpse about how porn addiction really is less about the sex and more about the escape or numbing-out factor it provides.

New Types of Porn May be Creating Super-Libido and Extreme Desires

Super-escalated libido or cravings for atypical sexual activities that haven’t been desirable before are some of the products, say authors, of a porn-saturated environment. Cartoonists, designers and videographers may even be tapping into what have been called "ancient" desires and turning them into a multi-billion dollar industry even at the expense of consuming, life-destructive pornography addictions.

Experts Call for More Treatment Options for Veterans With Pornography Addictions

More veterans may return home from military combat with a pornography addiction than experts previously believed. This has sparked national dialogue about how to provide compassionate treatment that can guide military personnel and their families out of the stronghold of this complex addiction.

“Natural” Brain-Based Addictions Include Sexual Addictions

Pornography addiction may be linked to a biological response at the brain’s reward system level, similar to the rewards that come from enjoying food or other activities that bring pleasure, including drugs and alcohol.

10 Signs Your Partner Might Be a Sex or Porn Addict

By: Korina Jochim, MA, MFTI
Addiction Specialist

As professionals treating sex addicts and their partners, we have observed that certain patterns over time are hallmarks of sexual addiction. We are often struck by the commonality of the stories we hear and in the interest of helping partners recognize some signs that may indicate there is a problem. We have outlined some “red flags” to watch out for below. If your partner consistently demonstrates three or more of these symptoms, he may be a sex and porn addict.

Kids Know Pornography When They See It

“This stuff comes barreling down the generations like a locomotive.” So said a man I’ll call Ted. Because so many sex addicts lead a double life, a “secret” life, they may believe (and their partners may believe) that their younger school-age children are not directly affected. Ted knows better. He’s a tall, good looking, successful 45 year old recovering sex addict. He remembers that when he was a kid growing up his father had a second home down the street from where the family lived which the father used to house his “girlfriends”. Kids know what’s going on, even young kids, and they know when something isn’t right. It affects them and skews their sense of what constitutes normal relating in ways they can’t understand or verbalize at the time.