Sex / Pornography Addiction Support Group
Sexual addiction, also sometimes called sexual compulsion, is a form of psychological addiction to sexual intercourse and other sexual behavior.
I've had an on-again off-again problem with pornography since I was about 12 years old. I can motivate myself to stop watching it sometimes for maybe 6 months or even a year, but I always seem to relapse in the unhealthy and unhappy habit of viewing pornography and masturbating multiple times a week. Sometimes I can make it a whole week and regain hope, but then I go back to more frequent practices and lose that hope again. With my experience I know it will make me ultimately unhappy and bring a whole slue of regrets every time I cave, but it doesn't seem to give me sufficient motivation to stop sometimes. I'll tell myself that I'll be unhappy afterward, that I'll have to start all over with the recovery process, that I'll end up a lonely person, and that looking just a little bit won't end up being just a little bit, but somehow I still end up in the same rut. I've even tried keeping busy with a to-do list so I don't have to have the back-and-forth battle in my brain, but eventually I get tired, slow down, and end up in the same predicament.
For those who are succeeding or know people who are succeeding at escaping this vice, what else can I do to help me stay away?
For those who are succeeding or know people who are succeeding at escaping this vice, what else can I do to help me stay away?
"'Understanding Why Pornography Addiction Is A Brain Disease"' by Gordon Bruin .
Bruin has a website called "'Inner Gold"' . He upholds the 12 step recovery however his explanation about this disease is fascinating and goes into why we suffer depression, anxiety and lack of motivation and the way OUT .
When you read or listen to his videos on youtube you'll see another hidden side to this.
Best wishes all of you...
There's a "'pleasure thermostat"' inside our brain.
When it's set low we gain pleasure from simple things in life like a sunset, a garden, good music,good reading, anything creative...the pleasure thermostat interacts with the experience and we get an infusion Dopamine, Glutamate.Norepinephrine..the experience is then stored.
But the useless activity of watching porn or acting out FLOODS the brain with all these in one go and the thermostat is elevated so high that after the porn is watched NOTHING is able to satisfy us.
We may view the same sunset, listen to the good music but we ARE FLAT and depression takes over. (no motivation)
The pleasure bar has been raised and so the next high jump has to involve a BIGGER dose of the stimulant..so we go back to harder forms of porn ..or more booze or harder drugs (since this is the way with every addiction).
When we QUIT completely the pleasure thermostat re adjusts itself even in a few weeks or months. If we don't then we choose to chase the elusive, unobtainable "high"' which has led many to depressive suicide.
Please go to "'Inner Gold"'. It's worth it.