Statistics indicate that almost one in two Americans (yes, women included) frequent internet pornography sites. Are you one of those people?

Chances are, if you do visit pornography websites, you wouldn’t tell a soul. Sex addiction has such a taboo about it that no one speaks of it, but all across the nation, it is tearing marriages and families apart. So are you really an uncaring, selfish individual?

More and more research is being done in this area all over the world and one of the interesting things about sex addiction that has been discovered is that it is directly related to dopamine levels in the brain.

via Brain’s chemistry the biology behind porn addiction | one, pornography, chances – LOCKNANE – Odessa American Online.

The human brain is programmed to incentivize behaviors that contribute to survival.  The mesolimbic dopaminergic system rewards eating and sexuality with powerful pleasure incentives.  Cocaine, opioids, alcohol, and other drugs subvert, or hijack, these pleasure systems, and cause the brain to think a drug high is necessary to survive.  Evidence is now strong that natural rewards such as food and sex affect the reward systems in the same way drugs affect them, thus the current interest in ‘natural addiction.’  Addiction, whether to cocaine, food, or sex occurs when these activities cease to contribute to a state of homeostasis, and instead cause adverse consequences.  For instance, when eating causes morbid obesity few will argue that the organism is in healthy balance.  Similarly, pornography causes harm when it impairs or destroys a person’s ability to develop emotional intimacy.

Read the full article: http://salifeline.org/can-pornography-use-become-an-actual-brain-addiction/

via Can pornography use become an actual brain addiction? (Research).

Pornography addiction is a condition in which a person becomes overly dependent on pornographic materials for their physical and emotional satisfaction. There are many individuals that view pornography regularly, but this does not always lead to addiction.

Symptoms of addiction include:

Increased frequency in watching or reading pornography

Lose track of time while watching for several hours on end

Spending more money to want a greater variety and better satisfaction

Rearranging your schedule and making up excuses in order to make time for pornography

Experiencing physical or psychological symptoms when trying to stop, such as anger, depression, irritability, and stress

via Porn Addiction.

Dear Straight Talk: My younger brother is 19, a healthy college student. We are close friends. He confided in me that he is reluctant to date because of recent problems with arousal. He said this didn’t used to happen to him. Personally, I think it’s from too much porn. I doubt a day goes by since he was 13 that he doesn’t masturbate to it. I told him to lay off it and find a real relationship. What do the college students on your panel suggest? I hope they’re not all porn addicts, too. It’s getting hard to find anyone who doesn’t watch it — and if you question it and you’re a guy, everyone thinks something is wrong with you.

via Straight Talk: Young porn addict needs a ‘real’ relationship – The Reporter.