Deseret Digital Media NewsOK publishes content from Deseret Digital Media, which has a network of websites that includes KSL.com, DeseretNews.com and FamilyShare.com
Pornography Harms picked it up.
The Five Stages of Pornography Addiction
Viewing pornography can lead to addiction. The habit-forming substance is explicit sexual material. There are five stages of pornography addiction. Do you think you, your spouse, or someone you know might be addicted to pornography?
READ ABOUT IT HERE! *
* Deseret Digital Media has since taken down my article due to too much inappropriate content in the comments. The publishers said I did not give enough "self-help" information. However, NewsOK.com picked it up and it sometimes comes through. Try the link above and see what happens.
Luckily, I saved it, so you can read it now below. I promised myself I would not hold back in this blog--no holds barred--when explaining about the nuances of this pernicious evil. I tell it like it is, I give my research, and you decide for yourself.
I, most of all, want women like me--like I was before I did all this research--to understand about the repercussions of pornography in your marriage. Don't be in denial, like I was.
5
stages of pornography addiction
By: Susan
Knight
About one in seven men, and one in three women are addicted to
porn. The largest users of online pornography are 12 to 17-year-olds.
Teenagers. Fifty-six percent of divorces involve one spouse with a pornography
addiction (mind-armor.com). Yes, addiction—not
just viewing for recreational pleasure, but viewing it because it becomes a
compulsion and the addict can’t think of or do anything else.
Do you think you, your spouse, or someone else you know might be
addicted to pornography? Following are the five stages of a pornography addiction:
1. Early
exposure. As was stated, the largest users of online porn are children
ages twelve to seventeen. Most boys have a curiosity about the opposite sex
and, unfortunately, think they can learn more about them on Internet porn
sites. They yield to the enticement offered by non-human, unemotional contact.
Unless they can navigate away from this temptation, they are seduced. There are new
statistics that teenage boys are being diagnosed with erectile dysfunction
due to advanced pornography abuse.
2. Addiction. Addiction
takes place when the initial naïve curiosity turns into a physical dependence
for this degenerate type of sexual arousal. In a pornography addiction, the
habit-forming “substance” is explicit sexual material. To satisfy the
addiction, the addict relies on the Internet, DVDs, uses his smartphone or
looks at magazines or books.
Using porn increases to more than recreational exploit. The
addict loses control of his or her thoughts in pursuit of the drug. The images
establish themselves in the brain and are hard to shake for visually-wired
males. Porn is needed for arousal and is used on a regular basis. Instead of a
vein or a lung, the substance is taken in via the eyes directly to the visual
cortex in the back of the brain, releasing neurochemicals like dopamine and
endorphins, producing a “high.” All addictions share the same brain changes.
"Constant novelty, at the click of a mouse, can cause
addiction," said Gary Wilson of TEDx, in "The Great Porn Experiment." Dopamine rewards you for seeking the visual pleasures porn
presents. It makes you feel good. The brain chemicals motivate some to repeat
this behavior. You keep coming back. You can’t stop. You’re hooked. Because of
this chemical release — and the consequences of behavior — pornography
addiction is considered to be a form of chemical brain damage. People become
dependent on pornography for physical and emotional satisfaction.
3. Desensitization. Just
as in any chemical dependency, the amount of pornography the addict previously
used is not enough to stimulate these brain chemicals. Dopamine loves novelty. When
the reward wears off, the dopamine release declines, therefore pleasure
declines, the libido declines, and may cause erectile
dysfunction in
males. Less gratification leads to the desire for greater amounts of hardcore
porn. A vicious cycle reigns. Addicts need to intensify reaching the pleasure
points in their brains again, only on a more advanced level.
4. Escalation. The
addict desires greater pleasure, expanded novelty, so he or she ups the dose.
They pursue pernicious, indecent images from the Internet. Porn has become
their drug of choice, and self-medication rises to new levels. Licentious
sexual images, urges and fantasies dominate the thoughts. This over-stimulation
interferes with the normal balance of the addict's brain chemicals. They now
crave extreme novelty. Most viewing is done in secret.
5. Acting
out sexually. Acting out is the next stage of escalation. The addict moves
from viewing pornography to seeking a real
world experience. It leads to risky behaviors, like stealing from
joint bank accounts to pay for prostitutes, binge drinking for heightened
courage to act out, unexplained anger or promiscuous sex. The latter may, and
does, cause STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). Leaving their boring spouses
behind, who long ago failed to fulfill sexual gratification, addicted men and
women actively seek other live sex
partners. If married, the addict will think nothing of committing adultery to
satiate the craving for intense sexual novelty. Men will visit prostitutes;
women will pick up men in bars or at the gym, or resort to cyber porn
(including email, chat rooms, and social media). Chatting with strangers who
vicariously satisfy sexual needs behind closed doors is adultery—ask any spouse
who is victim of their partner's porn addiction and has acted out in the cyber
world. It's emotional adultery and may lead to acting out with live partners.
Depending on the level of graphic, hardcore porn the addict has
viewed in order to spiral to the acting-out level, some escalate to the deviant
sexual behaviors and perversions of rape, child molestation, incest and even
murder. Pornography could be considered a gateway drug to severe criminal
behaviors.
In Ted Bundy’s final interview on the day of his execution, James Dobson uncovered the
knowledge that the impetus of this serial killer’s criminal rampage began with
an addiction to pornography which escalated to acting out.
A pornography addiction is about selfishness—getting, taking—not
giving, as it would be in a normal intimate relationship with a spouse. The
addiction makes it impossible for any emotional or marital familiarity,
closeness or love.
The admission of addiction and desire to be rid of it is the
beginning of recovery. It's the beginning of renewal, mending of self and
relationships. In a perfect world, the addict will crave freedom from the
addiction and seek help.
For more information about pornography addiction and recovery:
Morality in Media/Porn HarmsI'd love to know your thoughts in the comments section. Even though this is a dirty subject, please keep your comments clean.
