The Three Ways to Know That You Are Addicted to Porn

The freedom is simply unbelievable.  Could it happen for you?

 The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

– Henry David Thoreau

The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as a chronic brain illness causing compulsive drug use, relapsing, despite harmful consequences (Schele, 2012).

Dopamine (DA) systems in the brain have been implicated in many clinical syndromes and behavioral responses of addictions including feeding, satiety, wakefulness, sleep, arousal, sex, drug addictions, attention, reward, decision-making, depression, anxiety, psychosis, and movement disorders (Pfaus, 2010, p. 877).

There are three “C’s” that uncover whether or not a person has an addiction.  For example, let us consider Shawn’s addiction.

The First C: Compulsive Behaviour

Shawn delved into his fantasies.  Whatever his thoughts fell on, he surfed the internet.  Shawn started with pornographic images and then videos.  Something hit his mind; he went on the internet looking for new pornography.  With time, porn alone did not excite him.

The Second C: Trying to Cut Down

Shawn understood that he had to stop.  He stayed off the Net for a time.  However, all he thought about was going on line for more porn.  He had to stop.  He lasted for a few weeks.  He had an idea. Shawn visited chat rooms.  Shawn ended up at strip clubs.

The Third C: Continuing Regardless of the Dangerous Consequences

Shawn wanted to stop, but a strong craving for porn kept his sexual appetite stoked.  Masturbation was not meeting his hunger.  Seeking more sexual gratification, Shawn went to prostitutes to picking up strangers at the park, male or female.  Shawn ignored his conscience.  Flirting with danger, he continued regardless of catching STD’s and giving them to his wife.  He wanted sexual gratification.  At the risk of being caught, he had an affair with someone at the office.  His wife knew some of his associates. Masturbation and pornography started the evolution of perversion, but despair and depression kept Shawn searching for relief.

The 3 C’s uncover whether or not a person has a sexual addiction.

Do you experience compulsive behavior,

try to cut down,

continue usage regardless of

the dangerous consequences (Meule, 2011)?

Find help. Perhaps, a 12-step meeting of men and women with like-minded problems could give you support and strength during your recovery from sexual addiction.  Possibly, a therapist certified in sexual addictions could help you. Members of 12-step meetings help one another by becoming sponsors supporting other members’ recovery process.

Examples of 12-step Meetings

• Sex Addicts Anonymous
• LDS Addiction Recovery
• Recovering Couples Anonymous
• Sexaholics Anonymous
• Pure Desire
• Prodigals International
• CO-addict of Sex Addition
• Celebrate Recovery  (Maples, 2013 )

Meditation

Proverbs 5:16 – 23 

Thanks,

Dale

References

Maples, T. (2013). Do 12 step meetings work for sex addicts?. Psych Central. Retrieved on March 30, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/11/18/do-12-step-meetings-work-for-sex-addicts/.

Meule, A. (2011, November 3). How prevalent is “food addiction”? PMCID: PMC3207274: Frontiers in Psychiatry. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00061

Pfaus, J. G. (2010). Dopamine: Helping males copulate for at least 200 million years: Theoretical comment on kleitz-nelson et al. (2010). Behavioral Neuroscience, 124(6), 877.

Schele, E. (2012, December 18). “Food addiction”; and the psychiatric classification of addiction. NeuroFast: University of Gothenburg. Retrieved fromhttp://www.neurofast.eu/research-briefs/brief-2—food-addiction–and-the-psychiatric-classification-of-addiction.