JMT HYPNOSIS
Internet porn addiction
Porn addiction has been heralded as a relatively new phenomenon in human behaviour and which is becoming more prominent since the advent of high speed and high resolution internet.
Porn sites, especially free ones are omnipresent and anyone can key in even them most simple of terms to find a link to a website and enter a world of extremely highly explicit images. Research both in Europe and the US suggests that repetition of viewing porn lays the foundations for circuits to fire and then wire together an intrenched pathway which works in the same way as a desk-top short cut on your computer. The more you view, the faster your brain anticipates to receiving porn. This is how addictions become formed and why they are can appear so unbreakable.
So what is happening in the brain each time someone views internet porn?
Each time you look at porn a neurotransmitter known as dopamine is released. In fact this neurotransmitter is responsible for anything we find curious, exciting or anticipate. So every time you view porn, dopamine is released which lays the foundations for a neural pathway which leads directly to the pleasure zone of the brain, an area called the Nucleus Accumbens. This centre is not only responsible for experiencing pleasure and cravings but importantly is responsible for sexual arrousal. Every time porn is viewed this neural pathway becomes stronger and stronger and with repeated firing, will take priority even over actual physical sexual contact. This is why internet porn is so addictive.
So what is the problem with the release of dopamine and viewing internet porn?
Research suggests its the amount of dopamine which is released and the length of time it is released into the Neural Accumbens of the brain, that may cause problems. Ordinarily when someone is sexually excited dopamine is released which excites (quiet literally as it causes receptors in the brain to stimulate electrical impulses) the nucleus accumbens and starts the chain reaction of getting an erection to climax. What researchers think is happening when viewing internet porn, is that repeated exposure causes too much dopamine to be fired which saturates the brain and the nucleus accumbens. Over time this reduces the effectives of the reward circuitry as its 'overloaded', causing the natural receptors not to respond. Evidence for this has been found in a study in Italy using CAT scans on habitual porn users. The grey matter which forms the nucleus accumbens is reduced markedly which they found related to erectile dysfunction. Accordingly, they maintain that the reason for this is that the body is not releasing dopamine normally but relying on stimuli to excite. When this is not produced by viewing huge amounts of internet porn then the reward circuitry is not activated. Quite literally the reward centre of the brain expects huge amounts of dopamine all the time. Which happens when viewing porn.
Dopamine is often referred to as the ‘pleasure molecule’ but in actual fact it causes us to seek out and search for pleasure. Research has found that internet porn users are addictive more to the seeking out of new porn, as it is anticipation which gives the biggest surge of dopamine, rather than the porn itself. Further today’s internet porn leaves nothing to the imagination which our father’s generation did. Your expectations and boundries of acceptablity are pushed further and further as you are saturated with endless porn which addicts can spend hour upon hour surfing to find the perfect scene or film to finish with. Research has shown that edging (The constant arousal of masturbating without ejaculation), can cause problems in physical relationships. Rarely, do men have the opportunity to edge whilst having sex as both needs of the partners have to be addressed. Accordingly, a porn user who edges whilst viewing porn may well suffer delayed ejaculation which may lead to anxiety, depression and feelings of being inadequate. Further, research has found that the intensity in which men grip their penis as they masturbate can ‘de-sensitise’ (Known as the death grip), them to penetrative sex. Thus, the more you watch porn the more you masturbate and the more you masturbate causes sexual de-sensitisation in physical relationships. And the more you may have to use the 'death grip' to climax too which causes the penis to loose it's sensitivity when having sex.
Surely a bit of internet porn isn’t that bad?
Yes, that is more than lightly to be true, however it is the chronic overstimulation that may cause your brain to work against you. The body protects itself against excessive stimulation by reducing dopamine signalling, which makes you feel less and less gratified. The brain accomplishes this by reducing dopamine receptors and releasing less dopamine pushing some users into an even more determined search for stimulation. Thus, a vicious cycle emerges pushing a porn user to get a greater rush of dopamine by looking at more highly explicit porn. A study in Australia illustrated this point. They showed the same erotic film repeatedly to test subjects’ penises and subjective reports both revealed a progressive decrease in sexual arousal. Psychologists call this habituation. Once habituation occurs the body dopamine production declines. This results in porn addicts to view more explicit porn and they may develop uncharacteristic fetishes just to get a dopamine ‘kick’.
What are the symptoms that you may be addictive to porn?
Studies have found that men who are addictive to internet porn may exhibit irritability, social isolation, lacking motivation and apathy to pleasure in life. An addict may be unable to concentrate and spends more and more time by themselves in their room or away from friends and family. The isolation may exacerbate the addictive behaviour as they spend more and more time online, viewing porn and prolonging sessions through edging to find that all important scene to 'cum' to.
Harry Fish an eminent urologist wrote in his book, The New naked “I can tell how much porn a man watches as soon as he starts talking candidly about any sexual dysfunction he has… A man who masturbates frequently can soon develop erection problems when he’s with his partner. Add porn to the mix, and he can become unable to have sex. A penis that has grown accustomed to a particular kind of sensation leading to rapid ejaculation will not work the same way when it’s aroused differently and orgasm is delayed or doesn’t happen at all".
Symptoms of quitting porn
Porn users who have quitted porn have reported at least some if not all of the following: Fatigue, inability to sleep, trembling/shaking, lack of focus, depression, irritability and ‘flatlining’. Some have described the experience of being like a caged animal as they pace up and down wanting to view porn.
What is ‘Flatlining?’
Flatlining is erectile dysfunction (Not getting a hard on) and a fear of permanent impotence - that they won't get a hard on again. Research has shown that one of the primary reasons intern porn addicts keep their addiction going is the fear of impotence. They think viewing internet porn will resolve their erection problems. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the opposite is happening, they are actually worsening the condition as they man use a harder grip when masturbating or edge longer. Both of these techniques actually cause erectile dysfunction.
Research has shown in the UK and US that a porn users erections return ‘normally’ after they cease watching porn. There, is however, a correlation between the age when porn addiction originally developed and the time it takes to recover from ‘flatlining’. The older the man was when they developed the condition i.e. older than 20 years the quicker the normally erections returned. Males who viewed pornography as teenagers took a longer time to return to normal erections. The actual time ranges from a couple of weeks to six months. On average a man’s erection will return to baseline within approximately 6 - 9 weeks.
Rebooting: How do I quit watching internet porn?
The following have been found to greatly aid porn addiction recovery or to ‘reboot’:
Remove all porn:
Yes, to fully recover from internet porn addiction you need to delete all porn from your computer and internet gadgets. This includes deleting bookmarks, history and the back-ups of your best batch of porn.
Remove cues:
This is extremely important and this may in itself change your behaviour. The brain attaches meaning to expectation and anticipation i.e. dopamine starts to signal pleasure when it thinks it’s going to get a hit. Therefore, if you used porn when gaming ensure you ‘game’ in a different place. If this isn’t possible re-arrange your room. Don’t have devices on showing porn in the background. If you watched porn whilst alone in your room, socialise. Go out to the gym, with friends, cinema do anything rather than sitting in your room. The temptation may be too great if being alone is a cue.
Make a list of all your cues. You know what they are, no one else will. Be honest with yourself. It may be hard but after a couple of weeks you’ll start to get your life back.
Porn blockers:
Consider using porn blockers on your computer and when surfing stick to what you’re looking for. Don’t look up images as they may excite the expectation of seeing nudity or sexual content.
Take up exercise:
Using exercise can help bolster any depleted dopamine activity. Research has found that dopamine and endorphins are released when you exercise. This can help with the symptoms of internet porn addictions. But remember not to overdue the gym and go a couple of times a week.
Can Hypnosis help?
Yes, hypnosis can help you tackle your addiction. Hypnosis has been shown to tackle cravings, unwanted behaviour and addictions. Hypnosis can help you ‘unlearn’ the behaviour of porn addiction. Further, it can tackle the underlying problems that maybe fuelling the porn addictions. These could be a lack of self-esteem, anxiety, depression and feelings of boredom and apathy.
Addictions are particular vociferous but which hypnosis has been shown to prove effective. More specifically, hypnosis can tackle the addiction head on by using a number of tools, one being guided imagery. Research has shown that when people are hypnotised and suggestions are made to them seeing something i.e. perhaps visualising they’re on a beach, the same areas of the brain are activated involved in actually seeing. Thus this demonstrates how effective hypnosis. Such an exercise can be used to help ‘rewiring’ the neural pathways and remove the addiction.
I use a mixture of guided imagery, stop and switch direct instructions to make you shift your attention to other things, indirect instructions via metaphors and parts-therapy. The latter is effective with deep entrenched addictive behaviour.
Importantly, Hypnosis can help you deal with the symptoms of withdrawal from internet porn. This can be achieved through deep relaxation and giving positive instructions to your unconscious. Remember it is the conscious mind that blocks your attempts to change behaviour. When you are induced into a trance your critical faculty i.e. the conscious mind is by-passed. This is like going down the back stair case to your mind. The unconscious mind is the one that changes your behaviour.
How many sessions will it take?
Porn addictive behaviour is normally deeply entrenched by the time someone looks into hypnosis. Usually the longer you have had an addiction or habit it does take longer. Usually with porn addictive behaviour a person will need at least 6 sessions to see the benefits. However, up to 12 sessions may be necessary. This depends on the individual and their motivation to give up. Remember if you have learned a behaviour or acquired an addiction you can ‘unlearn it’.
What is involved if I come for hypnosis?
At the initial consultation I will take a full history of your addiction/habit and we’ll look at cues that may actually be fuelling your behaviour. I will then carry out a number of suggestibility tests to ascertain the type of hypnosis induction to use. Hypnotherapists often use progressive muscle relaxation, fixed eye induction and analytical inductions.
At the first session you will be induced into a hypnotic induction and given suggestions, usually this is for relaxation as this is so important for any addictive and/or habit issues.
Next there will be a course of sessions involved in giving direct suggestions in you ‘un-learning’ the behaviour. At times the unconscious mind may be reluctant to give up the addiction and then indirect suggestions via metaphor are used or a mixture of parts-therapy and/or hypnoanalysis.
Ordinarily it takes 6 sessions to see any improvement although it may take up to 12 sessions especially if you’ve had the addiction for a long period of time. Some clients do benefit from having two sessions within a 48 hour period. This is usually when a client wants to help tackling the symptoms of withdrawal. We can discuss if having two sessions in close succession would be beneficial.
Remember everyone is unique and that sessions are specifically tailored depending on the length of the addictive behaviour and the help required. If you have the motivation to want to give up a behaviour or an addiction then hypnosis can help.
If you would like any further information then please contact me through the contact section on this site. Alternatively, email me on jmthypnosis@gmail.com. I offer a 30 minute free, no obligation telephone consultation. Call me on 07596101613.
