Hi Hisself,
I just watched the youtube talk (see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17WEzwGFlM8 ). And what he says is this (I start at min. 10:15):
"... Here is the scary part for us since we observe what goes on in these forums. Men 35 and older who did not grow up using internet porn; they often
heal their sexual problems in maybe six weeks, eight weeks, at the longest twelve weeks. And their healing is stable. They feel great; the problem never
returns. However, what we have started to see in the last three years is that young men in their twenties who grew up using internet porn, especially those
who grew up using what are called porn tube sites where you can stream videos, little clips, they often need six to twelve months to heal. Sometimes two years.
And they are often unstable. We are starting to see a few in the last year or two that we think will never heal, will never be normal. So why is that? ... " (I stop at min. 11:22. After that he goes on with the well-known explanations on the reward circuit and sexual conditioning to screens and pixels).
So first of all - chill out and do not spread panic!
Secondly, although he explains the reward circuit after the quoted excerpt of his presentation/talk, he never says that (and I quote you here) "guys have done permanent damage to their reward system and will never heal their sexual dysfunctions." He simply does not say that. Your claim is based on YOUR flawed interpretation of the talk. Why is it flawed, you may ask. Because you construct your argument from the proximity of his elaborations on the reward circuit to one very specific (but rather secondary) point to his well known bifurcated categorization of men who suffer from PIED (old/young; and young needs longer; and here is the secondary point = some of those young never recover).
Thirdly, why could it be that people do not heal? Well as I said elsewhere, the entire studies of PIED is pretty much in the making. Exciting times for scientist - I bet. However, as of right now, they (him included) deduce their hypotheses from observations, that is, journal entries, stories of people who relapse all the time, stories of people who made it, etc. So, taking that into consideration when he says "We are starting to see a few in the last year or two that we think will never heal, will never be normal" could simply mean that they observe people who do not recover and they do never recover. He never said - not even with one single syllable - that this lack of recovery is due to "permanent damage to the reward system". And he surely did not say that brain studies would confirm such a claim. His phrasing at the end of the talk sums up our situation pretty neatly: He uses the verb "experiment" when talking about what we do with Nofap and no PMO. He simply hypothesized about the causes of PIED by looking at what we write about our experiences during a reboot. (If you cannot tell, I am having those mood swing pretty badly these days...sorry for that).
So, if you read as many stories and journals and what not as I have you will see a pattern or at least reasons for why people might "never heal": They relapse all the time, they do not change their life-style, they are just half-assing it (no hard mode). Or in short: They don't follow through due to a lack of commitment/ or due to a very strong addiction without a social network that could enable them to follow through on their goal. I mean, how many stories have you read where people are just complaining all the time and change nothing at all. Talking can be therapeutic, sure, but not taking action and just talking to feel better for five minutes is not gonna wing it. Consequently, those guys they never heal.
And lastly, your claim (which is build on a flawed interpretation of the talk), completely neglects the fact of neuroplacicitiy (as it is called, I believe). That is the brain's ability to be shaped and reshaped due to exterior impulses and habit formation. Brains do change. That is an established scientific fact. So if Gary's hypothesis is true (that internet porn causes ED and other dysfunctions) then - just by moving within the logic of his argument - you can exclude permanent sexual dysfunctions caused by watching porn alone (I am not including nerve damage here, cause well, if you have that than you have that).
So: I conclude that of course there are people who will never heal and will never return to normal. There always are addicts who break on their addiction. It is up to you to take the steps needed to get out of that bad space you are in right now. I read stories from guys who started watching hardcore porn at the age of eight (!) and still recovered.
There is hope, my friend. Do not despair.
By the way, appreciate you addressing this talk (totally missed it) and posting your easy-to-make misinterpretation. There is no reason for people to lose hope because of it.
Stick to your guns. Reboot. Rewire. And live life.
Good luck y'all.
Peace.
PS: If you re-watch the talk, you will find out that Gary uses the word "never" pretty casually too, when he goes on with his rhetorical question of why older men in their sixties recover faster than "a young man in his prime, healthiest can be, can NEVER normally function with a woman." I mean, come on...you know they can after a good old reboot...