pjerry
Member
What kind of addiction is sex addiction? Is it like heroine? Is it like nicotine? My answer is: Not exactly. Yes, it shares certain features with behaviors that are classified as addictions. However, the American Psychological Association has not even accepted the term "sex addiction" yet. And here we are talking about how we are addicted to porn. Rightly so, you might say. Careful, I reply. There is another group of behavioral disorders that I believe is much more like what we're experiencing here. I'm talking about eating disorders.
Think about it: Eating is one of the most central human urges. Like sex, eating is influenced heavily by the reward structures in our brain (ring-ring! Dopamine). Modern junk food is so calory rich, it causes a massive dopamine response in the brain (ring-ring! Internet porn). So, there are a lot of people who "unlearn" to eat healthy food and get pathologically obese by just eating junk food. Also, for them the sensation of hunger is often not present any more because they are eating excessively. Another similarity: They get cravings for junk food if they try to start eating healthy. Interesting, isn't it?
So, what am I worried about? We're already addressing the issue, right? Well, with eating disorders the pendulum swings both ways. You get pathological eaters and you get people who are so restrictive with their eating habits that they starve themselves to death. So, are we really addressing the issue? In my opinion, a lot of fapstronauts are shifting from a compulsive eating behavior to compulsive dieting.
Am I saying we shouldn't abstain from sex or orgasms to reboot and rewire? There's a difference between that and compulsive abstinence. What I am saying is, I believe it is a good idea to strive for a healthy sexuality. Healthy in this context means "not compulsive and damaging to your life". Are you pestered by your guilty conscience after relapsing? Are you getting depressed because of it? Do you hate yourself for it? Do you think you're less of a human being than others because you relapsed? If so, you might go and make a pro and con list to decide if you should get help.
Why? You're human! If you relapse, you've given into a feeling that everyone before you has given in to. In fact, in order for you to be in this world, people had to be horny and crave sex! This mechanism is so deeply ingrained in our brains because we need it for the survival of our species. If sex wasn't rewarding, there probably wouldn't be any human beings!
Sure, if you don't eat, you die. I know, it's not the same. I'm just questioning motives, here. Sure, if you've tried everything else, your ED isn't going away and you still excessively masturbate and you've tried and tried and tried: go ascetic. Many people however, seem to join this movement and immediately take the hardest road possible just to go on a constant cycle of relapsing without realizing why. I've been off porn for a little more than a week and it's been hard already. I was able to fap every now and then to get the pressure off. Maybe it won't work right away. But chances are, it will. And if it doesn't? Well, then I can still go hard mode. What's important is that I have made a conscious decision to get back my healthy sexuality and that is all I need. I will take the right steps if the time has come.
Please read my disclaimer below. Thanks for reading.
Cheers
pJerry
Think about it: Eating is one of the most central human urges. Like sex, eating is influenced heavily by the reward structures in our brain (ring-ring! Dopamine). Modern junk food is so calory rich, it causes a massive dopamine response in the brain (ring-ring! Internet porn). So, there are a lot of people who "unlearn" to eat healthy food and get pathologically obese by just eating junk food. Also, for them the sensation of hunger is often not present any more because they are eating excessively. Another similarity: They get cravings for junk food if they try to start eating healthy. Interesting, isn't it?
So, what am I worried about? We're already addressing the issue, right? Well, with eating disorders the pendulum swings both ways. You get pathological eaters and you get people who are so restrictive with their eating habits that they starve themselves to death. So, are we really addressing the issue? In my opinion, a lot of fapstronauts are shifting from a compulsive eating behavior to compulsive dieting.
Am I saying we shouldn't abstain from sex or orgasms to reboot and rewire? There's a difference between that and compulsive abstinence. What I am saying is, I believe it is a good idea to strive for a healthy sexuality. Healthy in this context means "not compulsive and damaging to your life". Are you pestered by your guilty conscience after relapsing? Are you getting depressed because of it? Do you hate yourself for it? Do you think you're less of a human being than others because you relapsed? If so, you might go and make a pro and con list to decide if you should get help.
Why? You're human! If you relapse, you've given into a feeling that everyone before you has given in to. In fact, in order for you to be in this world, people had to be horny and crave sex! This mechanism is so deeply ingrained in our brains because we need it for the survival of our species. If sex wasn't rewarding, there probably wouldn't be any human beings!
Sure, if you don't eat, you die. I know, it's not the same. I'm just questioning motives, here. Sure, if you've tried everything else, your ED isn't going away and you still excessively masturbate and you've tried and tried and tried: go ascetic. Many people however, seem to join this movement and immediately take the hardest road possible just to go on a constant cycle of relapsing without realizing why. I've been off porn for a little more than a week and it's been hard already. I was able to fap every now and then to get the pressure off. Maybe it won't work right away. But chances are, it will. And if it doesn't? Well, then I can still go hard mode. What's important is that I have made a conscious decision to get back my healthy sexuality and that is all I need. I will take the right steps if the time has come.
Please read my disclaimer below. Thanks for reading.
Cheers
pJerry