Porn: How Watching Pornography Affects You

There are lots of controversies surrounding if truly watching pornography (porn) damages the brain or have side effects on porn addicts, many argued that watching porn content makes one feel good and invariably strengthen one's relationship while others on the other hand are of the opinion that it is not morally and ethically right.

According to a pornstar, Ana Foxxx,  contrary to people's opinion, porn sex is a heavily produced scripted fantasy, yet very often we look at it as a real-life goal.

She said, "all the moaning and orgasm noises that they overplay, naked bodies that look flawless were because of the perfect lighting and long preparation and never-ending exciting scenes which in fact usually take hours to produce and cut down to minutes.

In a related light, studies carried out by cognitive neuroscientist, Dr Trish Leigh revealed that too much porn disrupts the brain's ability to solve problems. Porn goes as far as hijacking areas in the brain responsible for judgement. 

Similar to how cigarettes lead people to think they need to smoke to feel less stressed, which often as a result makes them even more stressed so also is porn.

Porn allows the brain to be less focused because throughout the day it subconsciously leads a person indulging in watching it to watch more contents to get energised for the sexual task ahead, which in the long run weaken the whole body and mind. 

More studies also showed that too much porn makes consumers less sensitive to strong sexual scenes. i. e when a daily porn viewer or porn addicts have sex with their partner they may never get the same high or extreme satisfaction porn contents feed them.

Some guys go as far as believing that when their wives or girlfriends do not scream and moan heavily during sexual intercourse something is not right, while others believe they can only get some women aroused more during the sexual act by simply hurting them.

These are all that the Porn website is feeding many, making them feel they can achieve all that is done in a scripted fantasy edition edited to look as if it was done in a few minutes.

Maria Ahlm in one of her TED series said she once met with a guy who shared his concerns about his girlfriend never screaming and moaning like they do in porn and he goes What Am I Doing Wrong? And then he says maybe I should try to strangle her?

This analysis is similar to what many people who are addicted to porn are facing today but if you don't stop watching and praticalizing what doesn't exist, you will end up not only damaging your brain but including your body, relationship and quality of life. 

Although, porn websites like PornHub whose have over one million views in a day promotes different porn categories such as anal sex, oral sex, roleplay, gangbang, incest, rape amongst other extreme porn acts will not tell you the shame and stigma that accompanied watching porn.

The earlier you realised that being addicted to pornography is like a virus, the more you are affected by the virus, the more extreme you want it to be.  

In fact, watching porn makes men lose interest in their partners,

Ways Porn Damages The Brain 

Porn Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction has been heavily linked to one of the side effects of watching pornography, Men fascinated with porn risked erectile dysfunction because they become less sensitive to real sex with their spouses and need more and more stimulation to get aroused.

Ex-porn addicts report that porn created significant sexual problems, specifically ED. Also, studies carried out by the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine showed that excessive consumption" of porn, starting at age 14, and daily consumption in their early to mid-20s, desensitized men to even the most violent images.

Porn Shrinks Your Brain

Studies actually show that even moderate amounts of porn can shrink grey matter in areas associated with cognitive function related to our ability to focus. Porn users report pervasive brain fog.

Porn Encourages Social Isolation

Porn addicts become more withdrawn from those they love by retreating into further isolation. Most especially among teenagers, porn pulls them away from their friends causing them to be more prone to loneliness, isolation, despair, and depression.

Watching too much porn can cause depression and low energy because it interferes with normal dopamine production and signalling.

Dr. Gary Brooks, a psychologist who has worked with porn addicts for the last 30 years says “Any time [a person] spends much time with the usual pornography usage cycle, it can’t help but be a depressing, demeaning, self-loathing kind of experience”

1. It causes depression and low energy because it interferes with normal dopamine production and signaling.
2. It literally shrinks your brain. Studies actually show that even moderate amounts of porn can shrink grey matter in areas associated with cognitive function related to our ability to focus. Porn users report pervasive brain fog.

How To Stop Watching Porn Content 

Install porn blocking software on your computer. Set a difficult password and hide it somewhere that takes effort to find.

Seek help at a rehab center If the problem is extreme, you can find qualified facilities at The Addiction Center.