As a teenage boy in the 21st century, it’s normalized to watch pornography. If used as a crutch from that point on, this addiction could spell the difference between poor and strong mental health and lead to damaged brain circuitry. Beware of the effects of pornography on your brain:
Unrealistic Expectations
Because all you’re doing when viewing pornography is watching women have sex, you’ll begin to associate every woman with those women. Creating the delusion that sex is all the average woman thinks about and wants.
Objectifying women in this way drills the act of sex into your brain, and that will become all you think about when you’re around them. As a result you’ll be viewed as creepy or disrespectful and will have less success with simple bonding and further intimacy.
At the root of it, the average guy doesn’t know that the women on these websites are emotionally damaged. The exciting energy you see is only an act for money, but they wouldn’t be there in the first place if they had a healthy upbringing.
A study done in Sweden with nine females found that their experiences in pornographic production was a result of poor mental health, financial insecurity, “young age” and early sexualized violence.
Damaged Dopamine Circuitry
Watching pornography addictively and getting off to it produces an extremely powerful dopaminergic response; so much so that it sets a threshold for dopamine release.
Your natural levels will, as a result, drop below baseline. And that will make it harder to enjoy other experiences, whether mundane or thrilling.
See here for a deeper dive into this topic from a previous post.
In other words, everyday experiences like tasting food or feeling the sun on your body will bore you. The same goes for more exciting experiences like riding a rollercoaster.
If no enjoyment is felt in life’s moments then you’re not living life as you should be.
I remember as a teenager feeling like a zombie as a result of my pornography addiction. I had trouble focusing and could not enjoy things like learning and even interacting with people.
If this is you and would like some professional advice on how to steer clear of pornography, you should consider Online Therapy. They have specialized programs, including addiction, to ensure your specific problem has a solution.
Because it’s an online service with call, video call, text, live chat and email messaging options, you can tailor your sessions to fit your communication preferences. You can sign up here.
Spectator Mentality
Watching others have sex is an abnormal activity in itself. We’re meant to partake in the act, not observe the act.
When it comes time to actually have sex with a woman, the possibility of experiencing erectile disfunction is high. You’re so used to getting aroused by others that it won’t bring the same level of excitement and familiarity.
A survey of 434 men found that a lowered sexual satisfaction and lower erectile function was associated with problematic Internet pornography use.
A Caveat to Remember
The caveat here is not every man will respond with the above consequences when stimulated by pornography. And this may be you.
Your mindset is all-important in this regard. If you watch pornography with the belief that it will negatively impact you, you will likely be negatively impacted by it.
On the contrary, watching it with the belief that it will do you no harm will likely have the opposite effect.