Worse than taking drugs? Will watching porn cause "porn addiction"? Medical warning: "3 signs" means you've seen too much
Does watching too much porn cause brain atrophy? Doctor: There may be damage to “this part”
Recently, a Malaysian doctor warned on a social networking site that frequent viewing of “porn” may cause the “ventral tegmental area (VTA)” part of the front of the brain to shrink, and even cause abnormalities in the chemicals responsible for neurotransmitters in the brain. Dr. Yang Congcai, director of Yang Chongcai Clinic, said in an interview that excessive viewing of pornography may indeed affect the “reward center” the nucleus accumbens. As for whether it will cause brain atrophy, more research is needed to clarify.
Dr. Yang Congcai explained that past papers have pointed out that people who regularly watch porn will over-stimulate areas related to rewards and addictive behaviors, which will then affect the striatum, prefrontal cortex, lateral cortex, etc., resulting in systemic changes. Excessive stimulation, like the use of drugs, may cause damage to the nucleus accumbens. Men, especially those who are highly interested in sexual behavior, are more likely to develop sexual addiction or even overindulgence.
“The secretion of male hormones will cause people to pay high attention to sex. Past research has found that a normal man will have a sexual-related thought flash through his subconscious mind every 26 minutes!”
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However, Dr. Yang Congcai emphasized that excessive addiction to pornography or pornographic content is not entirely related to the brain changes of addicts; clinically, it is more necessary to consider whether they have social difficulties, discord with partners, etc. There is a case of a man in his 30s who did not take the initiative to have sex with his wife, but watched porn for a long time, which caused discord between the couple.
“After asking about it, I found out that my wife was too busy taking care of the child after pregnancy and had no time to have sex with her husband. Over time, my husband has ’lost all sexual interest’ in his wife and can only express his sexual desire through porn.” Dr. Yang Congcai said. , when encountering such a case, it is recommended that the couple go to the clinic for consultation together to evaluate the number and frequency of sex per week; they can also try to understand each other’s sexual preferences or preferred positions in private.
Can “singles” become addicted to pornography? Dr. Yang Congcai explained that there was once a patient who had a serious tendency to masturbate excessively and had symptoms similar to “withdrawal.” He felt everything was wrong without masturbating. After a physical examination, no abnormality was found, but after a consultation, it was found that his social skills were poor and he had no suitable friends of the opposite sex around him, which was why he became excessively addicted to porn.
“For patients with poor social skills and signs of emotional disorders, we will prescribe mood-improving drugs in advance, and then teach the patients to correctly understand the opposite sex and further develop relationships with them. We also encourage such patients to participate in more social activities so as to During the activity, he found someone of the opposite sex whom he could talk to. After about six months to one year of treatment, the patient’s “pornography addiction” symptoms also improved.”
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Dr. Yang Congcai emphasized that currently the academic community does not list porn addiction as one of the mental illnesses, and there is a lack of evidence to support whether porn will change the structure of the brain. However, sex addiction does have several obvious symptoms. If people feel that they have the following conditions, they may consider relieving their addictive behavior through psychological consultation or treatment:
Increased tolerance. For example, if you watch a pornographic film for an hour for the first time, you will have to watch it for more than an hour in the future. The more you watch, the more you watch, and the amount of viewing increases instead of decreasing, just like being addicted to drugs.
Exhibit withdrawal symptoms. When not watching porn, you will feel obvious discomfort, such as restlessness, mind full of pornographic content, lack of concentration, distraction from work, etc., and even anxiety, autonomic nervous system disorder, physical discomfort and other conditions.
Affect normal life. Staying up late to watch pornographic content, alternating day and night, may even affect your energy level the next day, making you unable to study or work well, or significantly affect your social circle, such as relationships with family, friends or partners.
Finally, Dr. Yang Congcai appealed to the public that the content of pornographic films is usually full of myths or designed content, and sometimes contains overly exaggerated plots such as rape and incest. Frequent viewing of these contents is not recommended. In addition, porn often emphasizes the size of a man’s penis or the duration of sex, and these elements are just for dramatic effect. It is recommended not to invest too much time in porn. Appropriate exercise and social interaction can help shift your attention to real life.
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