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  • Part 5: Pornography Addiction Test

  • This is an addiction test.

  • If you say "yes"

  • to three or more of these questions,

  • then you have an addiction,

  • at least according to the American Psychiatric Association.

  • I want to admit that

  • this is slightly abridged.

  • I had to take some things out

  • and the reality is,

  • it's used for substance abuse,

  • not for porn addiction.

  • If you say "yes" to two or less,

  • then you can just stop the video

  • and click on to your favorite site.

  • Let's go over each one.

  • Tolerance,

  • that's a strange word, but

  • it means,

  • "Has your use increased or escalated over time?"

  • In other words,

  • do you watch it for more hours?

  • Or,

  • have you escalated to more shocking

  • or more extreme porn?

  • Withdrawal.

  • It's not necessary

  • to have a withdrawal symptoms

  • if you have an addiction

  • but most users on our forum

  • do experience some symptoms when they quit.

  • It varies a lot,

  • could be anxiety,

  • irritability,

  • fatigue, depression.

  • Those are the most common.

  • But some also experience physical symptoms

  • like cold and flu symptoms,

  • headaches,

  • the inability to sleep and others.

  • Number three,

  • difficulty controlling your use.

  • So,

  • do you use for a longer time

  • than you'd like to?

  • I think that's pretty clear,

  • self-explanatory.

  • Number four,

  • do you understand the negative consequences

  • it does to your mood,

  • to your health?

  • Porn use has been associated

  • with anxiety disorder

  • and sexual dysfunction.

  • Number five,

  • neglecting or postponing activities.

  • It means,

  • are you doing porn instead of life?

  • Number six,

  • the desire to cut down.

  • Now,

  • most addicts say they can quit any time

  • but they don't.

  • If you've had unsuccessful attempts to cut down,

  • that would be a "yes" to that question.

  • And last one,

  • number seven,

  • spending significant time or emotional energy

  • obtaining, using,

  • concealing, planning

  • or recovering from use.

  • Have you ever concealed your porn use?

  • I think everyone can say yes to that.

  • Here's an explanation

  • on behavioral addictions.

  • It's common knowledge

  • that dopamine-raising substances

  • like alcohol,

  • cocaine or meth

  • can cause brain changes that lead to addiction,

  • but what about so-called behavioral addictions?

  • Those are such things as food,

  • gambling, sex,

  • video games, shopping -

  • do they cause brain changes

  • that lead to addiction?

  • Well, of course they do.

  • That's why they are addictions.

  • Recent research on gambling,

  • and especially food,

  • has shown brain changes

  • that mimic drug addiction.

  • Internet porn?

  • No one wants to study it.

  • Also, there hasn't been time for many study,

  • because it's a very recent phenomenon.

  • Now, you tell me,

  • which is more stimulating?

  • Eating cheesecake

  • or masturbating to porn.

  • It's known that sex,

  • masturbation,

  • orgasm raised dopamine levels

  • far higher than eating food.

  • Which can you spend more time doing in a day:

  • eating or edging to porn?

  • Let's talk about natural reinforcers.

  • Natural reinforcer is a fancy word

  • for a non-drug activity

  • that causes dopamine release.

  • That includes food, sex,

  • gambling, video games.

  • Now, if you look at the data,

  • about only fifteen percent or less of drug users,

  • this includes animals too,

  • ever become addicted.

  • Obviously genes are in play,

  • as are childhood experiences.

  • If you look at natural reinforcers,

  • and of course food

  • is a powerful one,

  • we have a much higher percentage of people

  • who can become addicted.

  • Though it takes a lot longer than it would

  • with addictive drugs.

  • Now, if you think about it,

  • few people want to be fat.

  • Yet in modern western cultures,

  • most people are.

  • Now,

  • rats, on the other hand,

  • don't care if they're fat.

  • When they eat western food,

  • almost all of them overconsume

  • and become obese, not just fat.

  • This suggests two things

  • when it comes to natural reinforcers:

  • our reward circuitry evolved.

  • It evolved to drive us toward food and sex,

  • and not drugs.

  • That's why so many people

  • can potentially get addicted

  • to food and internet porn.

  • And the other thing is that

  • highly stimulating versions of food and sex

  • can hook us

  • even when we're not genetically susceptible

  • to substance addictions.

  • Here's the question.

  • When can natural reinforcers become addictive?

  • Number one,

  • when they are a highly stimulating version

  • of what our ancestors found really irresistible.

  • Number two,

  • when something is available

  • in limitless supply.

  • Number three,

  • it comes in lots of varieties,

  • which is the novelty factor.

  • Number four,

  • we binge on it without realizing

  • it's triggering brain changes.

  • Now,

  • I think modern food and internet porn

  • fall into all four categories.

  • Both can override

  • our brain's natural satiation mechanisms,

  • the 'I'm done` feeling,

  • and that's because

  • calories and fertilization opportunities

  • really are our genes' top priorities,

  • our limbic system's top priority.

Part 5: Pornography Addiction Test

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