(202) 510-1141 Karenna Armington LICSW Karenna@ArmingtonTherapy.com

YouTube – The Science of Pornography Addiction – Published on Feb 20, 2013

Check out this cool little video illustrating the science of pornography addiction. I don’t even like writing those words together…’pornography’ &  ‘addiction’ because of so much inflexible thinking about pornography it’s association with addiction.  Whether or not it is an addiction, there is definitely a biological dopamine-related feedback loop that is activated and reinforced with repetition.

The video demonstrates this stimulus/positive response pattern, and how it can (and often does) backfire when real-life sexual encounters don’t offer the same jolt.  But that’s not the end of the story (remember, if you don’t like how the story ended, then it’s not the end of the story). The good news is that, with desire and insight, we can undo and rewire our brains to take in and appreciate the mere mortals with whom we chose to engage (and have intermittent amazing and sex with).