faith-based support groups for men addicted to pornography

[Nienna]

I don't think Hobbit was saying that looking at porn makes someone a pedophile. But, to some people, pornography is addictive, like how some people can get addicted to gambling, whereas others are not tempted by this.

If this is the case, pornography addiction, like any addictive behavior can be ruinous to the individual and his/her family.

Read an article where they showed a brain scan of a porn addict viewing porn beside a heroin addict high on heroin. The scans were identical in terms of electro-chemical activity. Looking for link....

 

[Nienna]

Here's a link that talks about pornography's effects on the brain, particularly the developing brain.

www.drjudithreisman.com/brain.pdf

 

[Nienna]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65772,00.html

 

[GotZoom]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65772,00.html

"Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians an researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday."

I have heard of Internet Porn causing a lot of things...but boob jobs?

 

[Gabriella84]

But what is it about porn that is addiction? It should not be something that causes a chemical response, like drugs or nicotine. All you are doing is looking at images? How does that become addicting?

And since most porn addicts are men, how would porn addiction lead to boob jobs?

 

[Hobbit]

So much to reply to.

Okay first off, no offense taken Gem. There's a difference between telling me I'm full of crap and being skeptical. It is a bit hard to swallow when you've been told porn's nothing bad for years.

On porn leading to pedophilia. First off, people are responsible for their own actions, no matter what contributing factors there are. That being said, porn can be a large contributing factor in any sexual offense. It works the same way drugs do. Watching porn causes a chemical response, one that is quite different from true intimacy and there's only lust and no love. This feeling is a positive feeling and one that people enjoy, or at least leads them to masturbate, which causes a positive feeling. Well, just like any drug, your body can come to crave and even depend on these feelings and chemical reactions that only come from one source. As time goes on, the body and mind grow accustomed to these images and feelings and they don't produce their original result. Therefore, it takes stronger stimuli to produce the same reaction. This can lead to more deviant porn such as beastiality, gay, hard core, and child porn. Once these not longer work, the addict sometimes turns to actually living out these fantasies. This is what leads them to commit rape. However, I don't want you to take my word for it. I've seen some former porn addicts who have been released from prison for rape who now travel the country telling people of the dangers of porn and they all say what I've just stated. That being said, there may be some people who can look at porn at it won't effect them in that way. In that fashion, it's like alcoholism. Some people are susceptible, some aren't. I, personally, don't find it worth the risk and porn can have negative effects on people who don't get addicted, too.

Final response: Here's the reason porn causes boob jobs. Men look at porn. Porn is typically a bunch of bimbos who have been either digitally or surgically enhanced to make them more sexually attractive. This sets an unrealistic standard for them men, who begin to be less than satisfied by their own sexual relationships. Their wives/girlfriends then go out to get boob jobs so they can try to live up to those expectations.

 

[Gem]

So some people, those who seem to have addictive personalities, get addicted to porn the way others get addicted to alcohol, heroine, gambling, or even overeating.

Yet we still allow most of these things, drinking, gambling, and fast food...to exist and be used by the entire public, because we know it is not right to deny an entire society an occassional dirty pleasure, simply because there are a few who can not handle it.

Why shouldn't the same be said about porn? It should be watched or not watched responsibly. Just like casinos post warnings regarding the signs of addiction in their buildings, just like you can find nutritional info on what you eat....porn can begin with a warning regarding what to do if you find yourself becoming addicted to it. Wouldn't that be the happy medium between telling everyone that because some people are prone to dangerous addictions no one can enjoy a sexual image, or have a beer after a long day, enjoy a weekend in Vegas with friends, or take a big bite of a Big Mac when the craving exists?

 

[Powerman]

You make a lot os sense. But I don't even see the point of putting a warning on it. It isn't addictive from a physical standpoint. And if you are a male it is healthy to masturbate. If watching porn helps you masturbate then I don't see the problem with it. I have no problem admitting that I watch porn on a somewhat regular basis and have been doing so for about 6 years. There is nothing odd about it and it's nothing to be ashamed of. And it isn't addictive either. No more than this message board is addictive to some of you. If it is addictive it's the healthiest addiction you can possibly have. There is no way in hell it is anything like cocaine however. Like I said I've worked with some 12 step programs and have seen the effects of cocaine use on a personal basis. Comparing the 2 is complete f"ing lunacy.

 

[elephant]

There's all the evidence you should ever need. If you ignore the problem any more, you're blind.

Thoughts on your 'sources':

I am pretty sure one cannot get an STD from jerking off, even if they are looking at porn.

Statistics are not causality - you are not more likely to be a child molester if you look at porn. The statistics show that child molesters are usually porn users, not that porn users BECOME child molesters. The concentration of child molesters is much higher among priests than the general population - does being Catholic make you BECOME a child molester? Does being a priest?

Would spending my evenings staring at my naked wife (she walks around naked) make me BECOME a child molester? How about if she sends me nude photos when I am at conferences or calls me for phone sex? I doubt it.

If looking at porn makes you want to have sex with children, you should kill yourself.

 

[elephant]

It's a scientific fact. Go look it up. Cocaine, of course, causes a few other chemical reactions in other places of the body, but the brain patterns of someone high on coke are almost identical to those of someone watching porn. I'll excuse you for the ignorant comment as it does sound a bit far-fetched, but it is true.

Are suburban white men overwhelmed with guilt from not wanting to have sex with their old fat wives going to break into my house and steal my TV for 'porn money'?

NO, NO, NO.

This is why it is not like cocaine or heroin.

And for the record - do you mean looking at porn AND jerking off or just looking at porn is the same as cocaine?

Having sex feels good to make procreation easy. If it was like debating with stupid people - no one would do it. Just looking at porn does not 'feel' like anything. I imagine doing coke 'feels' like something - maybe similar to having an orgasm, but not like 'looking at porn'.

And if this is true then why don't baseheads look at porn when cannot score the rock? There is a infinitely large supply of free porn on the internet and cocaine is very expensive. Why choose coke?

BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT THE SAME - NOT EVEN CLOSE!

 

[dmp]

Interesting observation:

Hobbit is presenting facts...data...instead of debating the data, ppl are just making jokes.


Those with a reprobate mind 'cannot' understand truth.

 

[elephant]

Interesting observation:

Hobbit is presenting facts...data...instead of debating the data, ppl are just making jokes.


Those with a reprobate mind 'cannot' understand truth.

Facts? He has presented poorly interpreted data. I have pointed that out and now I am waiting for a response.

Apparently those destined for salvation 'cannot' understand that data do not prove causality, or that pictures do not have STD's.

 

[dmp]

Facts? He has presented poorly interpreted data. I have pointed that out and now I am waiting for a response.

Apparently those destined for salvation 'cannot' understand that data do not prove causality, or that pictures do not have STD's.

Seems like Elephants miss the point, if you think it's about STDs...(sigh).

 

[elephant]

Seems like Elephants miss the point, if you think it's about STDs...(sigh).

My point - anyone making such a stupid statement about porn and STD's cannot be taken seriously.

AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THE REST OF MY POINTS.

1) Bad statistical analysis?

2) If porn = cocaine, why don't porn addicts kill people for $5 like crackheads do?

3) Why isn't being a priest considered an 'addiction to God' that leads to child molestation?

Any thoughts?

 

[elephant]

Seems like Elephants miss the point, if you think it's about STDs...(sigh).

you may want to choose your comrades a little more wisely.

TO QUOTE HOBBIT, "Video games don't make kids violent. If video games had affected us, we'd all be running around in dark rooms eating magic pills while listening to repetitive, electronic music."

But porn makes child molesters?

Good luck helping Hobbit.

 

[Hobbit]

I'm not showing any more evidence about porn leading to rape and pedophilia because I've already told you that there are many travelling speakers whose porn addiction led to rape. There's really no money in it, at least not good money, so they have no reason to lie. It's personal, eyewitness accounts, not some easily misinterpreted causality statistic. These guys know more about the subject than I hope you ever will. If you choose to ignore them, then there's no arguing with you. You'll ignore any evidence I present unless God himself slaps you in the face and tells you you're wrong, and even then, you'd probably just say you hallucinated it.

I never said cocaine and porn are the same thing, just that scientific readouts of brain activity show that they are similarly addictive, which they are. It seems that elephant, like many people I've met, can only defeat me in an argument by refuting points I don't actually make.

Heavy porn use increases promiscuity and the desire to have a heavier than healthy sex life, even by secular standards. That's what the STD statistic shows.

On a final note, some people seem to think that many of us are arguing a porn ban. I don't remember anyone saying that, but I might have missed it. The topic was about foundations that provide support for porn addicts. There are similar foundations for alcoholism and gambling, so I don't see the problem. Also, the porn industry, especially on the internet, is far less regulated than gambling and alcoholism. Alcoholism is about the only thing I think anyone takes seriously enough, though gambling addiction awareness is on the rise.

 

[Nuc]

I never said cocaine and porn are the same thing, just that scientific readouts of brain activity show that they are similarly addictive, which they are. .

All addictive things are addictive. That's a no-brainer. How about religion addiction? Is that similar to coke and/or porn physiologically? How does that affect the brain?

 

[Hobbit]

All addictive things are addictive. That's a no-brainer. How about religion addiction? Is that similar to coke and/or porn physiologically? How does that affect the brain?

There've been studies on that, too. The brainwave patterns are different. Many things can be addictive, but alcohol, drugs, and porn are addictive in biological ways, rather than purely psychological. The science is there, you just don't want to believe it.

 

[Nuc]

There've been studies on that, too. The brainwave patterns are different. Many things can be addictive, but alcohol, drugs, and porn are addictive in biological ways, rather than purely psychological. The science is there, you just don't want to believe it.

You didn't answer my question. What happens to the brain in the throes of religious mania or religious addiction? Is it normal brain function?

 

[Hobbit]

In case you're really so dense that you can't see the answer in my previous post, here it is: NO

Welcome to my ignore list. I hope you enjoy your stay.