Excerpts:
These findings show that stress, anxiety, and depression are strongly related to pornography consumption and conflicting emotional experiences as well as identity problems significantly enhance vulnerability to addictive sexual behavior–related pornographic experiences….
Because of this process, it is possible that sensitized sexual arousal to Internet pornography may cause that sexual experience with a real partner may no longer trigger the sufficient dopamine release to produce and sustain sexual arousal and erection. Prause and Pfaus suggested that “erectile problems may occur when real-life sexual stimulation does not match the broad content [accessible online].”….
The brain may not have an availability to “reorder” itself and to return back to the normal sensitivity and to the previous “sex-maps,” which may cause that feelings of satisfaction tend to decrease. … We can expect severe consequences of the Internet pornography exposure and addiction at approximately from 10 to 30 years from now, when generations mostly affected by pornography consumption will experience body image dissatisfaction at their middle age or later, which may influence future epidemic of mental disorders mainly depression and anxiety, and increased suicidal tendencies in population….
J Nerv Ment Dis.
Privara M, Bob P. 2023 Aug 1;211(8):641-646. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001669. PMID: 37505898; PMCID: PMC10399954.
Abstract
According to recent studies, the growing consumption of Internet pornography mainly in male population becomes an increasing problem, which is closely linked to compulsive sexual behavior. Some findings also suggest that Internet pornography consumption might represent a defense mechanism against excessive stress, which enables to cope with stressful events, helps in mood regulation, and decreases depression and anxiety. Users of online pornography involved in these activities also reported that their self-exposition to pornographic material may create guilty feelings and internal conflict in themselves with respect to their own “involuntary” sexual behavior, which suggest that psychosocial stress and possibly traumatic experiences may play a significant role in Internet pornography addiction. Taken together, these findings show that stressful experiences, anxiety, and depression are strongly related to pornography consumption. In addition, conflicting emotional experiences as well as identity problems significantly increase vulnerability to addictive sexual behavior and pornography consumption.
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