As with any addiction, pornography addicts are typically chasing a high every time that they open their web browser. This high can seem irrelevant after a while, but the impulse remains. If you are addicted to pornography, it can slowly develop into a serious problem. What may seem like innocent fun at first can cause serious issues in your life. There has been a lot of research on the effects of pornography in recent times.
The amount of online pornography that is now available for free to consumers has created a problem for many Americans. While pornography has been present in some shape or form for thousands of years, the current level of accessibility has never been seen before.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at a theory called SADDness. It was developed by a researcher that took a look at the effects that pornography has on the brain. It’s important to take this information seriously as it is rooted in hard science. Make sure to compare the information we’ve compiled in this article against your own experiences with porn addiction.
What is SADDness?
So, what does SADDness mean? The term was developed by Ian Kerner, a sex counselor that was aiming to see what effect pornography had on the brain. What he found was that those who frequently consumed porn eventually saw decreases in libido. These decreases meant that the subjects would have to view more extreme pornography in order to feel the same sexual satisfaction that they used to.
This is similar to people who have substance abuse problems. While they may start by taking small amounts of drugs, they eventually have to increase the level of consumption in order to find the original high. The problem is that this becomes a fruitless chase. It’s often impossible to recreate the high that you initially felt when you began consuming pornography or substances. The term SADDness refers to SADD – sexual attention deficit disorder. It has become an increasingly common term that refers to the inability for porn addicts to remain satisfied with their current levels of consumption.
The Escalation
The escalation occurs because individuals feel the need to constantly chase a high. This is only one of the symptoms of porn addiction. Eventually, you get bored of traditional pornographic material and begin seeking a much better experience. With the amount of pornography available on the internet, this can create a serious addiction that is hard to fight off. In fact, most porn addicts notice a serious escalation in the amount of porn they consume – this can happen gradually or over a very short period of time. Extreme problems can occur from this – they’ll be discussed in further detail later on in this post.
Potential Problems
While it might seem obvious that potential issues can arise from this, it’s important to assess these issues in further detail. Below we’ll take a look at two of the most common problems that arise from SADDness.
Sexual Dissatisfaction
At the end of the day, if you’re constantly having to up your intake to satisfy your urges, you will eventually feel sexually dissatisfied. There is evident that people who consume large amounts of porn in their younger years eventually lose their interest in sex after a period of time. This can create several problems – it can also prevent you from having meaningful romantic relationships in the future. This is commonly associated with masturbation addiction too.
Extreme Preferences
The problems associated with this escalation can be particularly worrying if they result in extreme pornographic preferences. Individuals may begin to feel like their current pornography intake is not satisfying enough and begin to explore more graphic content. In addition, if someone has a particular type of porn they like that is already extreme, they may begin to escalate how graphic it is.
This can cause problematic ideas of sex and result in damaging consequences to relationships and society. If you develop extreme sexual preferences that are not acceptable, you may begin to feel isolate, or you may begin to develop a form of sexual deviancy. While this may destroy a marriage or relationship, it can also end up with far worse consequences. It’s important to understand how graphic some of these porn categories are. And with little oversight from regulatory groups, porn producers are almost free to make any type of porn they want.
If you begin to experience an extreme preference, eventually you will need to increase how graphic the material is to feel sexually satisfied. This can turn into a never-ending cycle that creates serious problems for your sexual health.
The Problem with Digital
Then there is the problem with digital pornography. At the end of the day, if you’re viewing pornography regularly, you’re creating a fantasy that does not exist. Porn directors are experts at creating scenarios and sex that match your wildest dreams. Unfortunately, you will never be able to replicate any of this in a real context, which means you will be unable to find the same amount of pleasure in traditional sex. This was mentioned slightly in a previous section of this article, but it’s important to note how porn producers play off your deepest desires.
Don’t allow fake sexual scenes to overtake your life. There’s no point being invested in something you’ll never attain when you can lead a happy sex life without it.
Verdict
Don’t let pornography addiction overtake your life – it’s a slippery slope that can be hard to avoid. If you feel that you’re already addicted to porn, you’ve most likely experienced some of the issues that have been mentioned in this article. It’s important to make sure that you’re aware of the consequences. Be honest with yourself and assess if your porn consumption has increased significantly since you first started having a problem.
If you do feel you’re addicted, there is plenty of help available. Because of how widespread this problem is, there are plenty of resources at your disposal. If you have other questions about porn addiction, make sure to check out the various blog posts on our site.
