why you must stay away from internet porn
Today, I’d like to share a short meditation that I wrote sometime back inspired by the book Your Brain on Porn by Gary Wilson. I hope it adds value to you and helps you open up to the repercussions of Internet pornography and unhealthy masturbation.
Many of us have watched or continue to watch porn consistently. Some are okay with it as it does not interfere with their daily lives, whereas some people can develop a serious addiction towards it.
The human brain craves novelty and gets excited when different kinds of sexual images are available to us within a few moments. Due to a wide variety of sexual imagery, a plethora of options is available online. As the websites provide a supernormal and unnatural stimulation, the dopamine surge caused by sexual excitement is unbeatable. Because of this, the brain gets desensitized over time, and spending time with a physical partner seems less appealing. Basically, Internet porn addiction contributes to turning on the reward system designed around a genuine and intimate connection. The brain gets tricked by the visual stimulation that the websites offer and gets fulfilled by it. But, in this way, the naive addict doesn’t crave social contact anymore. This is dangerous as it can pile up feelings of shame and guilt, and trigger the feelings of loneliness and isolation within him or her. This further stops the person from seeking help personally and professionally.
Along with the psychological repercussions, porn addicts also experience the manifestation of physical disorders such as erectile dysfunction, diminished libido with real-world partners, inability to reach orgasm, depression, anxiety especially in social situations, memory loss, as well as lack of concentration and self-control.
As porn is available to us 24/7 and can be accessed anywhere in private free of cost, this is a kind of addiction that is hard to overcome. Younger porn addicts face an even bigger challenge as their brain gets accustomed to watching porn to fulfill their desires at the peak of neural plasticity, instead of real-world partners. Hence they never crave for real physical connection and are satisfied by the deceptive pixels on the screen. An effective strategy is to get away from porn and its substitutes cold turkey. With time, the brain will rewire itself to its natural state and all the physical and mental repercussions caused by this heinous addiction will wither away. The journey can get immensely difficult but with online support groups and easy access to the NoFap movement and its forums, slowly but surely, the porn addicts can reclaim their health and work on building a better life for themselves.
PS: If you would like to read more helpful meditations with regard to human sexuality and desire, I encourage you to grab a copy of my book Meditations for the Learning Mind Book 2: Sex on Amazon.