Your brain on porn... dopamine
1kgcoffee 05 Feb 2012
Heres a topic that doesn't get discussed much here: Porn/Masturbation!
I've suspected for a long time that regular porn watching, masturbation, and orgasm (PMO) are not as healthy as the mainstream portays. According to the website above, it permanently alters brain function, causes soft erections and ED and reduces motivation by effecting the brains dopamine system. I've heard anecdotal evidence of these effects, but always brushed them off to a lack of scientific evidence. Now I am convinced.
After two and half months of zero masturbation and almost no porn, my erections are certainly harder. In between extreme mood swings, I've noticed improved cognitive function and feel more virile in general. It's very similar to what I experienced on ALCAR a few years ago, which is known to increase dopamine in the striatal cortex.
Thoughts? Has anyone else experimented with this?
http://youtu.be/TKDFsLi2oBk
http://youtu.be/fxrG6QZ-G0M
More videos:
http://yourbrainonpo...-on-porn-series
Edited by 1kgcoffee, 05 February 2012 - 06:23 AM.
nowayout 05 Feb 2012
Placebo effect. Someone can't get hard one day with their partner because they masturbated all day and are not horny any more. They panic, lose confidence and develop a psychogenic ED problem that persists. Someone tells them it's the porn and gives them some pseudo-scientific explanation for it. They are gullible enough to believe it. They 1) regain some confidence because they are under the impression they are doing something to "cure" themselves, and 2) they stop masturbating so much, so they get hornier and are more like to keep hard. Both these will help a lot with psychogenic ED, and voilà, it works again.
Of course, now that you've gone and read this, it won't work for you any more. I warned you!
hippocampus 05 Feb 2012
Musli 05 Feb 2012
First of all, not everyone gets addicted, and if you do, then yeah, you should treat it and stop doing it because it's simply not for you. But if you don't get addicted then there's nothing wrong with it.
You say it permanently alters brain function - this may be true, but only for people who get addicted. That's why it's so hard to treat addictions - it's hard to reverse the changes in the brain.
You say it causes soft erections - of course it does - the more frequently you masturbate, the softer the erections get. It's because, lets say, you're not letting your penis to fully load up Once you start doing it less frequently, the erections will get harder again. It's up to people what works best for them.
Reduces motivation ? Of course it does - orgasm brings the feeling of satisfaction, and when you're satisfied, you're not motivated. Seems logical to me.
All in all, there's nothing wrong with masturbation, or with how often you do it, unless it turns into addiction, because, as we know, every addiction is bad. Therefore, we should just stay vigilant and everything will be ok.
hippocampus 05 Feb 2012
ergopharaoh 06 Feb 2012
(too much) porn is also bad because our criteria for beauty gets to high and so when you see women in real life you're not so interested in them as you would be if you'd never watch porn.
what a ridiculously presumptuous claim. just because it is intuitively satisfying doesn't mean it is true.
nowayout 06 Feb 2012
(too much) porn is also bad because our criteria for beauty gets to high and so when you see women in real life you're not so interested in them as you would be if you'd never watch porn.
what a ridiculously presumptuous claim. just because it is intuitively satisfying doesn't mean it is true.
Well, it is anecdotally true, at least for me (substituting men for women in the above sentence). I think whether that is bad, though, is a completely subjective value judgment. It is not objectively bad.
ergopharaoh 06 Feb 2012
(too much) porn is also bad because our criteria for beauty gets to high and so when you see women in real life you're not so interested in them as you would be if you'd never watch porn.
what a ridiculously presumptuous claim. just because it is intuitively satisfying doesn't mean it is true.
Well, it is anecdotally true, at least for me (substituting men for women in the above sentence). I think whether that is bad, though, is a completely subjective value judgment. It is not objectively bad.
You know, perhaps I was projecting too much in my previous post. I realize that irrational attractions to movie stars and the like are probably a stone's throw away from people becoming attached to the superficial beauty of porn stars.
I shudder at the thought of such simulacral fantasies becoming the standard by which we assess other human beings.
maxwatt 06 Feb 2012
"Son, if you keep masturbating you'll go blind."
"OK, Dad. Can I stop when I need glasses?"
ergopharaoh 06 Feb 2012
The scent of pheromones makes the real thing more satisfying than any book or video.
I would think there is a lot more than pheromones to differentiate visual stimuli from actually having sex (which is partially why I am so surprised at the previous comments concerning the conditioning effect of porn on actual attraction).
Nevertheless, research on human sensitivity to pheromones is inconclusive, at best; genes for receptors for the two major families of pheromones are both nonfunctional in humans.
niner 06 Feb 2012
maxwatt 06 Feb 2012
Even if the veromonasal opening is not connected (but then why is it there?) and actual pheromones play no chemical messenger role in humans, there is more to sexual arousal than visual stimulation. Touch is another sense missing from pornography. Just as one cannot tickle oneself, a lover's caress is more satisfying than any picture. If porn were truly satisfying, there would be no whore-houses.
ergopharaoh 06 Feb 2012
I've observed the internet porn industry for a couple decades...
well played, well played.
hippocampus 06 Feb 2012
there is not such thing as "objectively" bad. I meant it this way: if men watch porn, than this is bad for girls - e.g. man don't want them unless they are skinny, have large breasts and so on and so girls feel depressed, get anorexia and bad self-esteem.(too much) porn is also bad because our criteria for beauty gets to high and so when you see women in real life you're not so interested in them as you would be if you'd never watch porn.
what a ridiculously presumptuous claim. just because it is intuitively satisfying doesn't mean it is true.
Well, it is anecdotally true, at least for me (substituting men for women in the above sentence). I think whether that is bad, though, is a completely subjective value judgment. It is not objectively bad.
platypus 06 Feb 2012
Well, men and many women are not going to stop consuming pornography so those girls you talk about need to improve their self-esteem some other way.there is not such thing as "objectively" bad. I meant it this way: if men watch porn, than this is bad for girls - e.g. man don't want them unless they are skinny, have large breasts and so on and so girls feel depressed, get anorexia and bad self-esteem.
hippocampus 06 Feb 2012
Edited by hippocampus, 06 February 2012 - 12:46 PM.
platypus 06 Feb 2012
There's nothing wrong with sex, masturbation or the use of pornography as such. If you disagree, you might want to examine what in your background makes you view sexual matters "dirty" or "wrong". A small minority of people develop problems like sex-addiction or compulsive masturbation. As far as I can tell, these kind of problems are quite rare. I wouldn't be worried about it and if someone develops clear problems in these areas, help is available."men and women aren't going to stop smoking so they need to improve their health (and passive smokers health) some other way" ...???
hippocampus 06 Feb 2012
frederickson 12 Feb 2012
the not masturbating arose out of being on the road for a week and then sick for the better part of a week immediately thereafter. i am unquestionably more focused and more easily aroused by potential sexual situations. this is not to say i get an erection every time i talk to a woman, it just feels like i am generally more ready to go if/when the occasion arises.
Kasra 27 Feb 2012
1kgcoffee 01 Mar 2012
1kgcoffee 01 Mar 2012
Orajel 07 Mar 2012
Personal experience:
Institutionalized for 7 months at the age of 16 (drug abuse/crime whatever) was so horny when I got out I took my girlfriend to a macys dressing room. 3 weeks later, I just didn't care as much.
Edited by Orajel, 07 March 2012 - 07:01 AM.