The Science Behind Porn Induced E.D.

Discussion in 'Erectile Dysfunction / Delayed Ejaculation' started by TheUnderdog, Feb 20, 2012.

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  1. TheUnderdog

    TheUnderdog Active Member Staff Member

    This is taken from another thread where Gary Wilson explains why men get porn induced erectile dysfunction.

    Here's what he wrote:

    (Warning - all the article posted have multiple links to citations. If the links go to our articles - those articles contain citations.)

    First, my TED talk is not really about porn-induced ED, and my hypothesis for porn-induced ED is addiction, not dopamine. Porn-induced ED is far more than desensitization, as it involves multiple addiction-related brain changes, and alterations in the hypothalamic erection centers which run on dopamine D2 receptors.

    I also have written articles about the neurobiology of porn addiction and social anxiety. Please see - Porn, Masturbation and Mojo: A Neuroscience Perspective - Ex-porn users usually get their mojo back. Why?
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/porn-masturbation-and-mojo-neuroscience-perspective


    Here's what you should have given the neurologist. Really get that unless your specialty is addiction, you may have no clue about addiction neurobiology - whether you are a neurologist or not.

    This is a new phenomenon, which he has never heard of, so he equates it with MASTURBATION. That's all he knows. His answer had nothing to do with "my hypothesis", since his doesn't include, high speed internet porn, neuroplasticity, addiction mechanisms, adolescent brain plasticity, or the neurobiology of erections.

    A) the basics of behavioral addictions, and how Internet porn is unique
    1) Start here for an overview of key concepts
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/doing-what-you-evolved-to-do

    2) Porn Then and Now: Welcome to Brain Training
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/porn-then-and-now-welcome-to-brain-training

    3) Porn, Pseudoscience and ΔFosB
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/node/985

    4) Porn, Novelty and the Coolidge Effect
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/porn-novelty-and-the-coolidge-effect

    B) How the adolescent brain is unique, plasticity and sexual conditioning
    1) Sexual brain training matters—especially during adolescence
    http://yourbrainonporn.com/why-shouldnt-johnny-watch-porn-if-he-likes

    2) Is Internet porn making male sexuality more plastic?
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/can-you-trust-your-johnson

    C) Then all the neuroscience confirming these brain changes in Internet addictions (25 brain studies)
    1) Recent Internet Addiction Brain Studies Include Porn
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/node/858

    D) The experts stating that sexual behavior addictions exist:
    1) Toss Your Textbooks: Docs Redefine Sexual Behavior Addictions
    http://yourbrainonporn.com/toss-your-textbooks-docs-redefine-sexual-behavior-addictions



    Only after reading the above can we start the discussion. Let's talk about ED

    This is our most important article about porn induced-ED and its focus is sensitization, NOT desensitization. We had Eric Nestler read this article, and he gave his OK to it. He is one of the top five addiction neuroscientists in the world. See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_J._Nestler

    1) Why Do I Find Porn More Exciting Than A Partner?
    http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/why-do-i-find-porn-more-exciting-partner

    This is our very popular PT post, which has almost 900,000 reads even though it was buried by Psychology today.
    1) Porn-Induced Sexual Dysfunction Is A Growing Problem
    http://yourbrainonporn.com/porn-induced-sexual-dysfunction-is-growing-problem

    Please note that the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine agrees with us.



    Here's what I say to doubters:

    First, the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine (SIAMS) states that porn-induced ED exists. The largest urology organization in Italy is the one and ONLY group of medical doctors to study this emerging phenomenon. More importantly they cured it by having guys stop porn use for 2-3 months. However, we haven't relied on SIAMS as we were writing articles on porn-induced ED long before their statements went public. http://yourbrainonporn.com/too-much-internet-porn-may-cause-impotence

    Second, naysayers suggest that we need "peer-reviewed studies" to confirm the existence, before we can make any claims. That's nonsense, as the only experiment possible is well under way - with thousands of results reported.

    It's painfully obvious that no researcher can conduct a study where one group of young healthy men use Internet porn for 10 years, and a comparable control group does not, with erectile function assessed through masturbation to sensation only (no porn).

    However, there an ongoing experiment on porn-induced ED that is valid, reproducible, and empirical.

    THE EXPERIMENT - UNEXPLAINED CHRONIC ED IN YOUNG MEN AND ALTERATION OF A SINGLE VARIABLE

    The Subjects:

    - Thousands of other-wise healthy young men, with only one variable in common: Years of masturbation to Internet porn.

    - The subjects differ in backgrounds, ethnicity, diets, exercise regimens, religious beliefs, moral beliefs, country or origin, education, economic status, on & on.

    - These young men cannot achieve an erection without porn use, and many can no longer achieve an erections with porn use.

    - Most have seen multiple health care practitioners and all have tried a number of approaches with no results.

    - Most state that they cannot believe that porn use could have caused ED. Some are very skeptical prior to starting their reboot.

    The regimen:

    All eliminate porn use.

    Most (but not all) eliminate or drastically reduce the frequency of orgasms.

    The results:

    Nearly every subject reports a similar constellation of physical & psychological symptoms when the stop porn use/masturbation, a similar time-frame for the appearance of symptoms, and 2-5 months to regain erectile function. This indicates a very specific set of physical changes, and not a psychological "issue". The usual pattern of recovery is as follows:

    1) Subjects experience varying withdrawal symptoms that parallel drug/alcohol withdrawal, such as cravings, anxiety, lethargy, depression, sleeping abnormalities, restlessness, agitation, aches, pains, etc.

    2) Within 1-2 weeks, most subjects experience what is called "the flatline": low libido, perceived changes in genital sensation or size.

    3) The flatline slowly abates and men experience a gradual increase in libido, return morning erections, spontaneous erections, attraction to real partners, etc.

    4) If the men stick to the regimen, nearly all regain erectile health.

    5) Lengths of full recovery vary from a few weeks to a few months. Most are in the 2-4 months range for chronic, long standing ED.

    Summary:

    Young healthy men with unexplained ED and only one variable in common (Internet porn use) attempt multiple regimens and treatments with no success. The subjects remove the one variable they have in common and almost all experience the same results - remission of their medical condition.

    That's an experiment with unequivocal results. This is empirical evidence at its best.



    Bottom line:

    Naysayers (the neurologist) are unwilling to address the ACTUAL FACTS as described. In debating the existence of porn-induced ED, doubters go no further than this single fact:

    1) Some healthy young guys who watch Internet porn develop ED - so "correlation does not equal causation".

    They refuse to venture into the rest of the facts, such as:

    2) All subjects had been using porn for years with no problems.

    3) Few report any moral or religious misgivings, or guilt, surrounding their porn use.

    4) Subjects experienced a gradual decline is sexual function - often over the course of years.

    5) Most subjects had seen medical professionals, and had tried various therapies or regimens - with no success.

    6) When they abstain, nearly all experience similar symptoms - which mimic withdrawal from an addiction.

    7) The clincher: All had only one variable in common. When that single variable was removed (masturbation to porn) - nearly all regained erectile health. (If they did not regain erectile health & libido, the cause of their ED was unlikely to be porn use.)

    8 - Men who regain erectile health, then return to regular porn use, experience a return of ED
     
    TheUnderdog, Feb 20, 2012
    #1
    MarstonS likes this.
  2. Psychosis

    Psychosis Guest

    Re: Porn induced erectile dysfunction (science, articles, videos)

    TheUnderdog, these are some articles I had bookmarked. They aren't all related specifically to porn-induced E.D., but they will probably be of interest to those experiencing it (I found them interesting, at least).

    Italian researcher coins term "sexual anorexia" to describe the result of excessive porn use among young Italian men: http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2011/02/24/visualizza_new.html_1583160579.html

    Lack of interest in sex among 16-19 year old Japanese youth: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20110114a3.html

    Somethign similar among French men (possibility of triggers!): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1581043/French-women-are-the-sexual-predators-now.html

    And finally, a couple of articles from "Psychology Today" dealing with porn-induced E.D., and the neuroscience of addiction:

    http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupids-poisoned-arrow/201107/porn-induced-sexual-dysfunction-is-growing-problem
    http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupids-poisoned-arrow/201108/porn-then-and-now-welcome-brain-training
     
    Psychosis, Mar 2, 2012
    #2
  3. ChangeMYlife100

    ChangeMYlife100 New Member

    Re: Porn induced erectile dysfunction (science, articles, videos)

    http://gettingstronger.org/2010/10/change-your-setpoint/

    About dopamine recovery
     
    ChangeMYlife100, Jun 3, 2012
    #3
  4. TheUnderdog

    TheUnderdog Active Member Staff Member

    Re: The Science Behind Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction [MUST READ]

    I just updated the first post in this thread.

    Must read for anyone interested in understanding the whole process behind porn induced ED.
     
    TheUnderdog, Sep 25, 2012
    #4
  5. TheUnderdog

    TheUnderdog Active Member Staff Member

    Updated again.
     
    TheUnderdog, Sep 28, 2012
    #5
  6. bansuri

    bansuri New Member

    Wonder why the medical establishment would deny the effectivity of this...
    Because stopping porn costs nothing and they can't sell you it!
     
    bansuri, Oct 1, 2012
    #6
    Mr RR likes this.
  7. Sorrior

    Sorrior New Member

    Things like what this post describes is one reason i feel modern science is a joke. They rely FAR too much on the "scientific method" and not enough on OBVIOUS information similarities. Hell back in the day if you think about it scientists even MADE their own science aeronautics didn;t even come close to existing without guys like the wright brothers...Heh anyways this is one good read and i'm glad my doctors and therapist actually respect this kinda research. My shrink may even recommend this site to some of her clients.
     
    Sorrior, Nov 15, 2012
    #7
  8. atl6245

    atl6245 New Member

    Read it, know it, believe it. 8)
     
    atl6245, Dec 15, 2012
    #8
    Black_Mamba24 likes this.
  9. Taradon

    Taradon Looking for a change...

    I went to my Doctor for ED a couple of years ago...before I realized my porn use was causing the problem. He asked me questions about my erection, do I get one first thing in the morning for example. He concluded "maybe you are just not turned on". He was right in a sense. The real thing no longer turned me on because I was desensitized to that stimulus...I had begun training my mind to response to high-speed internet porn.

    The Doctors need to be educated on this trend. And should I be discussing this with my teenaged son?
     
    Taradon, Jan 11, 2013
    #9
  10. atl6245

    atl6245 New Member

    Yes, it is very important that you discuss this with your teenaged son. You cannot make choices for him by that age; but you can arm him with information to make the right choices.
     
    atl6245, Jan 11, 2013
    #10
  11. TigerBlood

    TigerBlood New Member

    I think there might be some utility in trying to separate this and other threads like this into a "Theory" board. There are a lot of different effects of pornography and it seems a little strange only to focus on one [although perhaps the most important] effect.
     
    TigerBlood, Jan 11, 2013
    #11
  12. kevcox25

    kevcox25 Member

    I just went 4 weeks and then relapsed. 2 weeks before that, I hope that I'm not at square 1 again. I've been struggling with ed for the past 2 years and just found out what the problem is. I need help, and want to get better. I had strong erections up until I was 18 then they started winding down. Now I'm almost 23 and want to live a fulfilling life, but cannot do that with this frustrating problem. Also the last time I had sex my penis was really numb and it was hard to get up. Is numb dick associated with this problem as well? I just need some assurance on this.
     
    kevcox25, Jan 17, 2013
    #12
  13. Taradon

    Taradon Looking for a change...

    Your issues are definitely related to porn use. You are young and unless you have discovered some health issues, you should not be experiencing ED. The numb penis is related to desensitizing yourself. My initial side-effect of PMO was that the reduced sensitivity meant I took longer to climax and my GF loved it...so I was fooled into thinking there was no issue with PMO. But in time the continued use will ruin you. And if you think about the way you M, it is hard to recreate the speed and tightness of your hand when you are having actual intercourse. Have you watched the videos on YBOP? Having that knowledge can really help.

    And relapses are normal and from my experience, did not set me back to square 1. It is a healing process, just like a broken leg...if you stay off the leg it will heal faster. I found that focusing on eliminating the porn as my first step, very beneficial...I wasn't feeding the fire with porn. So then the urge to MO on its own declined. Don't get me wrong, I haven't slept through the night once since Jan 2/13!!! But view it as a process of healing and it will get easier with time.

    Good luck!
     
    Taradon, Jan 17, 2013
    #13
  14. kevcox25

    kevcox25 Member

    ok cool so that is part of it. I was just scared I wouldn't have my sensitivity back again. The same thing happened with the last girl, she loved it, because I could probably go hours at that time. However, I was never able to climax with her, so that made her feel bad as well. Hopefully I'll be back to normal before I even hit my 100 day goal. I also blocked alot of material with K9, so that should make it easier knowing I cannot look at anything online. Hopefully I can go the whole 9 yards this times. My record was 31 days with internet access. So hitting 100 days should be the next step.
     
    kevcox25, Jan 17, 2013
    #14
  15. Taradon

    Taradon Looking for a change...

    I have rarely climaxed with my current girlfriend and since I feel I cannot be open with her about it, I faked it. That didn't help me either, emotionally speaking. She is absolutely beautiful, incredible and having to hide this from her to spare the relationship is hard, probably not the right thing to do and a slippery slope to tread! But I feel my body coming back to normal, quicker than I had hoped, so my goal is to heal and put this PMO behind me.
     
    Taradon, Jan 18, 2013
    #15
  16. kevcox25

    kevcox25 Member

    yea I've gone 4 weeks free, but I also didn't have internet or cable. I feel if I do not have access or temptation to any source I can go forever. however, I just got it back resulting in my worst relapse yet. My roommate has at@t uverse cable which has hbo and adult stuff at night. I have blocked my computer with k9. The question is about the tv that he has, what do I do? If I cannot look at this, then I can get through this quite easily. If I cannot visualize anything then I will not relapse thus rebooting successfully. Maybe I can parentally block my tv at that time. I just need help. This completely fucked up everything I had going.
     
    kevcox25, Jan 19, 2013
    #16
  17. Taradon

    Taradon Looking for a change...

    There should be "parental" controls on your roommates TV. I set my Expressvu up so that restricted (R-rated) and adult-oriented material can only be viewed once the password is entered. Have your roommate set up it with a password that you don't know. Then you can watch regular TV but nothing too close to porn.

    You are right to remove the temptation - it is easier to remove the temptation while your in your logical brain than say "no" to the addiction while the source of the addiction is right in front of you.
     
    Taradon, Jan 19, 2013
    #17
  18. kevcox25

    kevcox25 Member

    thanks man, I did change the email address to my roommates. Hopefully I can restrict the tv as well. After that I have the confidence to make it all the way. Take an Alcoholic away from a liquor store or a bottle and they succeed. Its the same situation here. Having scenes available are the same as an alcoholic walking by a liquor store. Whenever I have access or see it I am overtaken by something else. i did notice something after the one month abstinence. My orgasms were way more powerful. Idk if that's a sign of improvement or not?
     
    kevcox25, Jan 20, 2013
    #18
  19. kevcox25

    kevcox25 Member

    I blocked that content. Now I'm good to go forever probably. Since I went a month no problem before.
     
    kevcox25, Jan 21, 2013
    #19
  20. empshockwave

    empshockwave 26/m/gay but call me shocky :)

    I don't think anybody on here would dispute PIED unless they signed up to the wrong forum by accident. However an aspect that is somewhat related is sexual exhaustion i.e. not giving the body time to recover before another orgasm. This is a topic that I have come across from reading quite a lot, I'm not talking about a normal masturbation habit here, which is harmless but a compulsive masturbation which ties in with PIED. I'm partly speaking out of personal experience since my daily average since I was 11 has been around 3-4 per day and I'm serious. No need to say that the binging would not have been possible without porn.

    I reckon the body's natural reaction to allow yourself to recover from an orgasm is a temporary reduced desire. But what happens when you (over)stimulate your brain with more porn and orgasms ? What happens when your penis is not fully hard but you still force yourself to orgasm to get that extra boost still ? And what if you repeat that cycle again and again daily for more than 15 years ? You'll end up like me with severe ED and a different brain that needs rewiring. I have no morning wood, cannot get it up even with porn.

    I believe your body adapts to your sexual habits physiologically including your brain and part of your endocrine system. Then again it's the great ability for the body to adapt that will enable the healing process to take place, when given the chance.
     
    empshockwave, Jan 22, 2013
    #20
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