The danger of porn use isn’t about right and wrong. It’s about the effects that porn has on the user and the effects it has on the loved ones of the user. Porn use has serious, negative side effects.
Some of porn’s toxic side effects include:
1. Creates emotional bond with artificial world
All people have a critical need for human intimacy and emotional connection with others. When someone views porn they end up creating an intimate bond with an artificial, fake world and can actually lose the ability to bond with real people.
2. s*x without intimacy
Porn is about s*x being used for the wrong reasons. Because it is s*x without emotional closeness, the underlying hunger remains unsatisfied. The viewer starts wondering what is wrong with their relationships and gets irritated or depressed. They end up feeling emotionally empty and disconnected from those around them.
3. Unsatisfying
While porn use may result in a short term high, it eventually results in feelings of emptiness, low self-esteem and deep loneliness. It ultimately creates emotional distance in relationships. Because the world of porn is artificial and cannot satisfy the need for emotional intimacy, this basic need remains unmet, creating an appetite for more and more.
4. Triggers addiction cycle in brain
Studies show that actual brain function changes in someone who has an addiction – and the changes are the same in all addiction: alcohol, drugs, or porn. Because porn use can become an actual addiction, viewers are not able to stop through their own will power. porn addicts will need to engage in the same difficult recovery process a drug addict has to go through.
5. Unfulfilling
Using porn to feel pleasure and escape feelings of low self-esteem, anxiety, boredom and frustration creates a gateway for addiction. When the rush of pleasure disappears, the feelings a user is trying to escape from reappear stronger than ever, and they are compelled to repeat the cycle. Over time, their brain chemistry is altered and a full-fledged addiction occurs.
6. Great deception
Initially, you were attracted to porn because of the positive things it did for you. (“I love the rush I feel,” “This is my favorite pastime,” “I feel lonely,” “This is my reward to myself for making it through a rough day…”) Eventually, it will do just the opposite. (“I no longer feel an emotional response to anything,” “There is nothing in my life I enjoy doing,” “I feel totally isolated from the world,” “My anxiety and stress levels are at an all-time high…”).
7. Imitation of the real thing
With porn, we use s*x as a substitute for nurture, intimacy, and love. s*x is no longer a wonderful source of connection between our deepest selves and a beloved partner; it becomes a commodity used to avoid intimacy and mask needs that should be met through human connections.
8. Always hungry
Because this is an addictive substance, it creates an appetite for itself. This appetite increases over time as you spend more and more time viewing porn. The time spent viewing porn can jeopardize work, relationships and interest in healthy pastimes.
9. Escalation
Over time, the porn we first started viewing becomes mundane. We escalate to view things which we once would have considered as going too far or totally wrong. We feel increasing desire to do things which will damage our reputation and relationships.
10. Blunt truth
In the long run, porn will not shore up a shaky ego, will not fill the emptiness left from childhood wounds or abandonment, will not save a shaky relationship or failing marriage and is not satisfying. In fact, it will magnify each emotional wound from the past and cripple your ability to meet your essential emotional needs, damage your ability to have a healthy relationship and leave you unable to sexually or emotionally respond to your partner.
Source: Information Nigeria
