How can I tell if I’m addicted to porn, I’m Dr. Trish Leigh let me tell you how you can know. In this video, I will cover six points that can show you if you have a problem with pornography consumption. These are not my opinions, they are based on a test given to people concerned about problematic pornography consumption. Then I’m going to tell you what is happening in your brain so that you must go back to the screen in the way that these six points describe. Lastly and importantly I’m going to tell you what to do about it how you can get yourself out of this vicious cycle so that you can put porn behind and get on purpose in your life. Start rocking out your best life at your full potential. So let’s dig in the six points that show you that you might have a problem with pornography consumption.
What are the six points?
It is consuming your time, your energy, and some cases your money, and definitely, your mental space. So if you are thinking about porn a lot and if you spend a lot of time or energy on it. It is salient or important to you. That’s the number one way. Number two, there is tolerance so there is a gradual increase in pornography consumption without a major increase in satisfaction. So that’s tolerance or habituation. Number three is that your using pornography for mood modification. When you get stressed out or feel bored, you go to the habit of altering your mood from negative to positive. Sounds familiar I know that is the case for a lot of people that is another way that you can know you have a problem. Number four, it brings conflict into your life so either intrapersonal conflict, which means conflict within you, or interpersonal conflict. So problems in your relationships, problems with your employer, problems with your children. You find yourself isolating and not going out with your friends anymore or intrapersonal is you feel regret, you feel shame, you feel guilt, you feel like you are violating some of your codes. That is intrapersonal conflict and that is the next marker. Second, to last, number five is withdrawal. When you try to stop watching pornography you experience discomfort. Mental, psychological, cognitive, physical discomfort. We know that the number one way that shows up is increasing anxiety, depression, or lack of motivation that flatline period physically you might have no lobeto. Lastly, number six is that you relapse. So you commit I’m not going to watch porn anymore then you go out as a champion of the cause and you find yourself relapsing. Now those are the six points. Salience, tolerance, mood modification, brings conflict into your life, there are withdrawal symptoms, and lastly, you find yourself in a relapse.
Do I have a porn addiction?
Now if any of those it doesn’t have to be all of them. If any of those ring true for you then it’s likely or you may have a problem with pornography consumption and this comes from the problematic pornography consumption scales. There are more questions than these. But these are the overarching themes and if these themes are present in a person’s life it’s likely they have a problem with porn.
Why is that happening?
It becomes so important in saline in your life, this is number two in our discussion today. Why is there salience? There’s salience because your brain has been conditioned to go back to the screen neurologically to be able to modify its mood using neurochemicals. Therefore, you need to go back to the screen to get that dopamine release in your brain so that you can feel ok. It’s being used to soothe your nervous system in most cases it’s being used to stimulate your nervous system. Usually, it’s actually a combination of both. So what it looks like in your brain it’s using too much fast brain processing speed and simultaneously too much slow brain processing speed not enough calm focus in that middle speed.
That is not where you want your brain performing out in these extremes. We want your brain performing optimally and well and at its full potential rocking out your best life in the middle. The middles where it’s at and I know we lose sight of the middles where it’s at because we’re looking for high highs but unfortunately the pendulum swings in the opposite direction and you get low lows which leads us to the mood modification piece.
More Information
If you’re interested in learning more about pornography addiction and if you have a porn addiction, click the video linked above. However, if you’re ready to quit porn and get the support you need, visit my website or youtube channel for more information.
