Blog 1 – the brain and sex. The brain is a huge part of the sexual act, even able to control the body and its response. And when used within marriage, sex actually bonds you to your spouse and strengthens that relationship.
Blog 2 – what is porn? According to its definition porn is anything(book, movie, play, pictures) that’s sole purpose is to excite and sexually arouse a person. There’s a whole lot more porn in this world than we realize.
Now we get to turn our attention to what porn actually does to a person and relationships.
Side Effects of Porn
1. Pulls you away from your spouse by bonding you to something else
Remember those chemicals we talked about in Part 1? Dopamine and Oxytocin. (if not reread blog 1) Those same chemicals get released anytime you get sexually aroused enough. Don’t forget there doesn’t have to be anyone else present for your brain to start the sexual experience and if its strong enough your body responds. And when the body responds those two chemicals are released in the brain bonding you to whatever caused your sexual excitement. And if the excitement was caused by porn, then what do you think you’ll be bonding with?
Yep, that same strong attachment that you’re suppose to have towards your spouse gets turned towards the porn. One article declares you can “… in essence, date porn.” Personally I’d put it stronger. Not just date but actually have an emotional attachment to the porn.
http://nymag.com/news/features/70976/
And if you’re being pulled toward the porn, who are you getting pulled away from? Porn binds you to a book (or movie) instead of your spouse.
Well, maybe you’d prefer this side effect.
2. Impotence
Italian scientists surveyed 28,000 men who admitted to viewing porn. It was found that the men who watched a lot actually became immune to the images over time. They weren’t turned on anymore, and eventually, they weren’t able to be turned on by anything … real or fake. And these weren’t old men, these were men in their 20s. Unable to even have sex because they had saturated their minds with porn. Thankfully the condition isn’t permanent but they had to give up the porn and allow their body and brain time to heal.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/25/scientists-internet-porn-cause-impotence
But that’s men. Everyone knows women aren’t as turned on by porn as men are.
Dangers of Porn for Women
Actually, that’s not true either. A study was done where both men and women were hooked up to monitors which check how “aroused” that person became and then they were shown images of a sexual kind, including apes having sex. Men were pretty straight-forward. Naked people were all they responded to physically. But women were turned on by a whole variety of images (including the apes). And the women didn’t realize it. They responded physically without even being aware.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25desire-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
This is actually a huge blessing. Men are pretty simple. Their wives simply being there can excite them. But women can get excited by any number of reasons. For instance, if the husband does the dishes or plays with the kids. Again, God knew, at times, a woman would need a little help in wanting to connect with her husband so He created a multitude of ways for the woman to desire the man.
The danger is – it also allows women to be turned on in a multiple of ways outside the marriage and they don’t even have to be aware of it.
The books you read and the movies you see don’t turn you on…. really? Are you sure?
Porn binds you to a book (or movie) instead of your spouse and gives you sexual satisfaction from a fantasy instead of reality.
But that’s only for those who are excessive. I can control it! It’s only one movie, it’s just a few books here or there. Sure, maybe you can quit at anytime, but once you start will you want to?
Ever heard of the word ‘addictive’?
The Addictive Nature of Porn
According to Dannah Gresh popular author and speaker she wrote this on her site ‘Pure Freedom’:
“Bio psychologists and others are studying the effects of lust, pornography, and erotica on the brain and the body….Over time your body becomes conditioned to self-stimulation and gratification. It’s not just a preference. It’s physiological. The lust cuts a literal pathway in your brain tissue that’s kinda like a rut. A rut you better be prepared to get stuck in. While at first a little bit of erotica might give you a taste for your spouse, overtime that rut reminds you how great you are at self-stimulation and how powerful your imagination can be. You’ll become less interested in real sex with your husband. (Both SELF magazine and The New Yorker ran articles on this phenomenon in recent years. They both suggested that if you want to have a great sex life, you better push pause on porn!)”
Why do you think the porn industry is one of the fastest growing business in the world? Bc it’s so addictive and today it’s becoming so easy to find and even acceptable.
While doing research for this topic I was amazed at the stories I read. Men who use to rush home to be with their wives eventually rushed home to look at porn. Wives who ended up leaving their husbands bc they just couldn’t compare to the man in the books.
Why is porn so dangerous? Bc porn will bond you to something other than your spouse, gives you sexual satisfaction from a fantasyinstead of reality and creates a standard that no one can attain.
Now let’s turn to what I like to call Porn Plus. If porn alone is dangerous this next issue is over the top.
Stay tuned for part 4: 50 Shades of Dangerous