Researchers have used fMRI to study the brains of all kinds of addicts. Some of the results are surprising and mind-blowing. Here you will see the comparison between smoking tobacco and viewing pornography.
For example, when you look at the brain of a nicotine addict and a pornography addict, the images are almost identical. In other words, pornography gives you feel-good chemicals and activates the same parts of the brain as nicotine.
Addictions Don’t Discriminate in the Brain
That’s a pretty extreme and crazy statement but it’s true. In fact, some therapists and scientists have said that pornography can be more addictive than nicotine or even cocaine. While a substance like nicotine has to be delivered to the body through smoking or vaping, pornography goes straight to the brain through the eyes and ears.
Porn affects all the feel-good chemicals including oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and almost every other chemical in the brain associated with well-being. Most drugs don’t affect the whole spectrum of endorphins and work more with dopamine than anything else.
Addiction comes in many forms. The two things all addictions have in common are detrimental effects on a person’s life, body and relationships as a result of an all-encompassing need to get the chemical high from a behavior or substance.
Tobacco harms the body big time, behavioral or arousal addictions tend to harm the mind more. They can cause a user severe depression, anxiety, mood swings and more.
Get Help
If you or a loved is struggling with drug addiction or mental health issues, please give us a call, we can help.
Sources:
https://fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-affects-the-brain-like-a-drug/
