o “think.” The
overpowering flood of chemicals overrides his cognitive thought and reasoning
abilities. The frontal lobes – the logic center of the brain – are virtually
shut down and the limbic system, which controls the pleasure/emotional center of
the brain, takes over. (Kastleman, p39-57)
- The Release of Natural Chemicals:
… the porn viewer’s brain… begins releasing endogenous chemicals. The viewer
feels highly aroused… all of the stress, pressures, anxieties and pains in life
begin fading away as his system is flooded with endogenous drugs… the viewer is
able to self medicate and escape the reality of life…
- Dopamine: Elevated levels of dopamine in the brain produce extremely focused
attention… this causes the viewer to focus intensely on the pornographic images
at the exclusion of everything else around him…
- Norepinephrine: This chemical
induces feeling of exhilaration and increased energy by giving the body a shot
of natural adrenaline… Nor epinephrine also increases memory capacity… this
explains why porn addicts can recall the images seen with vivid clarity years
- Testosterone: Pornography triggers the release of testosterone which in result
increases the desire for more pornography…
- Oxytocin: … oxitocine acts as a natural tranquilizer. The individual … seek
oxytocin rush to cope with stress and pressure of life.
- Serotonin: This
natural chemical released … evoking a deep feeling of calmness… individuals turn
to porn to self-medicate and escape the stress…
- The Experience is More Than Just Sexual: There is a lot more going on in the
Pornography Funnel than sexual arousal. In fact, remove the sexual arousal from
the process and any similarities to sexual intimacy in a healthy marriage cease…
While sliding down the Pornography Funnel, a tidal wave of conflicting and
confusing images and messages wash over viewer… visual images are stored as
emotional memories in the brain before the logic center realize what has
happened… when the logic brain catches up… and brings on a “fight or flight”
type response. The adrenaline gland sends out cortisol, the “stress hormone,”
which in turn activates myriad body-system process to counteract stress. In
essence, the entire pornography process is intensified and supercharged, far
beyond what sexual arousal alone would accomplish… The human system is not
design to deal with this overwhelming level of conflicting stimulations… This is
why many neuropsychologists … refer to pornography as “visual crack cocaine”..
4. An Empty and Hollow Climax: … When one uses pornography to reach climax, the
brain desensitizes to the images, habituates to them, and eventually becomes
bored. An increase in the variety of images and/or time spent on the Internet is
required to maintain stimulation levels… In a healthy marriage relationship,
sexual intimacy in only a part of everything else going on in the couple’s life…
So when the couple “brings all of that into the bedroom” it is highly unlikely
that the brain will habituate to the sexual process… 5. When Reality Returns –
the Hopeless Dialogue: When the porn viewer emerges from the narrowest part of the funnel back to a wide perspective, the heartless “drug-high” of pornography and climax quickly dissipate. Suddenly his rational thinking returns and the hopeless dialogue begins: “What have I done? What was I thinking?” … he wasn’t
thinking, that was the problem! Once he descends into the Pornography Funnel, he
gives up his ability to “think.” The overpowering flood of chemicals overrides
his cognitive thought and reasoning abilities. The frontal lobes – the logic
center of the brain – are virtually shut down and the limbic system, which
controls the pleasure/emotional center of the brain, takes over. (Kastleman,
It is true that oppression of sexuality can be responsible for causing many psychological problems. However, it seems that in its effort to move away from potentially harmful believes of the past, the society moved too far in the opposite direction. Any extreme is dangerous. Hopefully the society will learn to recognize the new dan