Science is finally backing up what many people have been saying for years: Porn is harmful.

Aside from filling your head with lies and unrealistic expectations, porn literally messes with your head by rewiring the actual chemistry in your brain.

In our brains, there is a neurotransmitter called dopamine. It is key to our brain’s understanding of pleasure and rewards. This chemical is released when we experience pleasure, and it feels good! Under normal circumstances, this release is a good thing. It helps our brains understand which things are good and keeps us healthy and happy. It’s also a key ingredient in our ability to form relationships and fall in love.

However, if the stimulus of pleasure is prolonged or happens too frequently – or is unnaturally stimulated – the brain creates an oversupply of dopamine. This happens in the brain of all people who struggle with addictions.

Now think about all the hours and hours spent watching porn. The click bait that leads viewers to witness every type of sex imaginable – and unimaginable. With every new picture or video, the brain is shocked. This is most certainly unnatural stimulation. It forces the viewer into a prolonged surge of pleasure chemicals, and the brain begins to become desensitized.

And they need more.

The hidden harm in porn is when the brain becomes desensitized to dopamine and the brain can no longer recognize signals of pleasure. You see, the brain is very good at adapting. When there is constantly prolonged rushes of pleasure chemicals, the brain lessens its neuroreceptors to compensate. This makes it harder to recognize smaller doses of the chemical release. So the brain craves more and stronger hits to feel something. This need can become all consuming and steals focus from other important things.

The worst part is the more you satisfy this itch … the stronger it gets.

A person suffering from any kind of addiction is most likely also suffering from dopamine desensitization. However, this compulsive quest for pleasure has another effect. It causes dysfunction in the stress circuitry of the brain. Because of this dysfunction, when an addict encounters stress of any kind they will desperately seek any way to numb the pain. This relapse exposes the brain to more addictive stimuli, consequently bringing more dysfunction in the stress circuits, and essentially brings the addict back to square one.

The part of your brain that is directly responsible for tasks such as decision making and impulse control is called the frontal cortex. When there is a decrease in the function of the brain’s reward center, it can cause function in the frontal cortex to decrease as well. This messes with your ability to solve problems in relationships, make decisions at work, or focus on school.

Of course, when you register that you have all these problems because of porn, the dysfunctional stress circuits in your brain will drive you to watch more porn. And thus, the cycle continues. As this cycle drives you deeper into your addiction, it will also send you further away from living a happy, healthy, and passionate life. Porn literally messes with your head. Do you still think it’s harmless?

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