Please note: We are not medical professionals. We are relating information in layperson's terms that we have found while doing research on this subject. There are many videos on our website that present highly qualified neurologists and psychiatrists who speak on this subject. Please take advantage of the resources we have made available if you want to know the scientific facts of the withdrawal process. Our intention is not so much to repeat the scientific information here, but to give links to websites that offer a basic overview of the expected or possible process when a person withdraws from porn.
What Happens During the Withdrawal Process?
Gary Wilson's website has an excellent article that describes the neurofunctions that the brain goes through at the first sexual experience. High levels of an important molecule called delta FosB are produced and Wilson explains how this molecule is related to porn addiction, fetishes and recovery. Here is an extract from the article:
"When dopamine naturally soars in connection with early sexual experiences, the mammalian brain responds by producing a molecule known as ΔFosB. A 2013 study confirmed that it consolidates sexual conditioning. ΔFosB helps the brain alter itself physically so that future sexual experiences (and all related cues) register as high priorities. Dendrites sprout to make related cues more arousing, wariness is relaxed when such cues show up, etc. Addictions also hijack this ΔFosB mechanism, triggered by chronic overconsumption of dopamine-elevating activities and substances."
Click the button below to read the article in full.
"When dopamine naturally soars in connection with early sexual experiences, the mammalian brain responds by producing a molecule known as ΔFosB. A 2013 study confirmed that it consolidates sexual conditioning. ΔFosB helps the brain alter itself physically so that future sexual experiences (and all related cues) register as high priorities. Dendrites sprout to make related cues more arousing, wariness is relaxed when such cues show up, etc. Addictions also hijack this ΔFosB mechanism, triggered by chronic overconsumption of dopamine-elevating activities and substances."
Click the button below to read the article in full.
This is an excellent, encouraging article that documents one man's journey from porn addict to freedom. The man explained that he had a 20 year porn addiction and that he didn't think he could last 3 days without using porn, but instead he became totally porn-free and fully functional sexually, after approximately 8 weeks of 'rebooting' his brain.
The man outlines the negative issues he experienced while he was a porn addict and why he wanted to break his dependence on porn. He journalled his journey and documented his mood swings, his sexual urges, physical symptoms and his thoughts as his brain adjusted its neurotransmitters and receptors. He details his struggles from 'needing' daily PMO (porn-masturbation-orgasms) to having a total lack of sexual desire and he briefly preferred sexual abstinence. After a period of 8 weeks in recovery, the man was delighted to find that his brain reprogrammed itself by making new neural pathways, reset his delta FosB and dopamine levels so that he was able to enjoy normal, regular, predicatable 'super strong' sexual experiences with an in the flesh partner (which he refers to as having 3D sex).
The same delta FosB chemical is involved in other addictions too.
Read the encouraging article by clicking the button below:
(Trigger Warning - names of body parts and sexual activity are mentioned in the article).
The man outlines the negative issues he experienced while he was a porn addict and why he wanted to break his dependence on porn. He journalled his journey and documented his mood swings, his sexual urges, physical symptoms and his thoughts as his brain adjusted its neurotransmitters and receptors. He details his struggles from 'needing' daily PMO (porn-masturbation-orgasms) to having a total lack of sexual desire and he briefly preferred sexual abstinence. After a period of 8 weeks in recovery, the man was delighted to find that his brain reprogrammed itself by making new neural pathways, reset his delta FosB and dopamine levels so that he was able to enjoy normal, regular, predicatable 'super strong' sexual experiences with an in the flesh partner (which he refers to as having 3D sex).
The same delta FosB chemical is involved in other addictions too.
Read the encouraging article by clicking the button below:
(Trigger Warning - names of body parts and sexual activity are mentioned in the article).