Dopamine and Pornography Addiction

Dopamine relates to pornography addiction due to its impact on the brain’s reward system. When individuals engage in pornography, it triggers a surge of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. This powerful chemical response can lead to addictive behaviors, affecting our overall wellbeing.

Dopamine, Pornography, & Your Brain

“Dopamine is at least partially responsible for what causes us to seek out sex. It has an influence on our sex drive… These desires we have are innate, and God gave us these desires.”  — Kolton Thomas, The Reclaimed & Unashamed Podcast

How many times have you tried to say a quick prayer and ‘white knuckle’ your way to freedom from lust and addiction, only to find yourself falling again in a rush of dopamine and the pursuit of porn? The powerful high associated with pornography use can be frustrating when we are making every effort to quit, and we can quickly become angry with the lack of control it feels like we have over the brain.

In Psalm 138, God said that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and while viewing porn can negatively impact our brains and bodies, it does not mean our physical make-up is bad. You are not a defective member in the assembly line. Your dopamine is a gift from God. Some of us just need to learn more about how that dopamine works and we need to train our brains to steward this chemical wisely.

God gave us these sexual desires. We are to remember that. And we need to embrace that… and not give up hope. Even if they have contributed some to our struggle with pornography addiction.

Believers have struggled with sexual lusts and desires since the earliest stages of human history. Some of the champions of the faith have gone through what we are experiencing now. Yes, internet porn has it’s unique challenges. But if it wasn’t internet porn back then, there was always something else. When one considers the nature of their struggles compared to our own, it is a reminder that we can overcome just as those ‘giants of the faith’ did. Kings David and Solomon, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, et al have expressed remorse and shame over sexual sin. And no doubt they have each experienced unnatural baseline levels of dopamine as they subjected themselves to this sin.

To better understand how we are to be healed, it helps to understand what God desires for us.  He wants us to be healed spiritually and physically. In Isaiah 61, the prophet writes that Jesus would. come to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Yet how many of us grasp the damage of what pornography has done? Is the damage irreversible? Can we still experience joy and achieve the goals God has for us? We’ll get to the answers to these questions and more, but first we much acknowledge that there is a growing awareness of the neurological damage created by exposure to pornography.

Neuroscientists such as Dr. Trish Leigh from Porn Brain Rewire and Andrew Huberman Ph.D, researcher at Stanford University have been sounding the alarm with their podcasts and videos over the dangers of porn addiction and its destructive consequences. What they have found is unsettling, and though it might be painful to read about these things in the midst of your struggle, it’s an important wake up call to the reality of how pornography is shaping your brain.

Dopamine and the Symphony of the Human Mind

The human brain consists of over 100 billion nerve cells (neurons). These cells form neural pathways in our brain, forming trillions of connections throughout our mind’s neural networks.

Here are a few of the key components which make up the inner workings of the brain. Keep in mind this is a 30,000 foot view:

• First there are the neural pathways along which signals travel and allow us to think, feel, desire, reason, and act.
• Next, there is the brain’s ability to adjust and create new pathways, as well as weaken old ones. This is commonly referred to as neuroplasticity.
• Third, there are the chemicals within the brain called neurotransmitters that function as a way to store memories and send signals to our bodies. Dopamine is one such neurotransmitter that often signals the brain to keep pursuing in order to find pleasure or a sense of completion.

These three important functions are all directed by different regions of the brain, which act as conductors for the beautiful flow of signals that are constantly flowing in order to form our consciousness. But when pornography enters this picture in the form of addictive behavior, that beautiful composition can become distorted into a cacophony of disjointed sounds.

What neurobiologists have discovered is that dopamine is both a neurotransmitter and a hormone of great importance, and it exists in abundance within the brain. It is secreted and released by your adrenal and hypothalamus glands.

Just to give you an idea of how vital dopamine is, scientist have found that it regulates key bodily functions such as memory, movement, motivation, mood, attention and more. High or low dopamine levels have been associated with diseases including Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Those caught in the habitual cycle of pornography use experience elevated levels of dopamine, that in turn, trigger the brain’s ability to ‘rewire itself’. And unfortunately, this neuroplasticity of the brain can be both a creative and a destructive force.

A July, 2014 study in JAMA Psychiatry  found that the more porn men reported watching, the less volume and activity they had in the regions of the brain—specifically the striatum—linked to reward processing and motivation. They also found that connectivity between the striatum and the prefrontal cortex (which is the part of the brain used for decision making, planning, and behavior regulation) weakened the more pornography the men reported watching.

As if decreased brain matter and motivation was not enough, we also know from research when our brains are repeatedly exposed to extreme stimuli like pornography, our dopamine levels go through abnormal peaks and valleys which leaves our ‘baseline’ level (our average supply over time), at a much lower-than-optimal amount.  When men experience this lowered baseline after watching porn again and again, they often feel an irresistible urge to do anything that would raise their dopamine levels back to a healthy amount. Unfortunately, one of the most accessible dopamine spikes that men can achieve to feel ‘normal again’ is watching pornography, and so they turn to it at their lowest points because they need higher and higher levels of dopamine to get that ‘high’ again. Thus the vicious biological cycle of craving continues within our brains.

But there is hope! What men have to wake up and realize is that while, yes, pornography provides easy access to dopamine in the short term, it harms our baseline levels of dopamine in the long term, and it is therefore a trap for our brains. But similar to how the brain can shape itself around something artificial like porn, it can also shape itself to embrace what is real again, and it is possible to work yourself out of this trap and restore a sense of balance and homeostasis to your brain and your dopamine levels. This is a biological process of healing that is available to everyone who has a brain, and the good news is that it starts to work as soon as you quit watching porn (assuming you don’t turn to other extreme stimuli). While there are other way to maintain healthy levels of dopamine, you can experience relief and start getting your healthy brain back by stopping your porn habit and replacing it with a healthier one. So don’t worry, no matter how much porn has jacked with your brain, it is possible to heal again — though notice you didn’t hear me say it’s going to be easy! 

There is a Way Out From Pornography Addiction

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. — Jeremiah 29:11, ESV

I, Clay, struggled with pornography addiction for years. During my journey for freedom from porn, I experienced all the withdrawal symptoms one would expect. I experienced brain fog, depression, mood swings, difficulty with motivation, and more. After going through it all, I think the greatest benefit I received from my knowledge of the brain’s functionality was this: I now had a restored confidence that God had made a way out for us, and I am here to tell you that He has provided a way out for His people.

Neuroplasticity is an amazing testimony of God’s creation. It has been used to treat amputees and stroke patients during recovery, and it’s also a road to recovery for those healing from porn addiction. God made us, our minds, with the ability to rewire itself. We are amazing creations, God’s creations.

As I researched more into dopamine,  I realized three things:

• God’s creation is amazing.
• The destructive nature of sin should never be taken lightly — it always has far reaching consequences even if those consequences are delayed.
• God’s ability to restore those who come to Him in repentance is a great blessing.

God will literally reboot our brains. It is a process, but I am witnessing the effect of neuroplasticity as I write to you now. I found myself in the depths of sin’s consequence but I reached out to God, and He rescued me. 

My journey is not over. Such is the work of sanctification. After participating in the Reclaimed 10-week journey, I now have a community of fellow travelers. We fellowship regularly with one goal in mind: freedom from porn. Finding a community of men like this has been a Godsend, and I now have a plan which will help me stay on course with the tools I have been provided.

I mentioned earlier that part of my journey involved withdrawal symptoms. As those symptoms diminish, I understand the inner workings of my mind and the insidious effects of dopamine dependency. Now, after moving further along in my recovery, I have a new sense of emotional equilibrium and an increased understanding of what is going on inside me. I am a better man today because I took the time to invest in myself to understand my brain in order to overcome porn.

As the process of redemption and rewiring in me continues to take place, I can rest in the comfort of knowing that the symphony in my mind is growing clearer and more beautiful each day. God has done it for me, and I know he can do it for you, too. — Clay

If you’re new here and looking for more ways to rewire your brain and restore healthy levels of dopamine, check out our other resources including our podcast (the Reclaimed Recovery Podcast), our private app, and our E-book on the 5 Essential Shifts to Porn Recovery.