HOW IS THIS A CHEMICAL ADDICTION?
THE CHEMICALS OF PORNOGRAPHY ADDICTION
There are chemical substances naturally occurring in the body that can be beneficial or harmful depending upon the circumstances under which they are released into the brain.
Five are common to the male and female. One more is released in the male under sexual experiences. Their powerful effects can be truly addicting. They can be beneficial when the sexual experience is ordained an sanctioned by God, performed in mutual love and commitment by a man and his wife. Otherwise the effects can be very harmful and destructive to the soul.
DOPAMINE brings focus, positive ecstasy, exhilaration, arousal, sexy mood, craving and dependency.
NOREPINEPHRINE, causes exhilaration, increased energy, release of epinephrine (adrenalin), and increased memory capacity.
TESTOSTERONE, elicits strong sexual desire, and positive feelings of energy and well being. (Females have some of this hormone too, but not as much as males.)
VASOPRESSIN, in this instance is released only in the male brain. It comes in a torrent resulting in strong feelings of bonding and attachment.
OXYTOCIN, creates bonding, the “cuddle chemical”, triggers contractions at climax.
SEROTONIN, that is released with climax yields deep feelings of calmness, satisfaction and release from stress and depression.
The results, as one can see, can be a good experience for both partners resulting in deeper love, more bonding, and feelings more energized and positive towards one another(the “afterglow”) Hence, this must be experienced only in the bounds the Lord has set. We have the dominant mental models for sex built into us.
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The results are radically different when one indulges in pornography or illicit sexual activities. The person loses focus on logic, reasoning, morals, beliefs, and commitments. Real time fades away. Nothing really matters except that which fits into the pornographic, sinful mental model.
DOPAMINE brings extreme focus on pornography with powerful cravings and dependency upon it.
NOREPINIPHRINE causes an adrenalin rush that increases memory capacity. Everything is seared into the brain creating a private mobile porn library.
TESTOSTERONE elicits great spiraling sexual desire and arousal. Focus is more intense, and the person can linger in the spell for hours because all senses of reality and time are lost.
OXYTOCIN and VASOPRESSIN creates bonding to the images and /or the illicit event.
SEROTONIN yields euphoria, satisfaction, stress relief (until the chemical burns off).
The whole experience can be more intense than sex alone because of all the other negative emotions that are mixed in. The stress of conflicting emotions initiates the release of sterol into the body. The results are a complete and total overload. It is like visual crack cocaine, an “exotoxin”. We have no built in mechanisms to cope with all these sensations. The climax is essentially hollow. One asks, “What have I done?” “What was I thinking?” The reasoning frontal lobes of the brain were overwhelmed by the emotional limbic system. Shame and depression entice to “medicate” again. The vicious cycle perpetuates. Adapted from: Healing Hearts and Mending Minds, by Mark Kastleman, 2005
Determine where you are on your road to recovery,on the list below,and set a goal for just ONE level higher than where you are now. Write that goal down, work on just that ONEforward step for the next 12 weeks.Recovery is a process and not an event!
Level 0: No acting out, porn,or dwelling onunclean thoughts in last 12 months
Level 1: No acting out, No porn in last 12 months(probably receive a service missionary call)
Level 2: No acting out, No porn in last 6 months (probably receive a facilitator calling)
Level 3: No acting out, No porn in last 3 months (receive a plaque)
Level 4: Slipped once with porn or acting out or both in last 3 months
Level5: Slipped twice with porn or acting out or both in last 3 months
Level 6: Slipped three times in 3 months or once in a month
Level 7: 30 days without a slip (receive a ctr ring)
Level 8: slipped twice in a month
Level 9: slipped three times in a month
Level 10 slipped 4 times in a month or once per week
Level 11 slipped twice per week
Level 12 slipped 3 times per week or every other day
Level 13 slip once every day
Level 14 more
Unless we are on a binge and we are making an effort at recovery, most are probably at level 9 ,10, or even 11, some are making a real effort and are only at level 12. We are all at different levels but we are only competing against ourselves, find where you are at NOW and make a goal for at least one level higher for these 12 weeks. Setting goals for the rest of your lives, or for a year, or 6 months, is just too much. It is too easy to get discouraged and lose sight. One day at a time is wise council.
Signs of recovery:
Frequency of porn and acting out: attendance at meetings: length of time to get up after a slip: amount of time elapsed between slip and confession: willingness to submit to church discipline: amount of time elapsed between a slip and prayer: willingness to turn temptation over to God: motivated to attend to basics: Tolerance of weaknesses in others: lack of blaming others and being the victim.
Battle plan for next 12 weeks
This is not approved by the church or by the addiction recovery program: (this is what we are proposing to implement at our pasg group)( starting Jan 09)
These are some suggestions:
1. Use Sundays as a day of fast for our group:.The difference between fasting and starving, is to have a purpose and a prayer. We are fasting not just fast Sunday but all sundays util oct 1st
2. Put all our names in the temple for 12 weeks Group leaders make sure the names are placed every 2 weeks.
3. Have a list of people in the group you can call for help in a weak moment .pass a list around the group and have those who are willing put their name and phone number and or email. We use a code when we call we ask for brother______we ask for fist name only. When someone calls for brother john or brother bill, we know what the call is about
4. Have a written goal to achieve by the end of the next 12 weeks
goup at least one level, write it,
5. Attend every week, if you miss our group go to another group, or home study the lesson
6. Write in the ARP guide every week, even if it is in just one section.
7. Get with your Bishop and let him know about the group and your recovery. Tell him all about the group; while you are there you can share with him how you know so much about it. Recovery is almost impossible without confession, andreceiving the help only a Bishop can give.
8. Start or continue with your journal of recovery and record how the Lord is doing it in your life! Writingwill focus ones thoughts and allows the Spirit to give you inspiration, of what to do.
9. Read Clean Hands Pure heart as we go through the steps. It is the best recovery book out there. It is addiction specific, just for sexual addictions.
10. Find someone or use the group as an accountability partner. We must be responsible for our actions, we have to be accountable to someone, we cannot afford the mindset of being able to get away with anything, without consequences for our actions.
11. Use whatever means necessary to cut off the source of additional pollution to your mind. you cannot clean up something up when more filth is pouring in. a satellite connection or an internet, or computer is a small price to pay if you must sacrifice them, a soul is worth saving. Look what Christ gave up.
12. Do the basics: pray, attend church, read the scriptures, render service to others.note doing these things alone will not work on its own, if it did most of us would not be here! On the other handNOT doing these thingsmake recovery almost impossible
13. Get a blessing either from a group leader, or from a Bishop, home teacher, or fellow group member able to exercise their priesthood.
14. If you have access to a computer, take 20 minutes a day and do a FREE 60 day interactive internet course. www.settingcaptivesfree.com choose the “way of Purity Course”. They will give you an online sponsor and will ask you every day how you are doing. You go at your own pace and you can take the 60 lessons in however many days you want to. It is Christian based but it is NOT LDS stick to the material only, and you will find, as I did, that it is in harmony with the restored gospel. Log in as me and check out the lessons username harveyfout password harvey
15. Computer addicts are up all hours of the day and night. The first one is www.ldsr.org and sign up FREE for the support groups and you can read and respond to postings. This is a great site they have groups for the wives and groups for same gender attraction, but the main group is for porn addiction. The other site is heart to heart www.heart-t-heart.org they also have a forum and they have online meetings if you cannot make it to a group. These guys are the ones the church patterned their groups after, we even used their books. Great site. Just don’t replace our groups for an online group, in person is better.
16. This group starts exactly at 7 pm. Anyone is welcome to come early and talk, or 5th step ect. The room is always open at least 30 minutes before starting. Make good use of the time.
The book Clean Hands Pure Heart is available online free at
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/books/041208clean3.html
the book the bonds that make us free is also online at meridian magazine.com copy and paste the following link
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/books/011005bonds.html
best books are
1. clean hands pure heart
2. He Did Deliver Me from Bondage
3. The worth of Every Soul and any Stephen Cramer Book
4. The Peacegiver check out meridian magazine as well