The Effects of Pornography on Your Brain

Pornography can be a very sensitive subject since there are many different opinions about it. Whether you like or hate it, we can all agree that watching pornography, like anything else, has an effect on your brain. But what does watching porn do, and how often do you need to watch for effects to take place? Let’s dive into the world of science to explain what pornography does to your brain.

Disclaimer: Psych2Go is not promoting pornography nor are we saying watching pornography is bad. This video is solely focusing and reporting on the scientific findings to the brain when pornography is observed

Researcher/Writer: Brie Villanueva
Editor: Caitlin McColl
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
Animator: micoflores
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

[halmittens]

yall i swear god is sending me signs rn

[DDD-zi]

Fascinating. I love how this channel can shamelessly start discussions on sensitive topics in such an innocent and educational way.

[dragonfruit]

Wow. Didn’t realize so many people were opposed to it and trying to get out of porn. Stay strong guys, you can break it. ❤

[challengeacptd]

I feel this video is a message. To anyone out there who has a porn addiction, I know that you will eventually break that habit. Stay strong, everyone.

[scarletannelee]

Before I even watch this I have to comment to say thank you,
Addiction to porn is so harrowing, especially being in a relationship with somebody who struggles with this.
There are upsides to this generation but this certainly isn’t one.
It’s terrifying that children have access to sights like this too.

[maishaarpa]

As someone who was in a relationship with a man who was addicted to porn, I must say it’s really really hard. He saw me as an object, it was more of an adventure to him than love making, unrealistic expectations, never complimented me and always had thousands of pictures of solo naked girls on his phone. Even when I communicated with him about this he dismissed me. Porn is very, very unhealthy, imo.

[anthonymoore]

When I first discovered porn, my brother walked in on me. I was obviously really embarrassed and the expression on his face didn’t make it easier, but he told me “it’s ok to watch this, but just remember that this isn’t how people should be treated.” Ever since then I could never view someone as just a body no matter how much I try.

[ornx]

Edit: I'm over -three- six months clean <3 thank you to everyone in the replies who supported me!!

I’ve had a porn addiction since I was 11 and it’s really sad that a big portion of my childhood was devoted to watching porn every night. And since the brain develops the most during teenage years, it feels as if pornography is engraved into my brain as a default. I’m 17 now and turning 18 in some months and I really need to break this addiction and it’s really hard and I would feel embarrassed talking to my therapist. I want to stop viewing people as objects, and see people for how they really are. I hate how pornography has blinded my view of how relationships/sex work.

[Aan]

Timestamps
1). Effects of availability 0:29
2). Porn became much more available 0:56
3). Effects on the brain 1:56
4). Effects of addiction 2:51
5). It's not all bad 3:48

Hope this helps you out. 💙💙💙💙

[larkbird]

I love how these videos make even uncomfortable subjects seem so safe to talk about and educational!

[pathos]

This was really well done. Amanda killed it with the voiceover too. Informative and non-judgmental. Thank you for this content. 😊

[guomae]

As a girl who watched porn almost every day or every, I felt sad. I said to myself, “I don’t want my future husband to watch porn”, so I stopped watching porn because a soulmate is a reflection of your self

[Oneasianpersuasion]

I am a woman and I was addicted to porn. It was so hard to get out of it and overcome. I was addicted since I was 10 years old and just overcame it when I was 25.... Many years of struggle. Not many people I could relate to or feel comfortable talking about this to.

[Xness]

As a teenage girl desperately trying to get over a porn addiction this helps sm. It’s a very hard thing to overcome but I see how it effects me. I’ve been addicted since I was about 8 years old and over the years the porn I watch has gotten more and more aggressive and unrealistic and I don’t want this for myself. It’s great that you’re bringing something that most wouldn’t even think about but a lot of others struggle with

[ninjapirate]

This addiction is very difficult to break, because I always come back to it

[jarryj]

You don't know how bad an addiction is until you're deep in the thick of it. I've been addicted for a better part of decade and I've realized how much damage this has done to mental stability, my self-esteem, and any relationships that could've been. The worse part is that I didn't search for Porn it was thrown right in my face at 12 years old and in 20's I'm now doing the work to find something tangible.

[iPLAYtheSTATION]

Would you consider doing a video on the psychology behind what people would call "daddy issues"? I think it would be nice to see it from Psych2Go's perspective in a video.

[kittenjace]

To anyone who is trying to quit their addiction, We believe in you :) It's hard, but keep up the good work and you'll find that porn is a want instead of a need
If you fall back and find yourself in that cycle again, you aren't a bad person and theres always room to try again

[Clarke]

Much like drugs (especially stimulants) the comedown effects from a heavy porn binge (over a period of an evening or days) are: irritability, impatience, loss of interest in more simple pleasures, lack of focus and attention, loss of motivation and drive, lethargic mood, depressed and/or anxious mood, lower self-esteem, more sensitive to criticism, seeing women (as a man) as sex objects, and lastly, the possibility of physical pain sensations as a result of less prefrontal cortex activity and more amygdala activity. These are some of the key symptoms I have noticed. To get past porn addiction we must reduce stress, address our triggers/traumas and build self-worth within our community. Reducing isolation and finding meaningful hobbies and pursuits is very important. I am working at all of this and as I write this I am leaving the door to go to the gym and sauna. I came to this video because I wanted to watch porn but instead chose to remind myself of why I should not. Since watching this video, reading others comments, and now writing this comment the stressful trigger has passed and I don't feel any urge to engage in the porn now. Thank you for making this video. I'll tune in each time I am triggered and read the comments from others who are also on the path of recovery. Best wishes to you all!

[ravaiiiii]

I've never seen a place in which we could talk about this kind of addiction without the constant feelings of shame and angst, thank you so much guys, I'm trying to get out of it too and it really made my day to see that I'm not the only one, and that my struggles are valid