Research finds that porn-related problems are predominantly caused by religious conflict. Clinically, this means people need help, but not necessarily with the porn.
For sure. I’m reminded of the mice in isolation choosing drug water and mice who are otherwise fulfilled with stimulation, friends, etc. choosing the normal water instead. Physical dependency to a fulfilled mouse would probably be like dealing with a sprained ankle or a cold. They’re not going to keep hurting their ankle.
I suppose the argument is that, in the absence of physical harm and a lack of necessity for health, then one must question what the harm of the behavior is. This is to say that food isn’t an addiction because without it you can’t survive. With gambling, it’s clear that there’s a harm because you run out of money. With porn, you run out of cum. Do you or the people you care about give a shit? Is it getting in the way? Like are you missing appointments and classes to masturbate? Are you exposing others to adult material? If not and you don’t care, the psychologist doesn’t need to get involved. To my understanding a mental health professional is trying to alleviate the pain and symptoms of mental distress. If you’re not developing a physical dependency/physical harm, the compulsion isn’t distracting you, and you don’t feel incongruent for doing it, then the psychologist for whom this piece is written, needn’t concern themselves.
If you feel incongruent, it’s worth exploring with the “modern, adult, self-determining eyes” that the author mentions. Your solutions aren’t one size fits all. Maybe your path away from pain is saying that porn is… le good! or you believe there are more ethical sources of pornogrpahy so you only use that type you resonate with. But also, maybe, your relationship with pornography was a proxy for some other argument with a significant other or your #1 compulsion when you’re avoiding discomfort. Where if you make peace with the reason for the proxy the urge to use goes away as well. Maybe you lament doing it instead of being awesome, so you should escape your comfort zone before you jork peanits.
Did I do honor to what you quoted and elaborated on or did I walk away rambling?
Makes sense! I was just arguing that addiction, like many mental health issues, is socially situated and hasn’t always been associated simply with chemical dependency. Fisher meditates a bit on functional alcoholics who drink way more than is a good idea and yet continue to live functional lives and don’t seem to be bothered by their substance use, contrasting that with instances of akrasia, doing something you know (or feel) is against your better judgment anyway. With porn, it may not necessarily be a physical dependency but it might be an easy substitute to reach for in a way that results in going against one’s preferences or moral beliefs, and the current orientation of society around the issue is such that the ones with strong moral objections to porn tend to also be religious. Which I think aligns substantially with what you’re saying.
Fisher meditates a bit on functional alcoholics who drink way more than is a good idea and yet continue to live functional lives and don’t seem to be bothered by their substance use
Absolutely sending me for a loop. Can I get a citation? I want to unravel the thread in my mind and see where it takes me. This is a really engaging perspective.
For sure. I’m reminded of the mice in isolation choosing drug water and mice who are otherwise fulfilled with stimulation, friends, etc. choosing the normal water instead. Physical dependency to a fulfilled mouse would probably be like dealing with a sprained ankle or a cold. They’re not going to keep hurting their ankle.
I suppose the argument is that, in the absence of physical harm and a lack of necessity for health, then one must question what the harm of the behavior is. This is to say that food isn’t an addiction because without it you can’t survive. With gambling, it’s clear that there’s a harm because you run out of money. With porn, you run out of cum. Do you or the people you care about give a shit? Is it getting in the way? Like are you missing appointments and classes to masturbate? Are you exposing others to adult material? If not and you don’t care, the psychologist doesn’t need to get involved. To my understanding a mental health professional is trying to alleviate the pain and symptoms of mental distress. If you’re not developing a physical dependency/physical harm, the compulsion isn’t distracting you, and you don’t feel incongruent for doing it, then the psychologist for whom this piece is written, needn’t concern themselves.
If you feel incongruent, it’s worth exploring with the “modern, adult, self-determining eyes” that the author mentions. Your solutions aren’t one size fits all. Maybe your path away from pain is saying that porn is… le good! or you believe there are more ethical sources of pornogrpahy so you only use that type you resonate with. But also, maybe, your relationship with pornography was a proxy for some other argument with a significant other or your #1 compulsion when you’re avoiding discomfort. Where if you make peace with the reason for the proxy the urge to use goes away as well. Maybe you lament doing it instead of being awesome, so you should escape your comfort zone before you jork peanits.
Did I do honor to what you quoted and elaborated on or did I walk away rambling?
Makes sense! I was just arguing that addiction, like many mental health issues, is socially situated and hasn’t always been associated simply with chemical dependency. Fisher meditates a bit on functional alcoholics who drink way more than is a good idea and yet continue to live functional lives and don’t seem to be bothered by their substance use, contrasting that with instances of akrasia, doing something you know (or feel) is against your better judgment anyway. With porn, it may not necessarily be a physical dependency but it might be an easy substitute to reach for in a way that results in going against one’s preferences or moral beliefs, and the current orientation of society around the issue is such that the ones with strong moral objections to porn tend to also be religious. Which I think aligns substantially with what you’re saying.
Absolutely sending me for a loop. Can I get a citation? I want to unravel the thread in my mind and see where it takes me. This is a really engaging perspective.
The book is The Urge - I’ll have to dig around later and see if I can find the passage I’m referencing; it’s been a minute since I read it.