(LifeSiteNews) — Like a serpent winding itself unnoticed through thick brush, pornography has made its way into our homes, undetected by those guarding them.
As one of the oldest mythological symbols, the serpent stands for slyness, chaos, and a wicked power.
In the Bible, the serpent symbolizes chaos and evil power. In Genesis 3:13-15, in the Garden of Eden, the serpent beguiles the woman, she eats from the apple, and sin enters the world. In the Book of Revelation 12:7-9, the Archangel Michael defeats the ancient serpent in heaven and throws him and his kin down to the earth.
The fight between good and evil, as old as mankind itself, is awake in ourselves every day.
Pornography is comparable to an evil power. It seeks control over our every thought and deed. It blunts our emotions, harms our relationships, and has real consequences for our physical health and daily functioning.
Learning about our brain functions can help us understand why pornography can be so addictive. It is a crucial step in breaking its evil spell, and can lead to achieving freedom from pornography and restoring naturally beautiful and lasting romantic relationships.
Battling desire for novelty
Pornography is addictive because it hijacks the dopamine response in our brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger that transports signals across synapses between neurons. It controls functions like mood and reward.
This biological response compels people toward novelty, which in this realm typically takes shape in increasingly extreme forms of pornography.
It can erode our sense of decency and self-respect, and undermine our relationships, particularly with our spouses.
But the need for novelty has another reason.
The hidden addiction
The big difference between substance use addiction and that of pornography is that you cannot see the person afflicted being “under the influence,” meaning that others can notice when people are drunk or high – no one can see a pornography addiction.
“Substance addictions build up a tolerance, demanding more of the substance (drugs or alcohol) for the same high.
“With sexual addiction, tolerance requires novelty, which is why many people end up viewing violent or child porn and may even begin to act out what they are viewing in real-life relationships,” says Dr. Juli Slattery, a clinical psychologist and expert on pornography addiction, in her interview.
“So many men and women are struggling with porn addiction, betrayal trauma, and sexual shame, but there are very few places to be honest about these struggles and get help,” she continues.
Dr. Slattery, a clinical psychologist and author, has written many books about the topic.
That is why Slattery felt called to help those affected. “Much of my work is within faith communities in which talking about sexual issues is even more taboo,” she states.
Slattery is the co-founder of Authentic Intimacy and the author of over 14 books on the topic. She has witnessed people suffering from issues of sexual brokenness for decades.
Need for change
Dr. Slattery’s mention of the need for novelty in pornography addiction is something that another expert sees as well.
“When the brain gets twice as much dopamine as it can handle naturally, that is when you get addicted. After a while, the brain adjusts to the new normal of stimulation. It needs increased stimuli to reach the same level of high,” says Esau McMorris, a licensed drug and alcohol counselor who assists individuals with their problems surrounding pornography.
“I tell people that recovering from addiction involves change. Change is hard. However, continuing to do the same thing is harder. The hardship of recovery outweighs the hardship of addiction. You must embrace some discomfort to move forward in life,” McMorris advises during his phone interview.
Pleasure chemicals as a drug
“Sexual addiction is similar to other addictions in that it is often used to cope with difficult emotions and life circumstances,” Slattery states.
“The brain releases powerful pleasure chemicals like dopamine, phenethylamine, adrenaline, and endorphins when you have a sexual experience. These brain chemicals are even more potent when the sexual experience is novel or daring. Those pleasure chemicals can become like a “drug,” used to cope with depression, loneliness, anxiety, boredom, or trauma.”
The pornography epidemic and its effects on societal dopamine addiction, meaning our dependence on increased stimuli to release neurotransmitters of happiness continuously, was also a topic in an American Thought Leaders episode. Jan Jekielek spoke to his guest, Clare Morell from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, in detail about the connections between dopamine and the pornography crisis.
The Coolidge Effect
The need for novelty even has a name – the Coolidge Effect, which is best described through an anecdotal and somewhat corny story of the 30th president, Mr. Calvin Coolidge, and his wife visiting a farm.
Mrs. Coolidge noted the rooster mating repeatedly. Asking the tour guide how often this would happen, the answer was “dozens of times a day,” to which the First Lady responded that he should pass that information on to her husband. When Mr. President arrived at the location, the guide did as asked. Mr. Coolidge then proceeded to find out if the rooster was mating with the same hen every time. The guide’s response was negative; he was asked to relay this answer back to Mrs. Coolidge.
An earlier study published in Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology states that “The Coolidge effect is the sexual motivation renewal due to sexual novelty.” The effect has been extensively examined in many animal species, even primates. However, it is essential to note that personal and sociocultural associations influence our sexual behavior. These “cannot be strictly controlled under a laboratory environment,” state the researchers.
The Power of hormones and neurotransmitters
In recent years, the paradigm in psychiatric knowledge of behavioral addictions has shifted.
In the past, addictions were seen as substance dependencies, like alcohol or drugs. New research suggests that any type of brain stimulation, including the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for motivation and pleasurable rewards, can lead to a dependency on its source; included are video gaming, gambling, and sexual practices.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health explains the physical changes observed during pornography exposure. EEG (Electroencephalogram) studies found pornography users had a lower desire to be intimate with a sexual partner. However, their appeal to masturbation and pornography did not decrease.
MRI studies also revealed various changes in brain activity. Research found that repeated exposure to pornography led to desensitization, but the sexual stimulant has another critical variance.
This drives us away from our physical partners and genuine romantic relationships. It has an impact on ourselves, our communities, and our society.
Giving in is not an option
In the long run, pornography creates many painful consequences that not only hurt those addicted but also their personal relationships, jobs, finances, and communities. Therefore, giving in is not an option.
“People are getting seriously hurt,” states McMorris. He mentions that about 40 percent of his female clients have been sexually molested as children. When people get addicted to pornography, they seem to play with fire and enter troubled times, which often go hand in hand with drugs and alcohol.
“They do not value family, they value their lifestyle above their kids, their parents. (In the end,) they will do dangerous things to do it, too. There is so much damage, so much more hurt and pain, often it takes a long time to bring the trust back within families,” McMorris says.
He laments that the internet’s offers are so accessible and that children get hooked even quicker. In the long run, they see pornography as a drug and have a hard time seeing the intrinsic good in a relationship.
But it does not have to come to this point.
Finding freedom
Slattery feels blessed to have witnessed countless recoveries in men and women. “People need to know that freedom is possible,” she says.
The act of making love is intrinsically connected to giving life. God wills procreation, but the lure of self-pleasure is great.
In his first letter to the Corinthians 7:2-5, Saint Paul addresses the temptation to immorality and the lack of self-control. Consequently, pornography can be seen as the evil branch of something inherently good and beautiful.
Finding this freedom from porn, shame, and addiction is not quick or simple, she warns, “but well worth pursuing. There will be setbacks and seasons of discouragement. Still, if you stay committed to getting the right help, you can experience freedom!”
She advises seeking help and not trying to fight this alone.
“I recommend reaching out to a counselor or organization trained in helping people with sexual addictions. Some fantastic organizations can help, like Pure Desire and Celebrate Recovery.”
Another helpful tool on this journey is filtering and accountability software, such as Covenant Eyes or Safe Eyes. “At the very least, these should be on all devices,” suggests Slattery.
Healthy non-sexual relationships
But that is not all. Slattery says we need to nurture healthy human relationships again and learn how to deal with negative emotions and trauma.
In a nutshell, we are starving for genuine human interactions and everything that surrounds them.
“We look at porn to escape, to feel good, and to have a reprieve from difficult feelings and circumstances. Teaching children, teens, and adults to address and cope with underlying trauma and difficulties is a critical component to prevention,” says Dr. Patrick Carnes, a leading expert on sex addiction, as he outlines his views on pornography as an intimacy disorder. For him, establishing healthy non-sexual human connections is one of the key elements of treatment.
An article published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Psychology outlines at its core the human need for touch. It explains how this closeness between two human beings reduces perceived loneliness. Not only that, but human connection also reduced the heart rate of study participants more quickly, which is seen as a sign of greater well-being.
Fighting the secret giant
“It’s difficult to overstate the impact of porn on our society and relationships. Just consider a few statistics according to research,” Slattery warns. “Forty-seven percent of American homes report that pornography is a problem for their family. Over 50% of divorces involve one party having an obsessive interest in pornography. Using porn increases the chances of infidelity by 300%. These statistics are likely to greatly increase with children at the youngest ages having access to porn.” (Source)
Given this impact, people across the United States and the world are fighting this secret giant, the pornography industry.
According to Statista, the industry experienced an annual market growth of 12.6 percent in 2023 and remains as successful as ever. IBIS World Industry Reports states that the revenue of the adult and pornographic website industry in the United States totaled $1.1 billion in the same year.
Made for more
Fighting the fight between good and evil, we should find ourselves as knights on the side of good, continually striving to repel the bad, and building technological forts around our children and ourselves for protection and safeguarding. Of course, we can also employ the omnipotent power.
“As a Christian, my conviction is that God Himself is our ultimate Healer,” states Slattery. “I have also discovered this to be true in working in the field of psychology. Only God can forgive our sins, remove our shame, and give us peace, even amid difficult circumstances. My greatest motivation in the work I do is this: sex is too often a barrier between us and God. It has come to represent shame, struggle, and pain. Instead of porn addiction being a barrier to your relationship with God, it can be the very source of recognizing your need for Him. God is close to the brokenhearted and wants to restore us in His love.”
