Porn and sex addictions are more prevalent than ever. But how does something that may start innocently so quickly become an addiction? The explanation is in the connection between sex and dopamine.
Dopamine and Chemical Dependence: Understanding the Reward Center
To fully understand how chemical dependence influences sex and pornography addictions, you must also understand how addiction can hijack the brain. Specifically, you must understand the brain’s reward system.
The reward system processes dopamine, the brain’s neurotransmitter responsible for producing feelings of pleasure, among other things.
The reward system is made up of dopamine receptors. In a healthy, functioning brain, these receptors can receive and process dopamine at a standard rate. But, if the amount of dopamine receptors is limited, then the speed at which the brain processes dopamine is also limited.
When that happens, typical feel-good activities don’t feel as good as they should.
When dopamine receptors are limited, people seek opportunities to produce additional dopamine to feel “normal.” This begins to create a chemical dependence on dopamine.
There are countless ways to encourage additional dopamine production — substance use, sexual behavior, gambling, etc.
These activities are addictive for some because they flood the brain with dopamine. An increase in dopamine creates a cycle that eventually becomes an addiction.
The dopamine-seeking cycle looks like this:
- You’re low on dopamine.
- You seek out a dopamine-producing activity, like sex or viewing pornography.
- You feel happy for a short time.
- Then, you crash as dopamine production wanes.
- You restart the cycle to feel better again.
You are now dealing with full-on chemical dependence, which is an addiction.
The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Chemical Dependence
Lack of attunement, or bonding, early on in life can prevent dopamine receptors from forming. If you have fewer dopamine receptors, then, from an early age, you will be in the pursuit of dopamine.
Studies show that adverse childhood experiences have a detrimental impact on the brain’s dopamine receptors. This deficiency is often the catalyst for substance addiction. Studies suggest that a chemical dependence could also be applied to behavioral addictions. In this case, specifically sex addiction.
Often, the first self-initiated feel-good behavior a child experiences is through sexual stimuli. Any experience that is sexual is going to provide the brain with a tsunami of dopamine. Your brain will register the initial event as a time when it finally receives enough dopamine to feel normal.
In his book, Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction, the late Gary Wilson notes that during the teenage years, dopamine production is at its peak. This makes the brain of a teenager particularly vulnerable to porn or sex addiction. It’s one key reason that childhood trauma and early porn exposure are so damaging. The brain is not developed enough to process or handle overwhelming events, information-dense events, or events that involve too much stimuli.
Wilson noted that people aren’t meant to see the amount of sexuality within pornography. Just one pornographic movie is filled with more graphic sexuality than our ancestors saw in their entire lives.
Are Sex and Porn the Solution?
Sex and porn seem to some people like an obvious source of dopamine production. Since sex is a staple in human development, it can quickly become a “go-to” solution for many people.
And it works. Sex and pornography viewing release dopamine, creating a short-term solution. But, over time, chemical dependence on dopamine will ultimately result in addiction.
Dopamine Overproduction
Many of the sexual behaviors that people turn to induce an abnormal amount of dopamine production. These activities can include:
- Masturbation
- Viewing pornography
- Participating in high-risk sexual activities
The riskier the sexual behavior, the more dopamine it produces. That’s why sex addicts must seek out more dangerous and riskier sexual activity.
If sex is mixed with pain, fear, or shame, it increases the rush. This causes dopamine production to improve further, which creates greater feelings of pleasure.
But, the brain continues to regulate dopamine processing. In turn, you need to participate in something even riskier to get the same effect as before.
It is important to understand that our brains simply can’t process such high amounts of dopamine. This is where chemical dependence kicks in. It looks like this:
- Progression. Needing more of the same thing to get the same effect.
- Escalation. Seeking out higher-risk/higher dopamine-producing behaviors.
- Regulation. When dopamine production is abnormally high, the brain regulates how much dopamine gets processed.
- Downregulation. The brain begins to disable dopamine receptors to balance itself.
So, you go from using experiences and activities to feel good to being dependent on them just to feel normal. It’s no longer about the high. You must participate in these activities to avoid withdrawal symptoms and get to your baseline.
As Wilson wrote:
“When dopamine receptors drop after too much stimulation, the brain doesn’t respond as much, and we feel less reward from pleasure. That drives us to search even harder for feelings of satisfaction — for example, by seeking out more extreme sexual stimuli, longer porn sessions, or more frequent porn viewing — thus further numbing the brain.”
Sex and Dopamine: Ripe for Addiction
Repeated sexual behavior can cause chemical dependence the same way regular use of an addictive substance can. Like any other addiction, sex addiction requires education, treatment, and professional mental health assistance to recover fully.
“Sex addiction carries all the clinical hallmark features of other addictions like those to substances, eating, and gambling,” said Ed Tilton, President at Begin Again Institute.
These “hallmark features” include what’s known as “the four Cs” of addiction.
The 4 Cs of addiction are:
- Compulsion. Feeling like you must do something, as if you’ve lost your free will and can’t control yourself.
- Loss of Control. Engaging in behaviors more frequently and for longer than intended.
- Craving. You still want to engage in a behavior, despite making promises not to, feeling shame or guilt, or other negative consequences of the action.
- Consequences. Engaging in behaviors, despite effects such as physical harm, relationship damage, or financial ruin.
The symptoms of sex addiction and its outcomes fulfill the four Cs. In short, it’s just as legitimate a mental illness and addiction as that to alcohol or drugs.
Recovery Is Possible at Begin Again Institute
Healing and recovery from sex or pornography addiction is possible. It takes an understanding of the root cause of the addiction, healing from that trauma, and resetting your dopamine receptors.
At Begin Again Institute, our team of Certified Sex Addiction Therapists are ready to guide you toward healing. Through our range of treatment programs, you’ll get a running start toward recovery.
Take the first step by giving us a call today to get access to the help you need.
Edward Tilton is a proven behavioral healthcare leader with an established track record in the recovery industry space. As an accomplished healthcare leader, Ed has diverse management experience including clinical and business operations, expansion of program development, and clinical service offerings.
