LOCKNANE: Brain's chemistry the biology behind porn addiction

Statistics indicate that almost one in two Americans (yes, women included) frequent internet pornography sites. Are you one of those people?

Chances are, if you do visit pornography websites, you wouldn’t tell a soul. Sex addiction has such a taboo about it that no one speaks of it, but all across the nation, it is tearing marriages and families apart. So are you really an uncaring, selfish individual?

More and more research is being done in this area all over the world and one of the interesting things about sex addiction that has been discovered is that it is directly related to dopamine levels in the brain.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released into the brain and plays a role in a variety of different behaviors. In certain areas of the brain, when dopamine is released, it gives one the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction. Food and sex, both, release dopamine into the brain.

When feelings of pleasure are desired, a person will do more of the behavior that created the feeling in the first place. As with other addictions, eventually, a tolerance is built and the person must do more of the same thing to achieve the desired effects.

This is the reason a person can go from soft-core pornography in his/her teens and eventually seek out more erotic or deviant porn/sex later in life. This is also the reason a person might look at porn for a short time in the beginning and build up to spending hours seeking it.

It really may not be your fault. There are factual, biological reasons that we seek out this behavior.

Dopamine deficiencies can be created in a number of different ways, most of which we have no control. However, taking responsibility to gain knowledge, become healthy and fix the problem is important – for yourself and your loved ones.