"Your Brain on Porn" by Gary Wilson

There are books I read and then go "meh," and there are books I read, and they change my perspective on a topic. "Your Brain on Porn" has changed my mind 180 degrees on the subject of porn. I do know about all the usual downsides of porn for societies. For instance, many actors and actresses don't participate in scenes willingly (not only consciously but also unconsciously due to financial or other hardships). Women who quit acting overwhelmingly report abuse and mental deterioration. Sure, but can we fix all the downsides and still enjoy porn? Turns out we can't.

• Porn physiologically rewires the brain away from natural real interactions.
• This births a plethora of sexual dysfunction conditions.
• When users stop watching porn, their sexual health improves (the reports here are overwhelming).
• Due to how our brains work, users statistically start preferring more intense, less realistic, and more fringe (or even illegal) videos.
• Then users think they are the problem, whereas their brains are conditioned to this, not vice versa.
• Sexologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists are (once again) slow to diagnose an actual condition and dismiss this as "over sexuality" or something.

Yep, this is how addiction works with anything you can get addicted to. FMRI studies have shown that porn addiction triggers all the same brain changes as other addictions. So why are you still watching porn?

Stop today, and you'll thank this advice later. Go outside and touch the grass or something. Cheers.