Unwiring & Rewiring Your Brain

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

This will be my last attempt with this and then I'm done. I don't like porn but I like the initial high I get when I tempt myself with it (too bad after that it sucks) which at this point is better than anything I'm experiencing now.

This short quote encompasses all three major neuroplastic alterations found in addictions: hypofrontality, sensitization and desensitization.

• “I don’t like porn” and "too bad after that it sucks" reflect hypofrontality. His more rational brain wants to recover from porn-induced ED and expects to feel like crap after a porn binge, but is that enough to overcome powerful cravings. With hypofrontality, frontal cortex gray matter and functioning decrease, reducing impulse control. In the tug-of-war between long-term goals and short-term relief, the urge to watch porn usually wins this battle.
• "I like the initial high" and "better than anything I'm experiencing now" reflect sensitization. The formation and strengthening of pathways associated with porn use are now the easiest and most reliable way to activate the reward circuit.
• The which at this point is better than anything I'm experiencing now."better than anything" is also due to a desensitized brain pathway. Desensitization explains why other natural rewards, like socializing, are *not* traveling along a sensitized pathway (like porn use is). In other words, your reward circuit is numbed to all pleasures due to low dopamine.

So why does porn still register as so exciting? Even though you have low dopamine which inhibits pleasure generally, you now have sensitized (porn) pathways, which activate the reward circuit through a non-dopamine mechanism (key nerve cells sprout extra receptors, among other changes)

Rewiring and unwiring refers to neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. Neuroplasticity is the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences. Neuroplasticity does not consist of a single type of brain change, but rather includes several different processes that occur throughout an individual’s lifetime.  Brian plasticity occurs on multiple levels and includes:

• Increase or decrease in myelin sheath (white matter): Covers nerve fibers to increase the speed of nerve impulses.
• Increase or decrease in number of dendrites (gray matter): These branch-like fibers are where nerve cells communicate.
• Increase or decrease in the number of synapses: Helps to determine strength of pathways and information flow.
• Increase or decrease in the strength of a synapse: Same as above

The above mechanisms are at work during brain development, learning, memory formation, and when someone develops an addiction. Neuroplasticity works in two directions: it can weaken or delete old connections as well as strengthen or create new connections. In a simplifiued model the three major brain changes associted with addiction

1. Desnesitization: Weakening of circuits related to natural rewards (e.g. food, sex, etc.)
2. Sensitization: Strengthening of circuits related to the addiction 
3. Hypofrontality: Weakening of the impulse control circuits.

 What makes addiction recovery so tough is that both sensitization and desensitization increase once you stop using.

The brain rewires by strengthening or weakening connections between nerve cells, called pathways. With porn addiction, you form circuits or pathways with powerful memories related to porn use. These sensitized pathways are easily activated and, especially at first, they release more dopamine than other natural rewards (flirting, socializing). Intense cravings initiated by cues are a sign of sensitization. Eliminating porn use leads to an eventual weakening of sensitized pathways and cravings. The other half of the rewiring process involves strengthening your executive control, which resides in your frontal cortex (behind your forehead). Assessing risk, making long-range plans, and controlling impulses, are under the control of the frontal cortex. The term hypofrontality is often used when describing how addictions weaken and inhibit these self-control circuits. It takes time, and consistency, to return these circuits to full working order

Said one guy:

I am finding that fantasy, for me, is the final thread that must be cut to truly detach myself from the grip of porn. Unfortunately it seems to be the strongest of all threads. Giving up porn was like throwing my poor brain off of the boat into a life boat. Giving up Masturbation was like throwing him into the water with a floaty. It feels like when I let go of the fantasies, my brain is going "Hey, WHAT THE HELL MAN!" as I withdraw the floaty. And then it's into the deep! This is what I experienced between days 16 to today (21): flatline.

It has been so tempting to relapse into fantasy because, I have this feeling that the only way I can attain a spontaneous erection (which is the only kind I am allowing myself to have for now) is to dwell on sexual fantasy. The brain craves it more and more as you try to stop. The good news is (bad news for the impatient) is that as you let go of fantasy and begin to allow reality to take its place, your mind begins to become less sensitive to the fantasies. Unfortunately, I am finding that it loses sensitivity to the fantasies before it begins to embrace reality resulting in a temporary period of time where it seems that nothing is stimulating (flatline).

If you want to stop using porn compulsively, try this technique, which is described in Doidge's The Brain That Changes Itself. Allthough Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz developed the technique for OCD patients, he has used it successfully with all kinds of compulsions. (OCD is closely related to the reward circuitry and its dysregulation.)

Some of the process is time-dependent. Said one guy after about six weeks of no PMO:

Something I've realised today is that earlier on in my reboot when a sexually related image shot into my head I found it hard to dismiss and get rid of, almost as if the part of my brain sending me the image was very strong. Now when an image shoots into my head I find it a lot easier to dismiss, and it doesn't linger around for long. It feels like the part of my brain sending these images is being weakened.

The emphasis is on what you do, regardless of how you are feeling. In other words, no matter how much resistance you feel, if you don't fall back into your old habit, you begin to rewire your brain.

Your effort speeds the process. One guy said:

You actually have to consciously take part in the rewiring. I thought I could just wait for the recovery to be done so I could do everything at 100%, but it's a good idea to help speed up the process forcefully by taking part in new productive habits even if your primal brain is not satisfied right away.

Porn addiction is a learned behavior, so your challenge is to unlearn porn use as an automatic response to stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness and so forth. When the urge to look strikes, stall for time. Tell yourself that you won't look for at least 15 minutes, and immediately distract yourself by turning your attention to a pre-selected alternative activity. Examples: a breathing exercise, a favorite exercise routine, meditation, making your favorite healthy snack, putting on some music you like, recording your thoughts in a journal, taking a cold shower or rinsing your genitals in cold water in the sink, or whatever. It doesn't matter, as long as it's something you can do immediately, and automatically, instead of looking at porn. Be prepared to repeat it as often as necessary.

If, for some reason, you can't do the alternative activity, imagine yourself doing it, step by step with full attention. See "The Power of Visualization" below.

At first turning to the alternative activity will require a mighty exercise of will. However, when you consciously direct your attention to something, it grows easier to turn your attention to it again in the future. You are actually rewiring your brain. Each time you turn your attention away from your cravings, toward your chosen activity, you strengthen the new pathway in your brain, and weaken the automatic response.

One thing I have noticed is that as time goes on, the flashbacks are from earlier and earlier porn experiences. Many that I had completely forgotten. It's like peeling back the layers.

NOTE: a former porn user will remain hyper-sensitive to any cues his brain associated with porn, for a very long time, and possibly indefinitely. This means that even a casual peek can activate your brain's old response and increase inner conflict. Stay away from porn. Resist the urge to test yourself by "just looking" to gauge how you're doing.

There are techniques for turning your thoughts away from porn below, and below "I relapsed. What now?"

I did not just decide I was going to masturbate out of thin air, as though I'd missed it so much and just had to treat myself to it. Instead, I really felt this strong pull to do so, like a lot of sexual energy was coursing through me and needed an escape. The slightest touches to my genitals and even the rubbing of the sheets against it at night caused me to become very horny, and as a couple days went by, it sounded more and more like a good idea. This is in huge contrast to feeling the urge to masturbate when addicted to porn. Your penis could be deader than a doornail, but the mere thought of all those beautiful women doing those nasty things and how it would instantly make you aroused was the true draw, and it's easy to mistake that for sexual energy. I now know the difference

To learn more about neuroplasticity see:

• Brain Plasticity: What Is It? by Neuroscience for Kids
• Norman Doidge, MD on Pornography and Neuroplasticity from the best selling book "The Brain That Changes Itself"
• Research review by the head of NIDA, Nora Volkow, covering sensitization, desensitization and hypofrontality