This is an addiction test.

If you say "yes"

to three or more of these questions,

then you have an addiction,

at least according to the American Psychiatric Association.

I want to admit that

this is slightly abridged.

I had to take some things out

and the reality is,

it's used for substance abuse,

not for porn addiction.

If you say "yes" to two or less,

then you can just stop the video

and click on to your favorite site.

Let's go over each one.

Tolerance,

that's a strange word, but

it means,

"Has your use increased or escalated over time?"

In other words,

do you watch it for more hours?

Or,

have you escalated to more shocking

or more extreme porn?

Withdrawal.

It's not necessary

to have a withdrawal symptoms

if you have an addiction

but most users on our forum

do experience some symptoms when they quit.

It varies a lot,

could be anxiety,

irritability,

fatigue, depression.

Those are the most common.

But some also experience physical symptoms

like cold and flu symptoms,

headaches,

the inability to sleep and others.

Number three,

difficulty controlling your use.

So,

do you use for a longer time

than you'd like to?

I think that's pretty clear,

self-explanatory.

Number four,

do you understand the negative consequences

it does to your mood,

to your health?

Porn use has been associated

with anxiety disorder

and sexual dysfunction.

Number five,

neglecting or postponing activities.

It means,

are you doing porn instead of life?

Number six,

the desire to cut down.

Now,

most addicts say they can quit any time

but they don't.

If you've had unsuccessful attempts to cut down,

that would be a "yes" to that question.

And last one,

number seven,

spending significant time or emotional energy

obtaining, using,

concealing, planning

or recovering from use.

Have you ever concealed your porn use?

I think everyone can say yes to that.

Here's an explanation

on behavioral addictions.

It's common knowledge

that dopamine-raising substances

like alcohol,

cocaine or meth

can cause brain changes that lead to addiction,

but what about so-called behavioral addictions?

Those are such things as food,

gambling, sex,

video games, shopping -

do they cause brain changes

that lead to addiction?

Well, of course they do.

That's why they are addictions.

Recent research on gambling,

and especially food,

has shown brain changes

that mimic drug addiction.

Internet porn?

No one wants to study it.

Also, there hasn't been time for many study,

because it's a very recent phenomenon.

Now, you tell me,

which is more stimulating?

Eating cheesecake

or masturbating to porn.

It's known that sex,

masturbation,

orgasm raised dopamine levels

far higher than eating food.

Which can you spend more time doing in a day:

eating or edging to porn?

Let's talk about natural reinforcers.

Natural reinforcer is a fancy word

for a non-drug activity

that causes dopamine release.

That includes food, sex,

gambling, video games.

Now, if you look at the data,

about only fifteen percent or less of drug users,

this includes animals too,

ever become addicted.

Obviously genes are in play,

as are childhood experiences.

If you look at natural reinforcers,

and of course food

is a powerful one,

we have a much higher percentage of people

who can become addicted.

Though it takes a lot longer than it would

with addictive drugs.

Now, if you think about it,

few people want to be fat.

Yet in modern western cultures,

most people are.

Now,

rats, on the other hand,

don't care if they're fat.

When they eat western food,

almost all of them overconsume

and become obese, not just fat.

This suggests two things

when it comes to natural reinforcers:

our reward circuitry evolved.

It evolved to drive us toward food and sex,

and not drugs.

That's why so many people

can potentially get addicted

to food and internet porn.

And the other thing is that

highly stimulating versions of food and sex

can hook us

even when we're not genetically susceptible

to substance addictions.

Here's the question.

When can natural reinforcers become addictive?

Number one,

when they are a highly stimulating version

of what our ancestors found really irresistible.

Number two,

when something is available

in limitless supply.

Number three,

it comes in lots of varieties,

which is the novelty factor.

Number four,

we binge on it without realizing

it's triggering brain changes.

Now,

I think modern food and internet porn

fall into all four categories.

Both can override

our brain's natural satiation mechanisms,

the 'I'm done` feeling,

and that's because

calories and fertilization opportunities

really are our genes' top priorities,

our limbic system's top priority.