ED induced through use of porn

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Soldato
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Why're you jacking it to porn when you have a gf anyway? Does not compute, dude.

This was prior to having a GF, I had a few short term relationships but still had a bad addiction. When I stopped porn and fapping my relationships lasted a lot more longer and was way more intimate. Since I started doing this I perceive women is very differently compared to how I did in the past. But yes nights apart and other various factors did contribute to me fapping when I couldn't see my GF.
 
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF82AwSDiU

Worth the watch. :)
TED Talk on the subject.

Just watched this. It's utterly fascinating to be honest, if slightly worrying that it isn't more widely educated that pornography is causing these issues. Apparently most doctors don't recognize the symptoms and instead diagnose depression or other psychological issues, I'm glad my doctor was clued up.
 
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I suffer from this.

When i was a teenager i fapped like any other teenager and my erections and arousal triggers were pretty normal for someone of that age. I lost my virginity at 16 and had one more encounter when i was 19 and then didn't have sex for another 5 years after that as i never had confidence to engage with women and i wanted to wait for the right one(big mistake as i shall explain later!).

Within those five years i discovered the internet and the wealth of porn available and i would watch it on a daily basis, increasing in its weirdness over the years beacuse it started not to do much to me in the way of arousal. It got to the point that by the time i was about 22 my erections were half as hard and much harder to get. It was quite worrying to be honest but it didnt affect me until i met my ex when i was 24.

We got together and when it came to the standing and banging i just couldnt get an erection at all, i even went so far as trying a penis pump and viagra to try and get it to work but it was awful. My ex as i later found out was a complete fruitcake and didn't help matters at all. She would have a go at me because of it and even used to say " my other boyfriends never had this problem when ****ing me".... :/ As you can imagine she just compounded the problem and sex was quite a rare thing. It did improve over time but it was never great.

In the end we broke up as she was quite abusive towards me and i ended up meeting someone else, my current fiancee and within a month or so of being with her, my problem was so much better because she never put me down or made a deal of it. My porn habits are much improved, i'll only watch it once a week or two weeks when shes not here and it's helped a lot. I'm still not anywhere near where i was 10 years ago as my erections aren't super hard and i can't keep going for too long (another symptom watching porn just to get rid of it quick so to speak) but my sex life is much more normal than it was.

I'd advise people not to watch it too much as it really does change your perceptions of sexual normality and arousal but with the sheer amount of porn around it's not easy.

Also make sure you dont get with a fruitcake that degrades you because of it! I dont mind talking about it as it's common and i don't really care who knows if it helps other people!
 
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Just watched this. It's utterly fascinating to be honest, if slightly worrying that it isn't more widely educated that pornography is causing these issues. Apparently most doctors don't recognize the symptoms and instead diagnose depression or other psychological issues, I'm glad my doctor was clued up.

Its probably because its not proven...and for most people it isn't the case. It seems that the kind of guys affected by this are, forgive me, antisocial loner types who don't get much sex and have to sort themselves out frequently..In your case you said you chose not to be involved with women in a sexual context for a year.

Its also interesting that in your case, it also affected your basic physiological functions such as morning erection. That doesn't really mesh with the idea that this is a psychological issue imo. Ditto on the libido drop. If your libido dropped, surely you wouldn't be sorting yourself out on the regular either.

All seems very odd to be honest. Have you had a second opinion? Or did you accept this right away?
 
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Interesting thread, thanks for bringing up the subject.

Rather enjoyed the TED presentation. My use of pornography has been quite heavy since my early teens and some of the points ring true.

It is slightly harder now than it was a year or two ago to climax, despite having been in a relationship for a few years with a girl who fits my attraction to a crazy degree, more so than anyone else. By harder I mean, it takes longer - which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. I've never had a problem getting it up, though. It's probably because we don't yet live together, I'm still more inclined to use porn for a quick pleasure fix.

I'm not into 'extreme' or unusual stuff, it makes me feel sickened more than anything so it just goes to show the effects normal stuff can have on you.

The 'nofap' experiment might be a shout, would be interesting to try out just to see if any effects occur.
 
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Soldato
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Its also interesting that in your case, it also affected your basic physiological functions such as morning erection. That doesn't really mesh with the idea that this is a psychological issue imo. Ditto on the libido drop. If your libido dropped, surely you wouldn't be sorting yourself out on the regular either.

If you watch that TED lecture video it will answer both of those questions. Your brain becomes 'used to' the excessive dopamine influx that frequent porn use creates, thus making it harder to become aroused. Cutting that influx off caused my sex drive to nose-dive as the receptors in my brain weren't getting that quick-fix hit anymore. One quick google for 'ED pornography' has hundreds of anecdotal experiences that line up pretty much exactly as the TED lecture outlines and with my own experiences, thus for me making it a pretty strong case and not feeling the need for a second opinion. It's not a psychological issue in the same sense an addiction to drugs isn't psychological; there is a physical reaction in your body occurring.

The reason for my post is because, two weeks in, I'm already feeling the benefits. Unless it's a placebo effect (which I will admit, it could be, but so many people have experienced the same I'm willing to believe its true) it really is working.

You are right though, abstaining from sex for a year whilst continuing to watch porn is pretty much the sole cause of the issue. I must stress though, I do not regard myself as an anti-social loner type; the whole reason for abstaining was to enhance my social life, forgoing the constant need to be 'on the pull' in favor of spending quality time with friends and family. In the past year I have done far more interesting and exciting things than I did in my whole 8 year relationship prior to being single, it's just a shame I didn't know pornography was a ticking time bomb for me!
 
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Soldato
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If you watch that TED lecture video it will answer both of those questions. Your brain becomes 'used to' the excessive dopamine influx that frequent porn use creates, thus making it harder to become aroused. Cutting that influx off caused my sex drive to nose-dive. One quick google for 'ED pornography' has hundreds of anecdotal experiences that line up pretty much exactly as the TED lecture outlines and my own experiences, thus for me making it a pretty strong case and not feeling the need for a second opinion.

The reason for my post is because, two weeks in, I'm already feeling the benefits. Unless it's a placebo effect (which I will admit, it could be, but so many people have experienced the same I'm willing to believe its true) it really is working.

Google for ED anxiety and you will get a billion more results. Its fine if you want to believe in this and if it works for you thats great, but id be careful to list it as gospel for all.

So did you just stop watching porn or did you stop jerking off completely?
 
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Google for ED anxiety and you will get a billion more results. Its fine if you want to believe in this and if it works for you thats great, but id be careful to list it as gospel for all.

So did you just stop watching porn or did you stop jerking off completely?

Oh certainly, but I can't help but wonder how many of those are people suffering from the same thing as me, but don't realize? Again referring to that TED lecture; he states a case study where they were unable to find a sufficient control group of college students that didn't watch pornography. I'm not listing it as gospel for all in the slightest, but i do think it was worth stating as even if it helps one person on this forum, its worth it. As i said in my closing statement, they could have an issue, not do.

I've stopped watching porn, I have a urge to resume watching as i know it will likely instantly switch my libido 'back on'. I've stopped masturbating and have had no urge to do so for two weeks; the drive just isn't there without the pornography, but I have felt it returning in the past two days.
 
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Soldato
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Oh certainly, but I can't help but wonder how many of those are people suffering from the same thing as me, but don't realize?


I've stopped watching porn, I have a urge to resume watching as i know it will likely instantly switch my libido 'back on'. I've stopped masturbating and have had no urge to do so for two weeks; the drive just isn't there without the pornography, but I have felt it returning in the past two days.

Or that you were suffering from the same thing as them but internet doctored yourself into believing something else ;)

Wait....so you haven't actually done this yet? This hasn't actually worked for you yet? The way you posted this made it sound like you had actually done this and it had worked for you. What stage in your effects list are you actually at?
 
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Or that you were suffering from the same thing as them but internet doctored yourself into believing something else ;)

Wait....so you haven't actually done this yet? This hasn't actually worked for you yet? The way you posted this made it sound like you had actually done this and it had worked for you. What stage in your effects list are you actually at?

Internet doctored? I saw a trained GP who stated this was likely the issue, which turned me to researching it online through a desire to educate myself on the issue. But hell, if convincing myself that it's something else works, i'll take it.

I felt I was perfectly transparent in my opening post:

Up to 8 weeks - full recovery.
Symptoms - Return of sex drive, much greater ease of arousal than before quitting.
I guess this depends on the level of your porn use and the extent of the duration, but many seem to state that 8 weeks porn free will see you back to having the sex drive of a horny teenager. I'm only two weeks in and have got past the 'complete shut down' and feel my return to form approaching.

No, i'm not 'better' yet. But i'm feeling a hell of a lot better than I did two weeks ago.
 
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