 The hashtag #PornKillsLove continues to gain attention on social media platforms with the help of celebrities like Terry Crews(the muscle man from the Old Spice™ commercials). Mainstream media is starting to take notice of the sociological and neurological setbacks of pornography use.
Well, we can now add #PornKillsTheWill to the #PornKillsLove movement because porn may also scientifically kill our conscience. “Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed.”(CCC 1778) How does porn neurologically kill our conscience? One fancy word: Hypofrontality The area of our brain responsible for willpower is called the prefrontal cortex. It bears the responsibility of determining the future consequences of our actions, sorting our desires, and impulse control. The teenage brain has underdeveloped prefrontal lobes, which may explain why some teenagers are such irrational risk-takers absent of willpower. I can remember times during my teenage years when my decisions were regulated by an eroded willpower. (Ex. The time my teenage friends and I almost drowned swimming in a raging creek during a storm. We were risk takers.) Hypofrontality is a state in which there is a decrease in blood flow to the prefrontal lobes of the brain. Hypofrontality has been observed in schizophrenia patients and all manner of addictions. Scientific studies have confirmed that using porn over and over actually changes these areas of the brain, literally eroding our willpower and killing our conscience. How do we bring a dead conscience back to life? (The 90 day challenge to strengthen willpower) Well…unfortunately it looks like the “cold turkey” method is the most effective because willpower will be gained with each successful day the person becomes porn free. That is how we revive our conscience. I remember volunteering my time at a large outdoor camping reserve in New Mexico building new hiking trails. It was back-breaking work. After several hours of working I realized that building new hiking trails was a slow process. When I asked the leader about what he did with the old trails he said, "We block them off and let the forest grow over them". This is what happens to the recovering porn user's brain. Creating new neural pathways in our brain may be difficult, but it is the way to permanently rid ourselves of a pornography habit. As my hero, Matthew Kelly, says, "our lives change when our habits change." Permanently escaping the cycle of habitual porn use requires more than just not looking at porn. We need to form new positive habits and literally grow new brain by forming new neural pathways in our brain and block the old porn pathways off. Sure it can seem tedious to let the old porn pathways dwindle, but they weren't formed in a day so they won't deteriorate in a day. It takes time. In the meantime we should be focusing on building our new healthy habit pathways that are replacing the old unhealthy paths. Let's explore how this would look practically: Tom's old habit was to view porn on his phone while he used the restroom. He has since built a new healthy habit of reading an inspirational book while doing his "bathroom business" and leaving his phone out of the restroom. Bob's old habit was to use porn as soon as he got home from school. He has since built a new positive habit of sitting at the kitchen table to work on his homework when he gets home from school. Larry's old habit was to use porn when he was stressed. He has since built a new healthy habit of working out at the local gym when he feels stressed. Barb's old habit was to turn to pornography when she felt lonely. She has since built a new positive habit of hanging out with friends when she feels lonely. How long will it take to form these new habits and forget the old? Well it depends on how long the old habits have been formed. Some people can get very overwhelmed even thinking about escaping their porn habit. A number of experts like Dr. Mark Laaser recommend starting with a 90 day goal. (Of course the ultimate goal is permanently quitting porn use.) Laaser says it is “entirely about neurochemical detox.” “It’s resetting the brain in terms of sexual expectations. Generally, the 14th day is the wall. As you get past the 14th day, things will get easier.”[1] He says depending on how severe the habit has become, “your brain will go on a five-alarm fire in about seven to 14 days.” [2] Yes that might seem like a huge goal, but you can do it! The important thing is to focus on the present. Keep your eyes fixed on the goal and not the raging storm that may be going on as your porn neural pathways are starved out. You can rest assure that with each passing day you will be gaining willpower and reviving your conscience. Remember when Peter walked on water with Jesus in the 14th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Peter courageously walked on the water with Jesus, but he soon became distracted by the raging wind around him. As soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he sank. The same is true with our recovery from sexual sin. Many people begin to fail because they focus their attention on their failures and not their successes. If we take our eyes off Jesus we will sink. Don't you dare take your eyes off of Jesus! He alone can calm the storm so "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."[3] [1] www.covenanteyes.com/science-of-porn-addiction-ebook (pg. 33) [2] Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself, pg. 94 (Penguin Books, 2007). [3] RSV Bible Matthew 14:27 |