Table of Contents
Key Takeaway
Are porn addiction and intelligence related to each other in any way? In the past there were many reports that watching porn will shrink your brain, but is it true? As a matter of fact, it is. Many scientists link porn to less grey matter in the brain. Let us find out more!
Introduction
The common thread that connects all addictions is intelligence. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s true. When we look at addictions in isolation, it can be difficult to grasp just how much they have in common.
However, if we take a closer look and examine the underlying causes of each addiction, a clear pattern begins to emerge. There is an unspoken assumption running through all addictions: intelligent people are more likely to become addicted than less intelligent ones.
After all, what other group of people would willingly put themselves through such torment?
But why? Intelligence plays a significant role in addictions because intelligence has an effect on our emotions. Our emotions are the driving force behind so many of our actions and reactions.
They are how we respond to new experiences, how we deal with stress, and how we process information about ourselves and the world around us.
It’s no wonder then that our level of intelligence has such a pronounced influence on our emotional responses and therefore on whether or not we are susceptible to addiction as well as the type of addictions that are most likely to occur to us.
What Happens to Mind Due to Addiction?
Let’s return to the concept of intelligence and emotions. Highly intelligent addicts are more likely to have a response to life that is intelligent, but they are also more likely to have a negative emotional response to life. This means that they experience a greater amount of stress than less intelligent individuals.
This high level of stress has a direct effect on the addict’s brain function. A high level of stress causes the body to produce cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is produced to help us deal with short-term stress. It helps us to be more focused, alert, and less emotional.
Because highly intelligent person is prone to high levels of stress, their opioid chemical production is also more likely to be dampened. This means that they are more likely to experience feelings of anxiety and depression.
This is why highly intelligent people are more likely to experience these issues due to their addiction. They are also more likely to have a tendency toward perfectionism, as would be expected. However, it’s important to remember that all of these issues are simply a result of being highly intelligent. They are not caused by it.
At the same time, it also produces opioid chemicals in the brain that have a long-term calming effect. The high level of cortisol in the highly intelligent person’s brain has a direct effect on the opioid chemicals; it dampens them.
This means that even when the highly intelligent individual is in a state of calm, their brain is producing less of a chemical that is meant to help maintain calm.
Psychological Problems Caused due to Porn Addiction
Many addicts have claimed that porn addiction caused them:
- Cognitive problems such as forgetting responsibilities
- Problems with working memory
- Increased impulsivity
- Decreased cognitive flexibility
- Decreased ability to multi-task
- Difficulties with sustaining attention
- Slower learning
- Difficulties making decisions
- Decreased emotional regulation
Let us take a look at a few specific aspects of how porn can affect your cerebral functions:
Porn Addiction Consequences
Well, addiction always leaves behind a horde of consequences; so let’s explore the ramifications that come along with porn addiction:
Affect your memory
A study published in the Journal of Sex Research in October last year evaluated the working memory of 28 healthy people. They were in pursuit of neutral, negative, positive, or erotic stimulation.
Matthias Brand was the Head of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
He concluded that: “The results show that working memory is poor in the context of pornographic images.”
Can affect your IQ
In a study published in the “Journal of Sex Research”, it was found that compared with watching non-violent adult films, men with lower IQs are more likely to be sexually suggestive to women after watching movies about sexual assault.
Higher IQ men did not differ in suggestiveness as a function of sexual film condition.
In Study 2, compared with watching non-violent adult movies, men with lower IQs are physically closer to women after watching violent sex movies; men with higher IQs change less relatively.
Can cause grey matter reduction in your brain
Simone Kühn’s research on the relationship between brain structure and function relates to pornography consumption: The Brain in Pornography (2014). The findings are: that more hours/years of pornography per week relates to a decline in grey matter in sections of the reward circuitry.
This may mean that frequent use of pornography will put more pressure on your reward system.
Can affect your brain’s reward system
Under the same research, Simone Kühn continued-
The study assumed that subjects with high pornography consumption need more stimulation to get the same reward.
When someone is encouraged or motivated, the area that plays a role in the brain shrinks. Hence, it becomes more resistant to people who watch a lot of pornography.
Therefore, the more times they watch pornographic content, the more vivid the reproduction of the same pornographic content is needed to stimulate the brain.
In other words, you have developed a kind of tolerance. They found that the more participants reported using pornography, the smaller the size of the striatum, which is an area of the brain related to reward processing and motivational behavior.
In conclusion, porn addiction, and intelligence correlate negatively. In the long term, they can severely affect the health of your brain.
Conclusion: Addiction is a disease, Not a choice.
If we accept the fact that intelligent people are more likely to become addicted than less intelligent ones, it becomes clear that the only way out is to increase our emotional intelligence. This means that we have to learn how to process information in order to better understand ourselves and the world around us. We have to learn to deal with our emotions to better understand them and gain control over them.
If we accept that highly intelligent people are more likely to become addicted than less intelligent ones, it becomes clear that the only way out is to increase our emotional intelligence. This means that we have to learn how to process information in order to better understand ourselves and the world around us. We have to learn to deal with our emotions to better understand them and gain control over them.
