Category Archives: addiction

Teen-sexuality

Teens Sexual Disturbance in Digital Age.

February 2, 2016

Teens, Digital Devices, and Sexual Problems

We are in a whole new era; the digital age. The implications of this are both positive and negative depending on what perception one views it on. On teenagers or adolescents, the digital age has caused quite a disturbance on their sexuality.

Access to information has been eased as a result of this new era. Anyone anywhere is now capable of searching, accessing, retrieving and transferring information from practically any location within the globe and teenagers are no exception. The digital age has provided the teens with that platform to access information through personally owned gadgets such as; laptops, iPhones, smartphones, etc. However, it is a common understanding that the information the teenagers seek over the digital platform more so the internet is sexually aligned.

This has led to what can be termed as sexual disturbance or unhealthy sexual behaviors by the teenagers. Before getting to these sexual problems experienced by the teenagers, let us first of all look at the activities the teenagers get involved in as a result of the exposure to the digital platform. Teenagers, as a result of being exposed to the digital platform, has the tendency to watch sexualized videos that are readily available on the internet. Some of them go as far as joining these video chat rooms where they get exposed to nude pictures and videos.

There is also the aspect of sexual exploration. From the experience they get from the chat rooms or networks, teenagers get to explore more about sex, and being teenagers, there is no trusting them that they will be responsible in their exploration. This kind of exploration will usually lead them to pornographic contents on the internet from where they acquire such contents and use them from their gadgets.

teen sexuality and digital age

Social media groups such as those formed on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram among others are some places teenagers get to find or access sexual contents. As a result of being a digital savvy generation, teenagers join such groups in large numbers and end up getting exposed. A part from the social media, there are the smartphone applications such as the “hook-up” apps that these teenagers can easily access due to the digital platform.

The fact that teenagers have gadgets such as smartphones readily available to them has made it possible for them to get engaged in sexting. They therefore get to exchange sex messages with lots of sexual contents.

Effects of Digital Age on Teen Sexuality.

This large exposure of sexual contents to the teenagers has some profound effects on them. Their general development as proper persons with morals and integrity is greatly curtailed.

Teenagers who use or access pornographic contents over the internet,  encounter problems when it comes to interacting with other on a face to face interaction. That is to say that they suffer from social isolation and loneliness. They get captivated by their smartphones or laptops to the extent that they lose that aspect of socializing with others because they tend to have no time for such activities.

There is also the aspect of forming relationships. Teenagers who to get sexual information from the internet tend to encounter serious problems in having relationships with others that actually work. Normally such teenagers will get ideas from the internet gathered across such media as chat rooms and networks and want to apply them in their relationships. For example, they would want to apply what they watch on pornographic contents in their sexual activities with their partners. This kind of adventure normally fails due to lack of satisfaction from the high expectations raised by porn.

effects of digital age on teens sexuality

Sexual addiction is also one problem a teenager is likely to suffer from as a result of exposure as use of digital gadgets. Exposure and accessibility to porn will make a teenager get some sexual inclination which if not controlled lead to sex addiction. He/she will want to put to practice what the watch hence leading to a teenager having too much sex. Again there is the possibility of potential multiple sex partners which is also enhanced by the fact that a teenager can now easily communicate with many partners they meet on social media.

Loss of self-esteem and focus in life among teenagers is also a problem that ca be attributed to the digital age or era. Any teen who gets indulged with watching porn or sexualized video chats will general become reserved and distanced to the outside world. Too much exposure to porn leads to some self-indulgence activities as masturbation which make teenagers loss self-esteem and focus in general.

Teens, Digital Devices, and Sexual Problems

 

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female sex addiction2

Female Sex Addiction and Drug Abuse

February 2, 2016

The Challenges of Female Sex Addiction and Drug Abuse

There is not much known about Female Sex Addiction and Drug Abuse.  Very few numbers are available, and there are few places that treat women who present with both conditions.  It is estimated that between 6% and 10% of Americans of both genders suffer from sex addiction and that between 10% and 20% of those are women.  The DSM-5 does not at this point recognize that sex addiction is an addiction.  However, there are several studies which confirm that the brains of sex addicts react in the same way as do the brains of drug addicts.  This means that drug addicts and sex addicts suffer from much the same dysfunction in their brains. So women usually with female sex addiction are usually treated as though they have both female sex addiction and drug abuse.

 There has been work done on a diagnosis which has resulted in a screening test to distinguish between the normally sexually active person and the sex addict.  The main point of the screening is that if a woman’s sexual activity has ever caused pain to yourself, put you in danger, or resulted in financial or social consequences, then you probably have female sex addiction. A counselor will have further tests which can distinguish between the different types of sexual addiction and can then prescribe appropriate treatment.

 female sex addiction2

This treatment can be complicated if the woman has both female sex addiction and drug abuse.  The drug of choice is also important, but the primary problem is that both the addictions need to be treated at the same time.  Otherwise the female sex addiction and drug abuse will reinforce each other. This means that the woman involved will have difficulty overcoming both the female sex addiction and drug abuse together, but will have even worse problems if the two problems are treated separately.

 

Approximately 80% of the time, the reason the two dependencies occur together is that the woman has at some point in her life experienced some form of abuse. The good part of having abuse in your past is that you survived it. The bad part is that abuse leaves a woman feeling unlovable, which is a recipe for severe depression.  The abuse was often traumatic enough that she also has PTSD. These two conditions can cause enough pain that the woman will seek to self-medicate, and may also try to make herself feel lovable and loved through a series of sexual relationships. This means that this woman who through no fault of her own was abused by others now has more problems than just the depression or the PTSD.  Since she has been self-medicating, she is now dependent on a drug like alcohol or some type of pill, and she is also a sex addict.

 Female sex addiction

This woman, and many like her, need special treatment in the center.  They need to be encouraged to look at themselves, not as objects to be used but as people with the right to have friendships and sexual relationships. They need to be encouraged to give up the drugs they have been using and to seek out and maintain healthy relationships. This is a very difficult task that these women have, and many who are initially successful in giving up the drugs will be tempted to use their female sex addiction to cover up or lessen the amount of pain they feel. This will be especially true in the beginning of their therapy, when they are still coping with the depression and the PTSD.

 

If they are treated for the depression and the PTSD and not for the female sex addiction and drug abuse the feelings about the female sex addiction and drug abuse may undermine any progress they make overcoming their depression and PTSD.  It is therefore imperative that they are  in the safest place they can find before doing any of this work and they need to be treated for all their problems at the same time.

 

The best places for a woman with female sex addiction and drug abuse to go to are those places that use a combination of approaches to treat those who want it. This woman needs a multi-pronged approach to deal with the drug abuse, the low feelings of self-esteem, the loneliness and the high anxiety levels at the same time.  Unfortunately, most therapists did not have the training necessary to recognize female sex addiction and drug abuse—let alone do anything productive about it.

 

This is about to change. The research that is being conducted at psychiatric hospitals and clinics has identified that female sex addiction and drug abuse is a verifiable condition that is causing pain to many people and they are now working on the best medications to treat female sex addiction and drug abuse.  That means that where these women had no hope, now they will be able to get the help they need to live normally.

The Challenges of Female Sex Addiction and Drug Abuse

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Zoloft_bottles

MEDICATION TREATMENT FOR SEX ADDICTION

February 1, 2016
  1. SSRI
  • An SSRI (Seroetoninergic) A seroetoninergic medication is any medication that modifies the effects of serotonin in the body. Serotonin is a chemical produced by certain brain cells which acts as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters facilitate communication between the axons of brain cells. As such, serotonin is one of the regulators of mood, appetite, and sleep. Another primary effect of serotonin is to regulate the intestinal tract movements. Serotonin uptake in this area of the body increases gastrointestinal motility among other things. Serotonin’s cognitive functions include memory and learning.  Modulation of serotonin at brain synapses is thought to be the function of a class of antidepressants which are called SSRIs, The list of SSRIs is:
    • Prozac-one of the first antidepressants on the market, the activity of prozac was first observed in 1975 by scientists at the Eli Whitney Co. The USA granted the Eli Whitney Co a patent on Prozac in 1985, which expired in 2001. Generic versions are now availble. Prozac is used for the treatment of :
      • major depressive disorder
      • obsessive compulsive disorder
      • bulemia nervosa
      • panic disorder
      • menstrual dysphoric disorder
      • trichotillomania after cognitive therapy has failed

Zoloft_bottles

  • Paxil
    • Paxil has been on the market since 1992. It is marketed by the company SmithKleine Beecham, which changed its name in 2001 to GlaxoSmithKleine.  Generic versions of Paxil have been available since 2003 when it’s USA patent expired. Paxil is used for the following conditions:
      • Depression
      • Panic Disorder
      • Social Anxiety Disorder
      • Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
      • Menopausal Hot Flashes
      • Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
    • Zoloft
      • Zoloft has been available since 1991, when Pfizer introduced it. It is a very popular drug, having been prescribed over 41 million times in 2013.  This makes it the most popular antidepressant in the US and the second most prescribed psychiatric medication on the US retail market.  It is used for:
        • Major depressive disorder in adult outpatients
        • obsessive-compulsive disorder
        • panic disorder
        • social anxiety disorder
        • These last 3 disorders are considered appropriate for both children and adults to receive Zoloft..
          • Celexa
          • Celexa has been available since 1998. There are no generic equivalents to Celexa at this time. Celexa was first synthesized i1972 by the scientists at Lundbeck Pharmaceutical company and was first marketed in Denmark in 1989.  It was first marketed in the US in 1998. The patent expired in 2003, but no generic versions were found.  Celexa is approved for the following uses:
            • Major depression
            • Panic disorder

It also has the following off-label uses:

  • anxiety
  • panic disorder
  • dysthemia
  • premenstrual dysphoric disorder
  • body dysmorphic disorder
  • obsessive-compulsive disorder
    • It has been found to reduce the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy
  • Luvox
  • This drug was first synthesized in 1983, and introduced to the market in Switzerland and West Germany that year. It was approved by the FDA in 1994, and is available in India. One of the oldest SSRI, it was the first to be approved for obsessive-compulsive disease in children.
    • In the US, its only FDA approved use is as a treatment for OCD in both children and adults. However, in other countries it is also used for:
      • Major Medical Depression
      • panic disorders
      • social anxiety disorder
      • PTSD
      • obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders
      • some evidence suggests it may be a useful adjunct to schizophrenia, helping to improve the negative depressive and cognitive symptoms of the disorder.
    • Lexapro
    • Lexapro was developed in a close cooperative effort by Lundbeck and Forrest Laboratories. This development took place in 1997, and the application to the FDA was submitted in 2001. It was approved by the FDA for use in major medical depression in 2002 and for generalized anxiety disorder in 2003.  In 2006 Forrest Laboratories was granted an 828 day extension on its patent.  That extension expired in 2011.  So far, no generics have been formulated.
      • This drug is used for the following diagnosis:
        • Major medical depression—US
        • Generalized Anxiety Disorder—US
        • Other countries
          • Major Depressive Disorder
          • Generalized anxiety disorder
          • Social Anxiety Disorder
          • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
          • panic disorder with or without agoraphobia
        • Naltrexone
        • Naltrexone is a drug used either as a daily oral medication or as an injectible “depot drug” on a monthly basis, or as a newly developed implant which must be renewed every several months. The advantage of the depot drug and the implant are that the patient is not required to see the doctor as often as they would if they were on the naltrexone pill. There is also an increased compliance rate as the patient only sees the doctor once per month or once every several months. Since this drug (as all psychopharmacuticals) has better results when the drug levels in the blood are steady, the implant gives the best results followed by the drug depot and then the pill.
        • Naltrexone is used for the prevention of alcohol consumption and the prevention of opiate relapse after detox.
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Porn-addiction

Brain Chemicals in Porn Addiction

February 1, 2016

How Brain Chemicals Play A Role In Porn Addiction

Porn Addiction: The human brain is made up of some neurochemicals or neurotransmitters that assist the human body in communication and coordination in the day to day activities. The brain, therefore, is an important organ in the human body, without which, humans would not be able to perform any tasks.

Each and every one of the neurochemicals or neurotransmitters that compound the brain has a task to perform in the coordination of the daily chores. This depends on some factors such as; the task at hand, the place, the mood around the place on which the task is being performed. It is no wonder, therefore, that researchers have determined that even in porn addictions, there are neurochemicals involved. Mostly they are chemicals that are usually released in the brain during the act of any sexual intercourse, though, they still get released the same way since porn produces the same effects of having sexual intercourse up to a certain point. Beyond this limit, the chemicals produce entirely different effects leading to the addiction part.

Porn addiction

Under normal sexual intercourse practice, the brain chemicals that would get involved in the act do include; dopamine, norepinephrine, oxytocin and vasopressin, endorphins and serotonin. Each and every chemical above is secreted during sexual intercourse as they aid in the whole process through coordination of the bodies and emotional feelings of the couple making love or having sex for that matter. However, in the case of a porn addict, these chemicals are produced yes, but instead of bonding with a real human being, the get to commit to pornographic materials.

The first neurochemical produced when on watches porn or has sexual feeling, or even sexual desire is called dopamine. When somebody experiences any slight sexual feeling, which incidentally, is also caused by watching porn, the brain responds by releasing dopamine. This is released on the part of the brain called ventral striatum. This is the part of the brain that is wired wired as the reward system the reward system of the brain that acts as the pathway to experiencing pleasure. So when one consistently watches porn, dopamine surge within the brain also increases. This causes a lot of pleasure anticipation for the porn victim that they would not be able to stop themselves. Any slight change in moods triggers the urge to feel better. Hence, the person thinks of how good the porn makes them feel. This leads the brain to respond by communicating the feeling through the body making them find the porn again in an attempt to feel better.

Continued porn watching triggers increased dopamine surge within the body. This will continue up to a point where the brain stops the production of the dopamine. This end in dopamine production causes the return of that feeling, which in turn drives the victim to seek the pleasure that comes with watching porn by watching more porn. The more they continue watching, the more they crave for more porn to satisfy their urge. This is what causes the porn addiction.

Then there is the other chemical produced that is called norepinephrine. This is the chemical responsible for creating that sense of focus on the brain. The norepinephrine is released during porn watching session as it makes the brain alert and instruct it to be ready for what happens next, probably, masturbation. This tunes the brain to the activity of the body that is triggered by the porn site. Whatever the victim does to achieve satisfaction from watching porn is triggered by this chemical. In most cases, when there is no partner to have sex with, the person resort to masturbation. So each time a person watches porn, norepinephrine is produced, and with it comes the instruction for action. More porn, more norepinephrine, hence porn addiction.

Porn addiction

Oxytocin and vasopressin come next. These two chemicals are released to the brain the instance a porn watching victim takes his or her next line of action for satisfaction. This ranges from actual sex with a partner or self-satisfactory actions like masturbation. When the two chemicals are released to the brain, a sense of bonding between the person and the pornographic material takes place. They, the chemicals, create some sort of long term memory for the brain cells of the pleasurable moment the body is experiencing. In this instant, this memory stays long with the person, binding them to porn hence porn addiction.

During the act of having sex or masturbation, whose desires are created by watching porn, another chemical released to the brain is endorphins. This chemical produces feelings of pleasure and calming effect to the body. This high waves of pleasure caused on the body will drive a person to watch countless acts of porn to achieve such same feeling. This makes it difficult for them to stop watching porn.

The excitement that comes with the thought of having sex or watching porn has to end somehow if a person is actually to perform other life duties other that actual having sex. That is the feeling of calm and relaxation away from sex obsession. This occurs during orgasm when serotonin is produced.

How Brain Chemicals Play A Role In Porn Addiction

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muslim-tango

Islamic Female Sexuality

January 27, 2016

Understanding Islamic View On Female Sexuality 

Islamic female sexuality, like the female sexuality of Hebrew women, can have sever impacts on the way they worship and what they are traditionally allowed to do.  For example, many mosques do not allow women to come in if they are experiencing their menses.  This is because women traditionally did not have the protection for their clothing and environment that they needed while they were on their courses.  Another reason it that Islamic women, like women all over the world, were seen as subservient to men and in need of being controlled by them.

muslim-tangoIt is being recognized that both these views need to be changed.  And indeed, they are slowly changing.  In the developed world, women now have access to many means of protecting their environment and their clothing from the products of menstruation. This means it is no longer necessary for women who are experiencing their courses to be ostracized or confined to a specific area of the house, as was traditional not only in Islamic households but in Christian and Hebrew households as well.

Along with this necessity came a view of women as shameful beings that were lesser than men and who were more strongly implicated in the areas of physicality and sexuality than were men. It seems to be a logical consequence of the confinement suffered by women as a result of menstruation—if a woman needed to be confined during certain times of the month, then obviously she must be inferior to someone who did not need such confinement.  Also, being bound, as it were, to the physical world by menstruation and childbearing, it was thought that it was more difficult for women to become “spiritual beings”.

The reasoning for this went:

  • Women are excluded from contact with men during their monthly courses.
    • Menstruation was seen as a temporary illness and given the same consideration as would be given during any other illness, including a release from the necessity of fasting, prayers, and other rituals.
    • Women who are menstruating are seen as ritually unclean. Since she cannot be properly cleansed until after the bleeding stops, she is not in the proper state to enter the mosque or recite the Qur’an.
  • Since women are also excluded from entering the mosque or reciting the Qur’an in a formal setting, this is seen as a defect in her religion. Since her religion (or her religious observance) is defective, this means that she can never achieve the same level of spirituality as is available to a man.

The weakness in this reasoning is the undisputed view that men and women are equal in their duties and expectations as servants of God. To say that one is only capable of a certain amount of faith because of hindrances in observing the various rituals and observances in a religion negates all the other aspects of experience, faithfulness, and actions that cannot be quantified.  It says that God rewards only for deeds and not intentions, instead of in the accepted manner of rewarding both deeds and intentions.  However, men who are insecure or fearful of women for whatever reason will bring forth this argument as “reason” for subjugating females.

 

With all this being said, and with the fact that (some) Muslim communities endorse and practice female genital mutilation,  one would thing that the average Muslim woman is shy, virginal, and not receptive to sexual advances by her husband.  One would be wrong.  The rational behind female genital mutilation is that women are not able to control themselves.  This is not so, and if you actually take the other parts of the Qur’an seriously, is not permitted by Muslim law.

Now, one would think of the typical Islamic female as being shy, retiring, and unable or unwilling to respond to the advances of her husband. One would be wrong.  Many Islamic believers believe that in the bedroom between husband and wife, as long as both parties are agreeable, anything goes except anal penetration. However, one of the traditions kept by most Islamic couples is to draw a veil of complete privacy over practices in the bedroom. So if a woman and her husband are having trouble in that area of their relationship, this practice can keep them from receiving the help that they need.

The Islamic bill of rights spells out in detail the rights and responsibilities of a married woman, including the right not to be slandered.  All the rights in the article are included in Shaira law, and some, such as the woman’s right to make independent decisions about her body, were surprising.  However, the main point of the articles I read was that Islamic women are like women all over: horney and waiting for a good man who knows, respects, and likes women.

Understanding Islamic Female Sexuality

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