Tag Archives: pornography on the brain

drug abuse

Pursuing drug usage and cravings to the brain

September 30, 2016
Pursuing drug usage

Pursuing drug usage and cravings to the brain

Pursuing drug usage and cravings to the brain: Addictions effect on the brain’s reward system

Pursuing drug usage and craving to the brain can be very interesting more so when considering how the brain functions. It is true that the brain has evolved over time in a way that ensures human survival. And in fact our brain’s reward system is part of that survival system. In many instances we often experience an urgent need for food whenever we are starving and generally have a powerful desire for sex too. According to doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, the brain’s reward system rewards food and sex because they ensure our survival. Unfortunately, drugs of abuse operate within these reward systems which leads people to experience an urgent need or powerful desire for drugs or addictive activities.

The brain’s reward system has ensured our species survival. You may have not known but food, water, and sex are some of the elements that activate the reward system. Therefore when the brain’s reward center is activated, it releases dopamine. Dopamine then creates a pleasing, enjoyable sensation which then motivates us into repeating these behaviors which are necessary for our survival. The reason why this is happening is because dopamine has rewarded us with a pleasurable feeling. Doctor Akoury recommends that from an evolutionary standpoint of view, it is very helpful to have a reward system that works. Like for instance, imagine that there is very little food and you’re wandering about looking for food. When you finally find something to eat, this triggers your reward system. This pleasing feeling (dopamine “reward”) will become associated with whatever behavior that led you to that food. This causes you to want to repeat that behavior. Moreover, the reward system is closely tied to emotional and subjective memories. If you were successful and found food in a particular place for instance, in the future you will want to look for food in the same location. This reward system increases the likelihood that you will be successful in finding food there the next time. This is because your brain chemicals are rewarding you with a pleasing sensation. It also helps you to remember how and where this pleasant feeling occurred.

Pursuing drug usage and cravings to the brain: The negative dopamine reward sensation

It will come to you as a surprise that the element that motives your survival is the very same reward system that ensures your survival and also rewards drug use. Doctor Akoury reiterates that all addictive substances and activities will trigger the release of dopamine which rewards us with a pleasant sensation thereby succeeding in motivating us to continuously indulge in these harmful behaviors. It is nowadays common knowledge that peoples with addiction problems will all it takes to get their drug of choice and in the same way, they continue with their addiction despite the harm it causes to themselves or their loved ones. It is therefore very important to note that all these characteristic of addictive behaviors arise from the brain’s pleasure and rewards centers. Therefore seeking for lasting solutions becomes a must to do for all victims. This may not be a very popular thing owing to the addictiveness of some of these drugs, but nonetheless it is the best option if you want to have a healthy life that is free from all sorts of addiction. You can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for the commencement of your journey to recovery.

Pursuing drug usage and cravings to the brain: Addictions effect on the brain’s reward system

http://www.I-AM-I.com/wp-admin

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
sex addiction

Brain hypothalamus area and stress

September 30, 2016
Brain hypothalamus area

Brain hypothalamus area and stress. When the brain needs to be protected the most

Brain hypothalamus area and stress: Regulating stress and withdrawal

One of the areas of the brain that can easily be affected by effects of substance abuse is the brain hypothalamus area. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for several duties including controlling of the body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sleep. Owing to these functions, the hypothalamus is equally playing a key role in how we respond to stress. According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center which is one of the leading pioneers in natural and holistic addiction treatment, we cannot effectively talk about addiction without the mention one stress. Doctor Dalal Akoury MD and also the founder of this facility agree that stress regulation is highly relevant to our understanding of addiction. And that is why we want to explore further into details the effects of addiction on the brain hypothalamus area even as we also look the stress regulation and withdrawal.

Because of that, it is important to note that when an individual experiences stress, the hypothalamus releases chemicals known as hormones. It is these hormones that allows’ the brain and the body to respond to that stress. Unlike neurotransmitters (which are chemicals limited to the brain) hormones travel throughout the body via the blood system. It therefore means that hormones can exert an effect on other body systems as well. When these chemical hormones operate in the brain, we refer to them as neuromodulators. These hormones (neuromodulators) can act just like neurotransmitters in the brain. Like neurotransmitters, they have their own receptors associated with them.

Brain hypothalamus area and stress: How stress motives relapse

From our studies, it is obvious that stress is a well-known relapse trigger to all users of drugs. It capable of prompt powerful cravings in addicted persons I can therefore say almost with certainty that majority of us in one way or another have come across someone who struggled with an addiction and tried to quitting but ultimately relapsed when they became stressed out. Doctor Akoury says that under normal circumstances, at the beginning periods of recovery withdrawal symptoms often create stress and the vicious cycle continues. It is however very important to appreciate that stress will always prompts the addictive use, while efforts to discontinue use prompt stress. During withdrawal, these stress hormones are elevated. Even though stress levels are high, the brain’s anti-stress neuromodulators appear to decrease, as do dopamine and serotonin in the nucleus accumbens. This suggests that withdrawal affected the reward system (evidenced by decreasing dopamine and serotonin). At the same time, withdrawal activates the stress and anxiety systems. This “1-2 punch” heightens the negative experience of withdrawal. This prompts people to seek relief via the addictive substance or activity (i.e., relapse).

In summary, the neurotransmitter pathways associated with the amygdala and the hypothalamus play a crucial role in sustaining the addiction process and this occurs thorough:

  • The negative emotional memory that is associated with drug withdrawal
  • The positive emotional memory that is associated with drug cues
  • The disruption that occurs to stress regulation
  • The pleasurable relief from withdrawal symptoms that occurs by resuming drug use or addictive activities

Finally, since we cannot talk about addiction without mentioning stress, it becomes important that the two need to be addressed professionally and that is where doctor Dalal Akoury and her team of experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center comes in. if you are struggling with this, you can schedule for an appointment today with doctor Akoury for the commencement of your treatment.

Brain hypothalamus area and stress: Regulating stress and withdrawal

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin
pornography-brain

Effects of pornography on brain

February 3, 2016

How Watching Pornography Affects Your Brain
Watching pornography, just, like any hard substance that are abused can have a lasting effect on those who engages in it. This is because, like hard drugs, watching pornography over a long period does affect the brain. Human brains have chemical compositions that aid in the co-ordination of its activities. These chemicals, like dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for sensing reward and pleasure has been known triggered addiction in the case of drugs or substance abuse. It has been therefore noted that, in the case of watching pornography, the release of this same chemical is triggered and as so, the continuous watching leads to addiction.
Addiction in watching pornographic materials, be it photos or videos can have serious effects to the brains of the victims who engages in such practices. Take, for example, a case of a marriage or a serious relationship where one partner is an addict of watching porn. The relationship may get affected since normal intimate communication between the couples may get ruined. Watching pornography, therefore, has the following effects on the brain of the victims.

effects of pornography on brain
First and foremost, there is the question of addiction and dependency. Watching pornographic materials causes the victim not to be able to function normally regarding sexuality. That is to say, they need exposure to porn or have their thoughts focused on some porn materials to get aroused during intimacy. Normally this becomes a problem because the normal partner finds it tough to understand the victim more so if they, normal partner, themselves are ready. When the above scenario occurs, communication becomes difficult between the couple.
Pornographic materials, more specifically, videos are known to be violent in their form. The kind of sexual activities in these videos normally lack the tender that is or should be associated with making love. It has, therefore, been realizes that watching porn makes the victim view love making as just having sex. So for them, the notion of lovemaking is lost to them and do not make any efforts to try and bring out the aspect of intimacy with their partners.
Too much indulgence in watching porn also affects the sexual urge or desire of the victim. The sexual desire or libido of an individual addicted to watching porn is considerably lowered in most cases. Intimacy between two people in love or even a married couple is normally heightened by making love. However, in the case where one partner finds themselves addicted to porn, the intimacy is usually affected. This is because the effects of watching porn leave one with poor sexual libido. It has been found that those who are addicted to porn are so much affected by it to the extent that their sexual lives are affected because they find their partners not to be as good as the porn seemed. This makes them lose interest in making love to their partners as soon as the act begins, hence affecting the relationship in the long run.
The main beauty of making love or being in an intimate relationship with a partner is the ultimate satisfaction that comes with the connection the bodies make. In a normal and healthy relationship between two people, this connection should not just be physical. The intimate connection should also involve some emotional feelings between couples. However, watching pornography drives away the emotional feeling that intimate sex should bring. A victim of Porn views sex as just a physical affair, losing the emotions hence little enjoyment for the partner and even themselves.
It is common knowledge that for one to enjoy intimate sex, all the partners should have to be in the right mood. Consequently, it is of no use for a couple to have sexual intercourse when either does not have the feel of it. When one partner is addicted to watching porn, their sexual needs tend to be self-centered. Porn, therefore, causes selfishness in a relationship. The addicted individual becomes obsessed with their sexual needs that they tend not care for the feelings of their partners. Sex now become their personal need and may not want to listen to any protest from the other partner or even any needs of their own.

effects of pornography on brain
Making love between two intimate couple or in a marriage should be a process, and not just having sex. It is a process that involves foreplay as they get themselves physically and psychologically prepared for the lovemaking act. That is what a normal love making process should sound like, but not when one is addicted to porn. They, the porn addicts, lose the significance of getting the body prepared for the actual act of lovemaking.
Lastly, porn has the effect of creating some sexual disorder to the addicts. Just like the intensity of having sex in porn, the addicts normally apply the same in their normal lives. In such cases, the addict ends up having premature ejaculation and sometimes, even erectile dysfunction as they find it tough to maintain a prolonged erection.
How Watching Pornography Affects Your Brain

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

  • Recent Posts

  • Blog Categories