Características generales

One way to understand how an addiction develops in the brain is to learn how a reaction sequence is created. A reaction sequence is a pathway formed in the mind that generally begins with a stimulus and ends with a specific response. Once developed, a reaction sequence will automatically change a person’s emotional state. An example of this comes from a personal experience I had as boy. A boy moved into my neighborhood and I decided to visit him. On my way up to his house his dog came out and bit me on the leg. Since then, every time I hear a dog bark (stimulus) I automatically become tense and uptight (response) until I can rationally think through what is happening.

In applying this to pornography, consider how this could lead to the development of an addiction. The first time people see pornography their minds don’t necessarily understand the stimulus that triggers strong emotions and feelings, but they generally like the feeling. However, the next time they view pornography, it is no longer a novelty and they know the emotions they experience while viewing pornography. Over time a person can associate these feelings with finding comfort when under stress or lonely. It can provide a quick fix when a person is looking for something to do when bored. Thus, the human mind, with more exposure, elevates the need or demand for such strong feelings. These strong emotions are accompanied by the release of chemicals inside the brain. These chemicals (as described earlier) are very addictive.

Another critical point to consider is that just thoughts or memories of pornography can trigger emotions. For example, Terry Robinson of the University of Michigan described what happens to drug addicts on a subconscious level when he wrote, “Crack pipes, syringes, the sound of ice tinkling in a glass full of scotch can act as cues that induce craving much like the sound of a bell caused Pavlov’s dogs to salivate. Even though addicts can become conscious of

the relationship between some drug-related cues and their craving . . . they might not recognize that a certain place or smell wakens a hunger for the drug.”⁴ With this in mind, the focus should turn toward learning how to recognize as many triggers as possible so that the reaction sequences can be understood and deactivated. This will be described in the section to follow.

However, before introducing the development of a reaction sequence it is important to mention that there are many triggers that may cause a person to want to view pornography. The availability of pornography or sexual images is staggering. Consider that sexual images can be seen on tv, in movies, on billboards, via the Internet, in magazines, and in how people dress. With all of the possible ways to get exposure, it is virtually impossible to completely cut off all of the triggers. However, preparing to stop them before emotions become too high can help in recovery.

Here is the entire reaction sequence as it relates to pornography.

Stimulus (trigger)—See a pornographic magazine, or view an email that comes to your inbox with pornographic image or link. There are hundreds of potential stimuli that get the mind thinking about pornography; our society doesn’t help much with this.

Once the stimulus is triggered in the mind the next thing that happens is that our mind gives meaning to the stimulus. The first thing a person will do is have an emotional response.

Emotion—Instant excitement, interest, or curiosity are common emotions.

Almost simultaneous to the emotions being felt is a thought in the mind.

Thought—Initially the thought may be “I wonder” or

“What will I see or find.” Once this initial interest and curiosity settles in, the thought is likely to be something like, “I could look at pornography” or “I like what I am feeling—why not?”

When the emotion and thought of viewing pornography are entertained, the mind quickly begins to release chemicals into the body in anticipation of what is going to happen next.

Chemical Release— The body is flooded with chemicals preparing the body for what it will see and what

could happen. It is important to note that once a reaction sequence is fully developed in the mind, these chemicals are released into the body before a person ever sees pornography.

With the release of these chemicals into the body, the body begins to change.

Body Language— A person’s heart rate will increase; his hands may become sweaty or cold. His eyes will likely become dilated. The muscles become tight or rigid.

With the body feeling strong emotions, the mind still has to decide if it is going to give in and view pornography or not. This is when the more rational part of the mind steps in and says, “Are you sure you want to do this?” It is the mind’s back-up system that allows it to respond rather than react every time.

Thought— This second thought is what I call the battle. The battle inside goes something like this:

I really shouldn’t look at pornography.

What will my wife think?

What if I get caught?

I could lose my job.

While these thoughts are going on, the mind is also thinking:

I have been doing this for years, what’s one more time going to matter?

I deserve this.

It’s not that big of a deal.

Nobody will find out.

Unfortunately, most individuals wait too long before this battle begins and the mind has already released the chemicals into the body, thus making the battle a very hard one to fight. Ultimately the winning thoughts of this battle determine the outcome. The battle comes to an end when the mind authorizes a specific behavior. The authorizing agent is generally a hypothesis or a belief (a hypothesis is a thought that is not cemented into the mind, whereas a belief is something that you truly believe).

Hypothesis/Belief— I wonder if this will ever go away (hypothesis). Common beliefs include: I cannot get over this problem so why try? I deserve this. It isn’t that bad. One more time won’t hurt.

Before a person views pornography he must first accept the behavior as something that is okay. Therefore, the authorization from the beliefs is a very important part of this process.

Response—The most common response at this point is giving in and viewing pornography, which will likely end in masturbation.

Once a reaction sequence has been established in the mind it can take a matter of seconds to go through the whole process described above. That is why so many people claim they feel they have no control over their compulsive behavior. Unfortunately, too much stimuli can lead to multiple reaction sequences in people, and that, if left undealt with, creates a high probability for relapse. One of the reasons pornography is so dangerous is that the mind can run through a reaction sequence simply by fantasizing about previous images that have been viewed.

DEACTIVATING A REACTION SEQUENCE—THE