The Link Between Porn Addiction & ADHD
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful video, Coach Frank Rich from Rebuilt Recovery explores the connection between pornography addiction and ADHD, suggesting that the latter may be a result of dopamine deficiency caused by excessive porn use. He explains how supernormal stimuli from porn spikes dopamine unnaturally, leading to a drop that results in lack of motivation and focus. Frank emphasizes that overcoming this cycle involves quitting porn and setting meaningful life goals to restore a healthy dopamine balance, offering a 12-step training program for those seeking to break free from addiction.
Takeaways
- đ The speaker, Coach Frank Rich, discusses the link between excessive pornography use and the development of issues such as ADHD, lack of intimacy, and lack of motivation.
- đŹ He has spoken with neuroscientists, including Dr. Anna Lm and Dr. Trishley, to understand the connection between dopamine, supernormal stimuli, and the effects on men's focus and attention.
- đĄ Dopamine is described as the chemical of pleasure and motivation, which is crucial for pursuing meaningful goals and experiencing reward.
- đ Pornography is identified as a 'supernormal stimulus' that spikes dopamine levels unnaturally high, leading to a significant drop and associated negative effects like lack of motivation and depressive thoughts.
- đ« The speaker suggests that ADHD may not be an inherent disease but a result of a dopamine deficiency caused by compulsive pornography use.
- đ The cycle of dopamine involves an increase followed by an equal decrease, and the unnatural spikes caused by pornography disrupt this balance.
- đ The speaker emphasizes the importance of establishing a healthy dopamine cycle through meaningful daily activities and goals.
- đ Practical advice is given to stop consuming pornography and to set purposeful goals to create a healthier dopamine response.
- đ The script encourages viewers to take action towards building a life that is meaningful and purposeful, which can help overcome the need for pornography.
- đ Coach Frank Rich offers a 12-step training program through his organization, Rebuilt Recovery, to help men break free from pornography addiction.
- đ The speaker invites viewers to subscribe to his podcast, engage with the content, and share it if they find value in the message.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script?
-The main issue discussed is the potential link between pornography addiction and the symptoms of ADHD, as well as the broader impacts on men's lives including intimacy, purpose, physical health, and focus.
Who is Coach Frank Rich?
-Coach Frank Rich is the founder of Rebuilt Recovery and the host of the Rebuilt Man Podcast, whose mission is to help men overcome pornography addiction and improve their lives.
What does Coach Frank Rich suggest is the root cause of the issues faced by the men he speaks with?
-Coach Frank Rich suggests that the root cause of the issues faced by these men is a compulsive use of pornography and masturbation, which he believes leads to dopamine deficiency and the symptoms associated with ADHD.
What is the 'supernormal stimuli' mentioned in the script?
-The term 'supernormal stimuli' refers to stimuli that are more intense than natural stimuli and can cause an exaggerated response in the brain, such as the high levels of dopamine released by pornography.
How does Coach Frank Rich describe the dopamine cycle in relation to natural activities versus pornography?
-He describes the dopamine cycle as a balance where an increase in dopamine from natural activities, like going to the gym, is followed by a proportional decrease. However, with pornography, the dopamine spike is much higher, leading to a more significant drop and causing feelings of lack of motivation and depression.
What are some of the side effects mentioned in the script that are associated with pornography use?
-The side effects include lack of intimacy, struggle to connect with partners, lack of purpose, difficulty finding motivation, physical health issues such as weight gain, and struggles with focus and attention, which some attribute to ADHD.
How does the script suggest that ADHD is not a disease?
-The script suggests that ADHD symptoms may be a byproduct of a dopamine deficiency caused by the excessive and unnatural dopamine spikes from pornography use, rather than a disease in itself.
What practical tips does Coach Frank Rich offer to help overcome the issues discussed?
-He advises to stop consuming pornography, set meaningful and purposeful daily goals, and create a healthy cycle of dopamine through small wins and accomplishments that move one closer to their desired self.
What resource is provided for those seeking help to break free from pornography addiction?
-A 12-step training program is mentioned, which can be found at rebuiltrecovery.com/12steps, and is said to have helped thousands of men overcome pornography addiction.
How does Coach Frank Rich define the mission of the Rebuilt Man Podcast?
-The mission is to help men become better by quitting pornography and rebuilding their lives, focusing on creating a meaningful, purposeful, and inspirational life.
What is the significance of the '12 steps' mentioned in the script?
-The '12 steps' refer to a training program designed to guide individuals through the process of overcoming pornography addiction and rebuilding their lives with a focus on meaningful and purposeful activities.
Outlines
đ§ The Link Between Pornography Addiction and ADHD
This paragraph discusses the correlation between pornography addiction and ADHD symptoms. Coach Frank Rich, the founder of Rebuilt Recovery, explains that many men who reach out for help with porn addiction are experiencing problems in various areas of life, including intimacy, purpose, physical health, and focus. He suggests that these issues may be linked to compulsive pornography use and masturbation, which can lead to dopamine deficiency. Frank references the work of neuroscientists Dr. Anna Lmy and Dr. Trishley, who have contributed to understanding the impact of supernormal stimuli like pornography on dopamine levels and its effects on attention and focus. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of dopamine for motivation and reward, and how excessive pornography use can disrupt the natural dopamine cycle, potentially leading to ADHD-like symptoms.
đ Understanding Dopamine Cycles and the Impact of Pornography
In this paragraph, the concept of dopamine cycles is explored to explain how the use of pornography can lead to dopamine deficiency and associated symptoms. It is explained that dopamine operates on a scale, with natural activities providing small increases in dopamine levels, which then naturally decrease to baseline. However, the supernormal stimulus of pornography causes a significant spike in dopamine, which must be followed by an equally significant drop, leading to feelings of lack of motivation, depression, and a cycle of seeking out more stimuli to compensate. The paragraph suggests that the symptoms of ADHD may not be a disease but rather a result of this disrupted dopamine cycle caused by compulsive pornography use. Practical advice is given to break free from this cycle, including quitting pornography, setting meaningful goals, and creating a life of purpose and accomplishment.
đ Embracing a Life of Meaning and Purpose to Overcome Addiction
The final paragraph concludes the video script with a motivational message from Coach Frank. He encourages viewers to take action towards building a life that is meaningful, purposeful, and inspirational, which can help overcome the need for pornography. Frank emphasizes that freedom from addiction is within reach and that the journey towards becoming the person one aspires to be is waiting. He invites viewers to check out the 12-step training at Rebuilt Recovery for further guidance and support, and he expresses his love and support for the community, looking forward to the next encounter.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄPornography Addiction
đĄADHD
đĄDopamine
đĄSupernormal Stimuli
đĄIntimacy
đĄPurpose
đĄFocus
đĄNeuroscientists
đĄRebuilt Recovery
đĄDopamine Cycle
đĄMeaningful Goals
Highlights
The speaker has spoken with thousands of men struggling with pornography addiction and identified problems in their lives.
Men experiencing side effects from porn use include lack of intimacy, lack of purpose, and health issues.
Many have been prescribed ADHD medications and sought therapy without success.
A common link among these men is compulsive pornography use and masturbation.
The speaker has discussed with neuroscientists about the links between dopamine deficiency and porn use.
Pornography is considered a supernormal stimulus that spikes dopamine levels unnaturally.
Dopamine operates on a cycle, requiring an equal decrease after an increase.
The drop in dopamine after porn use can lead to depressive thoughts and lack of motivation.
ADHD is suggested to be a byproduct of constant dopamine spikes and deficiencies from porn use.
The speaker provides a 12-step training program to help men break free from pornography addiction.
Practical tips include quitting porn, setting meaningful goals, and creating a healthy dopamine cycle.
The program aims to help men build a life that is meaningful and purposeful, reducing the desire for porn.
The speaker emphasizes that freedom from addiction is within reach and encourages taking action.
The mission is to help men become better by quitting porn and rebuilding their lives.
The speaker invites viewers to subscribe to the podcast and share the content if they find value in it.
The importance of building a life that no longer needs, wants, or desires pornography is highlighted.
The speaker concludes by expressing love for the audience and looking forward to the next session.
Transcripts
is your porn use the cause of your
ADHD you know over the last four plus
years I've spoken with thousands of men
who are struggling with a pornography
addiction and every single one of these
men that reaches out to us is coming to
us because they've identified problems
within their life they've identified
that their use of pornography is holding
them back and these men all are
experiencing side effects some of them
are lacking with intimacy struggling to
connect with their wives many of them
are lacking purpose struggling to find
the motivation and desire to get up off
the couch and go chase the meaning in
their life many of them are struggling
with their fitness health they've seen
their weight go up and up on the scale
over
years but many of them are struggling
with focus with
attention and a lot of them have been
prescribed with ADHD perhaps even been
told since a young boy
boy you are not normal you have ADD you
have ADHD and they've been on
medications they've sought out therapy
but yet none of it has
worked but once again A Link Between all
these men whether it's connection with
their wife whether it's purpose meaning
physical health or attention deficit
disorder one thing that links them all
together is a compulsive use with
pornography and
masturbation now I've also been
fortunate to speak with a handful of
neuroscientists
two in particular Dr Anna lmy and Dr
trishley and I think it was Anna's work
in dopamin nation and the conversation
that I had with her on the super life
that really brought an understanding to
me about the links of these things and
how it's tied to dopamine
deficiency and then more recently in my
episode with Dr Trish Le we Dove deep
into erectile dysfunction porn use and
the root cause of many of these issues
with a lot of men and once again it
brought even more insight into my
understanding between the links between
pornography use supernormal stimuli our
dopamine
receptors and how men can struggle with
focus and
attention so I want to talk to you today
about the link between your porn
addiction and why you struggle with
attention focus or perhaps have even
told yourself I have ADD or
ADHD for those of you that new here my
name is Coach Frank Rich founder of
rebuilt recovery and host of the rebuilt
man podcast and it is our mission to
help men become better men by quitting
por of rebuilding their lives and we do
that here three times per week on this
show if you're watching there on YouTube
make sure to hit that subscribe button
turn those post notifications on and if
you can make sure to give this video a
thumbs up like this video so we can
spread it across the algorithm if you're
tuning in on the audio side guys you can
take a moment after today's episode and
leave us a festar rating and written
review but if you want some help and
Breaking Free from addiction we put
together a 12ep training teaching our
framework that has helped thousands of
men break free from pornography
addiction and you can find that at
rebuilt recovery.com
sl12
steps now to understand the link between
porn addiction and
ADHD you have to understand how dopamine
in our brain
works dopamine many of us recognize as
the chemical of pleasure but is also the
chemical of motivation and
reward when we are pursuing the
meaningful things in our life that are
bringing us closer towards the desired
outcome that we've set for ourselves we
get small drips of
dopamine now let's talk about dopamine
maybe on a scale of 1 to 10 the numbers
are going to be irrelevant here but the
picture that is painted is what's going
to matter so if our dopamine is
regularly supposed to operate on a scale
of 1 to 10 our Baseline is somewhere
between a five six maybe upwards of a
seven now pursuing small meaningful
goals going to the gym working on a
project doing work outside on the home
to break to bring more Beauty into your
landscape those are moving you closer
toward a desired outcome you have
already told yourself that accomplishing
those
things will make your life better so
when you take small steps in progression
of those goals your dopamine may go from
from a six to a 7 and a half or possibly
to an
eight now with pornography because
pornography is a super normal
stimuli it takes your dopamine from a
baseline level of six to seven maybe
upwards of a 14 to
15 nothing in the natural world will
give you the stimulus that pornography
and drugs and alcohol and gambling do
these are super normal stimuli we're not
meant to live off of these things now
what's interesting and this is from my
conversation with Dr Anna lmy is our
dopamine works on a
cycle so with every increase in dopamine
in order for it to return back to
Baseline it must have a decrease of
equal measure so using that scale of 1
to 10 if you operate at a six but going
to the gym brings you towards a seven
and a half then somewhere shortly after
that workout you will fall back to a
four and a half
now if going up in the scale brings us
pleasure we must understand that going
down in the scale brings us pain and
pain often times associated with
dopamine is going to be lack of Drive
lack of
motivation perhaps intrusive or
depressive thoughts lack of purpose
meaning fulfillment on a small small
scale here I'm talking so when you go to
the gym and you feel really good you're
not going to become utterly depressed
shortly thereafter the scale wasn't big
enough but you may lose a little bit of
your motivation we've all experienced
this you after a workout you don't feel
like going to workout
again so that's how that scale works and
if we're operating in a natural way we
never deviate too far from our
Baseline but when we pull that lra of
pornography that supern normal stimuli
that takes us from a six to a 15 well
now we have a ninepoint spread we have a
margin of nine that we must have to make
up so in order for us to return back to
a
six our dopamine Baseline must drop to
A3 now
a-3 that's where the intrusive thoughts
can become really depressive that's
where the hopelessness can become into
play when you're in those stages you're
seeking anything that'll pull you out of
it right so whereas normally the music
the social media the
YouTube the going back to pornography
the let me find the next shiny
object because you're looking for that
shiny object to return you back to a 15
but you're at a three so you see what
I'm getting to here is your ADHD is not
a disease that you hold it's nothing
more than a dopamine deficiency that is
the byproduct of you constantly pulling
that lever of pornography now the more
regularly that you hit it the more you
return back to it the more you're going
to need more and more stimuli it's going
to create almost that puppy dog
experience in your life if you've ever
had a dog you know that a puppy cannot
stay attention for on anything for any
length of time every two seconds it's
something new and if you felt this way
in your life it's not because there's
something wrong with you there's
something wrong with the way that you're
living there's something wrong with the
way that you created your life so how do
you get out of this addiction how do you
cure your ADHD well check out the
12-step training rebuilt recovery.com
12ep
it's linked down there in the show notes
but here's some practical tips here
today for you get off pornography stop
consuming the behavior stop hitting that
button that is going to jump you from a
six to
15 set meaningful and purposeful goals
in your life on a daily
basis small tasks small wins small
accomplishments that when executed on
and
recognized are moving you closer towards
the man that you want to become and in
that recognition of doing the things
that are bringing me closer towards the
man that I want to become I will go from
six to s six to8 six to seven and a half
now I've created a healthy cycle of
dopamine because when you're in a four
you're not going to look for the Big
Shiny object to pull you out of it but
you look for the next thing to move you
closer towards your goals the next thing
to move you closer towards the man that
you want to become your ADHD is not a
disease it's not something that makes
you rare or unique
your ADHD is nothing more than a
byproduct of you constantly pulling that
lever of pornography and spiking your
dopamine and returning your dopamine
into a deficient
State and when you understand it and see
it through this lens the pathway out of
it is so clear to see because quitting
porn is not just about stopping the
behavior is about creating a life that
is Meaningful
purposeful and inspirational for you to
wake up every single day and attack so
like I said check out their training at
rebuilt recovery.com
12 steps it's linked down there in the
show notes below subscribe to the
podcast share this if you got value out
of it but I want to encourage you no
matter where you are in your
journey your freedom is not as far as
you believe it to
be begin to take action begin to build a
life that no longer needs wants or
desires pornography
and I'm telling you everything you hoped
dreamed and desired to become is sitting
there waiting for you Coach Frank the
rebuil man we love you guys we'll see
you in the next one
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