Compulsive sexual behaviors are growing among the population, especially in teenagerswhich is reflected most frequently in the consultations of mental health specialists, where sex addiction breaks out, with very early cases since an increase in children from 11 to 13 years old.
Experts point out that this type of behavior often derives from excessive consumption of pornography and is often used as an escape route from to stress, anxiety or lonelinessas is the case with problem gambling in the form of betting and gambling, which continue to escalate. The repeated and uncontrolled use of porn can generate a distorted vision of sexuality and human relationships and negatively affect the emotional and social development of young people, fostering aggressive attitudes, unrealistic expectations and difficulties in establishing healthy emotional bonds.
Repeated use of porn can negatively affect the emotional development of young people, promoting aggressive attitudes
Coinciding with the World Mental Health Day, which is celebrated this Friday, professionals insist on the importance of comprehensive sexual education, psychological support and open communication with parents and educators, to prevent these effects and promote responsible and respectful sexuality.
Porn addiction increases in the population, especially among minors / Fernando Bustamante
Before 10 years
According to an investigation by the Open University of Cataloniaone in four adolescent boys accesses pornographic content daily, compared to 5% of girls; and also one in four boys admits to having watched porn before the age of 10. It coincides with the data that 20% of minors may present anxiety disorders according to the data managed by psychotherapy centers.
Digital natives are the most affected by these sex addiction behaviors in the process of maturation. “It may be caused by the easy internet accesswhich allows a forceful approach,” says Alicante psychologist David López Rodríguez, specialized in therapies for adults, adolescents and couples. Stress and anxiety environments such as those experienced today can bring this type of relief and distraction behaviors closer.
“Easy access to the Internet and the lack of emotional-sexual education in the family lead to pornography becoming their school”
Although addiction is 6% of the population, The increase among adolescents is a cause for concern among professionals. Other factors that the Alicante psychologist points to are that sexuality can still be taboo in many families and that the lack of communication and emotional-sexual education leads to “in the end pornography becomes their school.”
Two-month waiting lists for an appointment with a psychologist
After demand skyrocketed after the pandemia Also in private mental health consultations, private psychologists still cannot absorb the waiting list, which remains between a month and a half, and two months. It is not as much as a few years ago but they cannot eliminate it because of the delays in public that leads many people to pay for a private psychologist. The pathologies on the rise are anxiety in all its forms and depression, which continue to escalate.
Parafilias
The specialist elaborates that, at these ages of lack of maturity, porn consumption leads to a distorted vision and unrealistic expectations regarding sex, paraphilias and less empathy towards the other person, normalizing situations that are visualized. There is a possibility that these behaviors will be perpetuated, warns the psychologist: if they are repeated they can lead to relationships without a condom, humiliating behavior and even sexual assault if there is no consent from the other.
Sex addiction among minors increases / Fernando Bustamante
What are the stages in which sex addiction develops?
The process begins with rewarding sexual behavior, which leads to repetition already an increase in thoughts about her. Other activities lose importance and denial of negative consequences arrives. Over time, behavior shifts from seeking pleasure to relieve distress, maintained by negative reinforcement.
One in four adolescent boys accesses pornographic content daily and admits to having started before the age of 10
Dopamine
López Rodríguez details that in sex addiction you fall like any other. “There are several stages, it does not occur overnight. Sexual addictive behavior begins to constitute a pleasurable behavior from which some type of beneficial consequence is obtained. Here comes the issue of dopaminethe brain's reward system.”
Due to these beneficial consequences, this sexual behavior tends to be repeated and the frequency of the person's thoughts increases. The behavior becomes more frequent while other behaviors are reduced, causing them to lose the interest they previously aroused: they withdraw from their usual leisure activities and stop interacting with other people. These are the first warning signs.
In the next stage, the subject downplays the harmful effects such behavior may generate while the intense and periodic desire to perform it intensifies.
“It begins to be a pleasurable behavior due to dopamine, the brain's reward system; it tends to repeat itself and increase the frequency of those thoughts”
Negative
“The rest of the activities obviously continue to lose importance and negative consequences of all kinds begin to appear with greater force, in studies, in family relationships, with the partner, if there is one, which are justified by the person downplaying their importance. It is a negative.”
Those affected are beginning to become aware of the problem and have failed attempts. “They fail to abandon that behavior and a negative emotional state is generated that can be turned again into repeating it. It is no longer done, as at the beginning, for well-being or pleasure, but because it generates a type of relief from the discomfort.”
This is what is called negative reinforcement, “the person repeats the sexual behavior because it generates relief. Negative reinforcement is what maintains an addiction and also occurs in sex addiction,” he concludes.
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