Today’s topic comes from a few questions brought by a brother to our intensive group.

The Porn Reboot Intensive Group is a group of high-performing men who are serious about controlling their behavior with sex, porn, and masturbation. They aren’t trial rebooters or half-in, half-out – they are dedicated to doing the work required to make a change. 

I don’t often share responses to these questions outside of the Intensive Group. It’s a high-level group for only those who truly want to control their behavior. But this brother’s questions are of real importance to our everyday brothers, too, and I’m choosing to share them with you today.

“In opiate addicts, the brain is flooded with external opiates which stop the brain from producing natural opiates. This is part of what causes the extreme withdrawals that these addicts experience when they try to get clean. 

“Does the same apply to dopamine and porn addiction? Is recovery partly about satisfying the natural chemical deficit until it reaches its original levels? Is this what defines your timeline of up to two years for a successful reboot? And are there different activities that satisfy specific neurotransmitter deficits?”

Substance Addiction vs. Behavioral Addiction

This brother is comparing a substance addiction (opiate addiction) to a behavioral addiction (porn addiction). While the concept is the same, they’re two different forms of addiction which mean withdrawal is a bit different.

With porn addiction, your brain only has access to natural opiates during the moment you orgasm, but that’s it. It releases some other chemicals in the process too, like dopamine and norepinephrine. But you’re more addicted to the process of reaching that point (porn and masturbation) than you are to the climax at the end.

This is why you do things like run multiple tabs, progress in the genres of porn you watch, and even edge for hours. You’re not as concerned with the orgasm as you are with the process that gets you there. Sure, there’s a mild case of chemical deficit like our brother mentioned but the chemical reaction in your brain isn’t what you’re pursuing.

This is what makes porn addiction a behavioral addiction. Rebooting isn’t about overcoming the addiction to dopamine and norepinephrine, it’s about overcoming your addiction to consuming alarming amounts of pornography. An effective reboot involves breaking the relapse cycle and changing the habits, lifestyle, self-image issues that trigger your addiction in the first place.

Two Years to Reboot Success

He also asks about the two-year timeline for the Porn Reboot process. As may already know, it takes about a year and a half to two years for men to successfully rewire their brains. I say successfully rewire the brain because rebooting is about much more than simply quitting porn and controlling masturbation. If you make no changes beyond this you’ll end up relapsing again.

This is another reason porn addiction differs from substance addiction. For some addicts, eliminating the substance eliminates the problem as a whole. For most porn addicts, removing porn is only a small part of the entire equation. It takes a systematic approach to build the resilience and self-efficacy needed to be successful in your reboot.

The two-year timeline is based on my 10 years of experience working with men who struggle with porn addiction symptoms and masturbation. I have a lot of data gathered from every man’s progression through the different stages of the program. I’ve since used that data to inform the two-year timeline I talk about in the Porn Reboot system.

Neurotransmitter Deficits

Our brother’s final question addressed targeting specific neurotransmitter deficits. Again, his question frames things from the perspective of substance addiction instead of behavioral addiction. While you do experience certain deficits in neurotransmitters, that isn’t the main problem we’re focusing on.

At the same time, the porn addiction recovery system does address the habit and lifestyle changes necessary to reboot. We don’t look at it from the standpoint of addressing particular neurotransmitter deficits, though. The changes you make in the Porn Reboot system address the problematic behaviors that lead you to relapse.

Our system encourages you to change your morning routine, exercise regimen, nutrition, supplementation, relationships, behavior with technology, and more. We offer a curriculum and a pathway to make these changes and over time you’ll notice an incredible shift in your mindset and outlook on life.

The Reboot Recovery Difference

The Porn Reboot system asks a lot more of you than traditional approaches to recovery. At the same time, we deliver a lot more than those traditional approaches, too. Eliminating pornography and compulsive sexual behavior is only the start of the process. Recovery from pornography addiction in the Porn Reboot system dives much deeper than that.

If you follow through with the system, though, you’ll undergo a complete change in your view of yourself, your family, your friends, and the world around you. You’ll eventually lose the drive to view pornography because you realize how much better life can be without it. The quality of recovery you develop through the Porn Reboot system is unlike anything you’ve tried before, brother. Join us and experience it for yourself.