Porn Addiction part of BIPOLAR illness?

a reply to: wasaka
Thanks for the cool quote from Osho.

Yes, I definitely can see what he is saying about love being unlimited, and not just for one's intimate. Love cannot be fenced in.

However, it can be added that there is a difference to loving all beings and being in love with one's intimate. I love people - my heart feels that spontaneously. However, when I was with someone as my intimate for many years, I was in love with her. When one is really moved to another deeply and emotionally, then promiscuity, or the physical desire for sexual relations with other women, subsided in that real depth of emotional-sexual love. This is a heart matter, where promiscuity or simple desire, is more just physical.

As Osho said, there is beauty and that should be able to be enjoyed as a form of love. But I noticed he did not speak about sex.

When sex is a deeply emotional matter, then there is a real exchange in terms of a feeling union with one's lover. If it is just sex without the deep emotional component of communion, then it can be pleasurable physically, but the depth of the heart is missing.

It may take a while to develop that heart depth for real sexual communion to be the case - and does require being deeply in love to really work, for the vulnerability and trust required to allow such love-desire to fully express itself. Of course, this is another one of those areas that real education should be provided.

This does not mean that I think no one can have more than one intimate - but to anyone who has tried that, there are real issues to contend with. Most of us are only up to one emotional-sexual relationship at best - that was certainly my discovery.

Some guys are fortunate enough to have their intimate point out any beauties coming by. I always thought that was very classy of her! A true lover of beauty!

a reply to: 772STi

Thanks for sharing.

Do you k ow how massive the porn industry is?

Like

Hollywood big.

Are they all Bipolar?

Lol. . .

Where is this going

a reply to: wasaka

I call B.S. on this study as it's not conclusive.

I have lived with an Axis II Bi-Polar condition for over twenty years and I don't indulge in porn....my husband also has this Axis II diagnosis and he isn't obsessed with porn either. As it's been said before - everything in moderation.

In fact, we have more important things to worry ourselves with than sexual manifestations. It simply doesn't factor in to our lives. When you have months long durations of the depressive aspect the last thing you can even think of is freaking doing the backside mambo. When the mania hits, well, let's just not talk about that clusterfudge of mental insanity...sex isn't even possible - too much mental chaos.

Oh sure, some may choose to use sex as a distraction, but that doesn't make a universal constant.

I call bunk....it's focusing on a select test demographic, I'm guessing mostly younger generations with low-level affectation.

This psuedo-psychology trend is really starting to get my goat.

These people actually have freaking degrees?
Shameful.

originally posted by: wasaka

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: wasaka

When did desire turn into chemical imbalance?

Enjoy everything in moderation.

A recent Australian study found that 86% of people
thought “chemical imbalance” was a likely or very
likely cause of depression. Why not sexual desire
or the "disorder" called Hypersexuality.

People who attribute mental health problems to brain
disease or heredity tend to blame affected people less.

However, they are also more pessimistic about recovery,
more willing to socially exclude affected people and more
likely to see them as dangerous.

What Visitor2012 said below your post. The balance we find in life should be a searching process to learn and find our limit. Like learning to walk for instance, falling down a lot is normal, not a "chemical imbalance" that requires medication.

Same with anything we desire and maybe become adducted to. Medicating isn't always a solution, thats part of the problem. I don't mean that for every life problem, there are diagnosable illnesses that require treatment. Just that all of life is a searching learning process. Enjoy your time here, trying keep a lid on the excess.

We all over do something at one time or another, learning to overcome and regulate that is part of our life lesson.

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
When the mania hits, well, let's just not talk about that clusterfudge of mental insanity...sex isn't even possible - too much mental chaos.

Oh sure, some may choose to use sex as a distraction, but that doesn't make a universal constant.

Thank you for your first hand input!

I can see your point, but also from what I read, there seems to be at least a correlation between hyper-sexuality and bipolar disorder. (But I am by no means an expert in these matters.)

It also makes sense that when the manic phase comes on, and only if it is not as you say, a "clusterfudge of mental insanity" - some release of all that excess energy could very well motivate an increase in one's sexual activities.

This condition might also motivate an increase in lots of other activities too, so I can see where isolating it as just a sexual increase may very well be misleading. Of course, sexual release is easy to achieve for the most part, so that would likely be a common outlet - and especially, as you point out, amongst the younger ones dealing with this condition.

Whether that equates to an increase in the use of porn is another question, but in some very real sense, secondary to the issue of hyper-sexuality.

What do you (or others) think?

a reply to: bb23108

You're right - excess energy does occur with mania.

My personal experience is a far extreme of the spectrum.

Some can channel it through sexual outlets and be just fine....but hyper-sexuality also a very common symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder, so that might be a better AXIS II Diagnosis if one fits the criteria for it.

Mind you...this doesn't mean healthy sexual activity, or even healthy porn consumption until the energy is spent. In order for it to be a disorder, it has to cause extreme suffering and distress to the individual experiencing the urges or else detrimental to those around them while they are undergoing the mania.

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
a reply to: bb23108

Mind you...this doesn't mean healthy sexual activity, or even healthy porn consumption until the energy is spent. In order for it to be a disorder, it has to cause extreme suffering and distress to the individual experiencing the urges or else detrimental to those around them while they are undergoing the mania.

Right, I understand that is (are) the clinical requirement(s) to be considered a disorder.

I am also wondering if there is any significance to the claim that women deal with this disorder as the opening post quoted (I know you don't think so):

"At least one study found that hyper-sexuality appears to play a larger role in women’s lives than in men’s. The 1980 study, led by Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, a clinical psychologist generally regarded as one of the foremost experts on bipolar disorder—and one of its most well-known sufferers—reported that women with bipolar tend to be far more sexually provocative and seductive than their male counterparts. "

If indeed this is the case, I could understand it - as it might be at least possible (speaking in very general terms) that women seem to have the upper hand, in a way, relative to sexuality - in that men are a lot "easier" to seduce than the other way around. Women at least seem like they have a bit more control over their sexual urges, generally speaking - and so feel more in control in this arena.

So perhaps when women with this disorder feel manic, some gravitate to what they feel they can control to one degree or another, and also gain some sexual release in the process. Men would have a harder time in quickly getting a woman (to sexually help them with this matter of being manic) - at least it seems to me.

Of course, there are many variables here, and I am just speaking in general terms, as I find this matter interesting - and especially because you are participating in the discussion here.

Someone who suffers from an extreme of energy can be very helpful to others in understanding how to deal with their excess energy. Personally, I found that sexuality, if it was done in a way that took both partners' energy (feeling awareness) fully into account, the energy would find a balance - even without ejaculatory release. And that process could be done often, and even have a healthy effect.

Of course, this is another matter that most young people are not schooled in, so it is not likely we will find many who can relate to this, though hyper-sexuality could become a means to balance one's energy rather than just trying to expend it.

In a very real sense, the more the body-mind is open to life, the more energy flows through it - but this is a natural process in which one is allowed to learn to conduct that energy in a balanced way, rather than it is for those with this condition in which it becomes more like a dam breaking and a sudden flood of way too much energy. Is this an accurate enough description in your experience?

I am wondering if there are any practices you do to help you through the manic phases? I am also wondering if there is anything you (can) do, such as yoga, breathing exercises, meditation, etc., especially before the mania hits. If I am getting too personal, just let me know. Thank you!

a reply to: bb23108

Very astute observations.
Right on.

I'm pretty heavy into criminal psychology right now, so forgive me if I'm not very conclusive when it comes to full spectrum dynamics.

I think you've done a wonderful job of fleshing things out and I'm really impressed with your thoughts on this subject thus far. Thanks a million! Seriously. I mean that. I deleted a lot of my prior post before hitting send because I was delving more into the deranged manifestations and extreme types of hyper-sexual behavior manifestations.

Felt it might derail the thread and didn't want to get too into the dark side of things.

Diet is a key factor in keeping my mania at bay. Healthy food is so important. I require a lot of protein but sometimes I really crave dark greens and colorful salads, so the diet kind of fluxes. Oddly enough, I have a weird relationship with caffeine. Sodas calm me down and coffee helps me focus. But if I start overworking and start losing track of time I can easily start sliding into mania without realizing it. I've learned to notice most of the symptoms before they get too extreme and it's much more manageable these days.

My AXIS I is Schizoaffective, and when those manic spells hit alongside mental divergence and delusions/hallucinations, they are suddenly and out of the blue for days or weeks at a time. Staying out of environments that trigger me is very important. I'm slowly learning to desensitize to the more mundane ones and completely avoid others.

Now it's just proper diet, rest and knowing the warning signs most of the time when I'm overworking. If I don't get enough good sleep my thoughts can start culminating into a full blown psychotic episode. I'm not violent, but the mental switching can be terrifying and exceedingly physically painful when mania starts leading into psychosis.

Identifying triggers are important as well....my main concern is keeping my psychosis at bay. Every day I'm doing walking meditations, music therapy, art and writing therapy, cultural studies and personal enrichment to keep the depressive aspects at bay. Those still tend to get very bad if I stay isolated for too long without new sensory experiences...like fresh air and sunlight, nature and so forth. Without that very important aspect to balance out the nasty stuff I deal with, I can get a little loopy and stressed beyond healthy limits.

For most people suffering from bi-polar, healthy diet and exercise, good friends and a strong supportive base of associations does immense wonders. A small breakfast, maybe a morning walk or jog, a job or volunteer work, art therapy, reading....there are a number of ways for folks dealing with bi-polar to develop a workable routine. Each person has their own thing that works for them, favorite foods and so forth, and it's not always easy to admit that too many salty foods and greasy dishes are bad for ones overall health in the long run, but moderation of those types of things with fresh fruits and raw veggies can do wonders.

Some folks prefer jogging to burn off excess energies, some can do so with power walking, others with a leisurely stroll. The trick is finding what works for you and learning as many techniques as possible in order to not grow stale and tired and "used to" the same thing day in and day out.

Yoga takes many forms....sitting still doesn't work for me so I do walking meditations and light active stretching from time to time. Once again, try different types until you find what works best for you.

In regards to the sexual energies, I've kind of always been a bit Tantric and my husband and I can satisfy one another with a quick swat on the rump and a peck on the cheek. Sounds silly, I know....but sexual energy isn't always through the genitals. As the saying goes - the brain is the biggest and most dynamic sexual organ.

Kundalini Yoga covers that aspect, but it's important to find a proper practitioner, and not rush the process. Too much too fast too soon and one can experience some very nasty side-effects. I won't get into them all because we'd be here for eternity, but it's wise to avoid any heavy drugs or excessive alcohol use when undergoing Kundalini Training.

Moderation is the key to almost all imbalances.
Too much = mania.
Not enough = depression.

Naturally made Serotonin.
It's our friend.

What's the need for study of this even.

Your body has desires, particularly women of when and what to mate with...

A basic aspect of human society in most places is the restraint of those desires whatever they may be... of course the human condition creates chemical imbalances, bipolar and worse...

I have a friend who is 33 and a virgin and on top of that uses porn and he has unrealistic desires, nothing bad just goofy mainly but still... he's a nut case from it, falls asleep, no attention span, more emotional than he should be, I hate to say it but he's probably doomed to arrest or something from flipping one day, can't hold a job well... it's all"dude you really need to get laid" but he's shy and not great looking...

It's a biological need, hold in a crap for 2 days you'd be ready for the nuthouse too, stuff your nose when you have a cold it's annoying as hell, if it was perpetual and ongoing you'll go nuts...

Bipolar? whatever, not screwing or being unsatisfied all the time with screwing will make a person nuts.

This is a "no rocket science needed" issue

Bipolar and ADHD is one of the most pushed diagnosis by the AMA, APA, FDA, and Pharma Giants-

Doesn't mean it is correct.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES
Thank you for that wonderful write-up! And I couldn't agree with you more about the importance of diet in terms of balancing the body and its energies.

I have found that much of what I used to suffer physically and emotionally was mostly handled by finding my optimum diet - which did take quite a while to determine. In short, I became vegetarian a long time ago, and eventually moved into an all raw vegan diet and have done this for the last 8 years. It has really worked for me, but the secret was in blending a very large amount of greens each day, with one's favorite fruits and some stevia for taste - all organic if possible. I also sprout grains for some bulk, and have enough variety to sustain me. I do include a few supplements due to an all raw vegan diet can be very restrictive and must be approached wisely.

Greens like kale, spinach, chard, etc., contain lots of protein and have sustained me very well, though each person needs to determine what is best. I cannot even relate to anything fried or greasy - it seems like a bad idea to my body at this point.

You sound like you know much about diet, but if you haven't gotten into green drinks (like at least a quart a day), they can really provide you with a whole lot of sustenance without having to chew for several hours to eat that much greenery! (Google Victoria Boutenko for some recipes, etc.) I mean, look at how large some animals can be - just by grazing! Though they seem content to eat all day - and don't have blenders, nor apparently other things they want to do like us humans.


Anyway, you sound like you are handling your difficult situation with real intelligence and class - and that is very refreshing to hear, and also that you are sharing your experience and insights here.


Thank you very much.

Based upon my own personal experiences those most addicted to porn are narcissistic. I've known many Bi-polar people and none of them were addicted to porn, except for one who was (diagnosed) Bi-Polar with Narcissism. All of the narcissists I've ever known were porn addicted. Just my personal experience... not scientific fact.

a reply to: wasaka

I am pretty sure that Hypersexuality occurs in 25-80% of all people. No need to put a depression/bipolar/manic spin to this.

EVERYONE likes sex and porn. The people that don't admit to it are the ones with the real mental issues.

Reminds me of many extremely religious people who cast judgement on everyone else their whole lives, pretending to be perfect in every way, while behind closed doors were doing unspeakable things.

A lot of psychologists/psychiatrists get into that field because they have underlying mental issues they are wanting to figure out our "cure".

Personally, I think the whole idea of bipolar illness is completely ridiculous.

Calling porn addiction an extension of this is equally ridiculous.

Psychiatry ignores people with REAL mental health issues that are in mental health facilities or PRISON, mostly because they can't afford access to a private psychiatrist, and psychiatrists have to be able to justify their ridiculous fees by finding "new" diseases all the time.

a reply to: Thisisfun2015

porn hasn't ruined men, women have, instead of burning our bras we should have focused on the teachings of harems over the centuries we could rule our homes and in suit the world from our bedrooms, instead we fought not smarter but harder and wanted to be part of the working world-

Totally agree, wish I could give you more than 1 star.

a reply to: babybunnies

The hardest part of modern psychiatry is finding the right cocktail and balance of medications for genuine cases.

Sadly, most are not GENUINE cases.

I know of some clients who are adamant to the point of violence if they don't get certain prescriptions. There was a lock down incident with a client at the facility I go to for my own case that was going through so much mental stress and anguish that he just flew into a rage trying to cope with his withdrawls.

Psychiatrists up there can't prescribe painkillers or certain controlled substances mainly because they just have too many dependency and withdrawal issues associated with them. Some folks going through self-medicating withdrawals are misinformed about what is and is not able to be done at this facility I frequent, and In addition to the suffering they're experiencing themselves, they're terrifying to staff and patients just there for some of the more minor malady cases.

Drug induced psychosis is one of the hardest to treat because of the addictive nature of some harder level substances.

It takes an immense amount of time and commitment and social and familial support to overcome those types of things. Sometimes jail is the only thing available for detoxing from the hard stuff, and it absolutely breaks my heart.

Because of limited funding (I live in one of the poorest states in the Union) there is a wealth of LPN and home-based assistance programs helping to provide such services at home for a lot of folks. My heart goes out to everyone working through these issues, and I'm looking forward to voting in favor of certain laws that would hopefully legalize access to pure, un-tampered medical grade herb. It's a slow process, but hopefully one day it will come to fruition.

Gah.
I sound like a total freakin' hippie.

Bipolar and sex addiction definitely can be comorbid but no, it is not a defining characteristic of bipolar disorder.

One of my close friends had a porn addiction when he was in highschool. He has ADHD. He had some issues with emotion control--and could blow up at the drop of a hat back back then. But only because people would pick on him. He's two years older than me--and he isn't all freaky deaky any more. He is really quite chill. He's definitely not bipolar.

Porn addiction is an addiction all on it's own--like gaming/internet addiction. It's as a result of our hypersexualized society. Many people probably have a porn addiction especially young males.

Bipolar is super over-diagnosed and honestly back when i was first taught about it it was defined totally differently than it is now. The key here is does it meet the 5 D's criteria of the DSMV.

I think you had better be careful not to overgeneralize things--especially with disorders that we don't fully understand. You have to realize that they're two separate things--just like anxiety/ocd and eating disorders.

Co-morbidity yes part of bipolar no.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

you work in the field? oh how cool! what kind of practitioner are you?

Yeah, your account of what you encounter sounds super rough. One of the reasons I'm going to take my psych degree and just go to law school. I wouldn't have the patience for the kinda thing you were talking about.

Over-diagnosis/over-medication is a real issue these days for sure--especially among children being 'diagnosed' with 'bipolar'

it's a travesty.

like, if someone feels like they're on adderall/rolling (but when they haven't taken a drug) then yeah something must really be messed the f up with them and therefore they need help/medication. the question is how does one even begin to determine that? what if they're just exhibiting psychosis? Or does that always involve mania?

i just feel like bipolar is becoming this weird blanket term for other things.

do you also agree or did i go off on a limb with that one?
I admit i've only ever been taught about this kind of thing and haven't experienced people with bipolar.

I agree most everyone likes sex and porn, but this is about addiction -- people who are addicted to porn. And, that there's a connection with that and BPD, which I don't agree with.

Many people like alcohol/pot and occasionally drink/smoke, but they are not addicted to it. Same with porn. I still think people who are addicted to porn tend to be NPD, narcissists, not BPD.... at least in my opinion.

a reply to: Jana12

What does being a Narcissist have to do with porn addiction. I am trying to find a correlation, but am coming up blank.

Same goes for BPD in my opinion. I think we need to stop trying to put people into specific categories because it makes us feel better.

I think the reality is that everyone is addicted to something. The difference is that it is not considered a problem as long as you are addicted to the current politically/socially correct thing.

Take gambling for example. Gambling is considered a bad addiction overall, correct? However, there are a lot of different ways to gamble. Wall Street does nothing but gamble all day everyday on derivatives. So while gambling on sports or in casinos as an addict is bad, gambling on wall street is perfectly fine...and if you do well you are celebrated.

How about sex addicts... They are considered bad overall right? How about the sex addict that is married who basically rapes his wife, but she can't or won't say no because of their marriage. Is it any different when a person has sex multiple times a day with different partners vs the same partner? As long as this person is practicing safe sex, and the partners are willing, I don't see a difference.

How about porn addiction... Is the young boy sitting in class every day dreaming about having sex with his classmates/teacher/etc...a porn addict? Is what he sees in his mind any different than what he sees on a screen?

Addiction is a normal part of being a human. Certain kinds of addiction are definitely less healthy than others, but everyone has their addictions whether they want to admit it or not.