Suffer from 3 distinct addictions - all compulsive

klarson27

Active Member
I've been a long time Porn addict, and have found that I'm at my weakest when I'm also relapsing in one of my other two addictions. Marijuana and Alcohol.  I've refrained from Alcohol the longest and feel strong in that sobriety.

I recently started smoking marijuana again (low THC) and I've found that my sexual urges to act out are incredibly strong and Porn has been a "safe alternative" to acting out in a sex addiction.

So Porn/Sex/Weed are a very dangerous combination for me.

I'm curious how many others suffer from other addictions.  It seems logical to me that if I can get addicted to Porn, Sex, Drugs, then I'm probably a high risk for Addictions related to Food/Gambling (I have yet to suffer addictions related to those two).

Are there people here who only struggle with porn? Or is your whole life a mess with addictions nested throughout?

Thanks for any insight from those who struggle with dopamine producers in other areas too.
 

TheDude69

Member
Personally it?s food, porn, and sex. I hate alcohol, I?ll gamble a little if I?m in a casino but can easily stop once I?ve lost some money, marijuana is OK occasionally (if I?m in Vegas) but no big deal. I?ve had a couple of very bad experiences with edibles so I tend to not touch it.

My point being is that if you are addicted to one thing you are more likely to be addicted to other things but it?s not a guarantee that you will be addicted to everything.
 

doneatlast

Well-Known Member
I can't really say if there is any correlation or not, but I was in a phase of improving what I ate (especially sweets, I have a crazy taste for sweets and carbs in breads, bagels, etc) and all but quit drinking for a while, and that was when my biggest progress for porn was.  I'm sure it helped, but how much... not sure.  I do think that in a way compulsions are all connected.
 

tfc_42

Member
Ha,  been a long time weed addict and honestly it fuels my port addiction as well.  I call it my "routine".    Something about weed makes me extemely horny and i rarely surf porn without being high.    I smoke,  let the urge begin and get lost.  Afterwards I have this enormous amount of guilt and clarity about how I need to stop and it is ruining my life.  This feeling last about 30 minutes and then i repeat hours later.    30 years later here I am.  Cannot stop one without the other.  I feel like if i had a way to channel this differently into a different habit maybe things would be different.  I am married, a new father of 2 boys but I have always felt i need weed for entertainment as i really have no social life, no friends, and deal with alot of boredom and weed helps in alot of ways - at least that is my unfortunate opinion although i know i am wrong  It is a cycle that i cannot stop.
 

malando

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
DoneAtLast said:
I can't really say if there is any correlation or not, but I was in a phase of improving what I ate (especially sweets, I have a crazy taste for sweets and carbs in breads, bagels, etc) and all but quit drinking for a while, and that was when my biggest progress for porn was.  I'm sure it helped, but how much... not sure.  I do think that in a way compulsions are all connected.
I switched to a zero carb, ketogenic diet about 6 weeks ago. To say that the results have been dramatic would be an understatement. I have lost all cravings for sugar for the first time in my life - and I'm not kidding when I say I'm a full blown sugar addict. I used to plan my days around having sugar at my disposal. Now that I have cut carbs, I don't ever get uncontrolled hunger. I've dropped 40lb. It has put me in a much more stable mood too. The swings of hormones, energy, cognition and mood with carb-based diets are highly detrimental to well-being - not to mention the fact that over 2/3 of people in developed nations have significant insulin resistance if not full blown type 2 diabetes. I recommend to anyone to get off the carb train - even people who think they are the lucky ones who can live in carbs, it eventually catches up with you. Carbs are the main reason people die from cancer and cardiovascular disease. In high amounts like the western diet, it's poison.
 

Pete McVries

Active Member
May I ask what you mean by zero carb? Like no sugary or white wheat products anymore or zero carbs in general, meaning you do not even eat vegetables anymore (which consist mostly of carbs)? Not to be a smart ass but I think zero carb is virtually impossible. And I think carbs in general are not bad per se. Polysaccharides take time to digest and therefore give you a lasting energy supply and are not bad like sugar (monosaccharides). I totally agree though, that the western carb diet is problematic in many cases. Personally, I was on a low carb diet for a while to lose weight. It was highly effective, I didn't have to starve myself to consistently lose weight and moreover my skin got really clean and clear. I was really astonished about this because I never had any problems with pimples or a 'dirty' skin but even in my case I could make out a distinct change for the better.
 

figster

New Member
I think we are all prone to addiction.  Most things good and most things bad are easy to repeat for folks.  Sugars, cannabis, exercise, reading, books, alcohol, and sex are just a few of my addictions - lets include climate control!  The differences among them are the degrees of how much we will do in order to satiate the addiction.  Sex is the worst for me.  In short, I was a serial cheater and became friends with folks just to sleep with their partners.

I would encourage looking into process addiction.  NPR did a great podcast on the matter:  https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/787160734/creatures-of-habit-how-habits-shape-who-we-are-and-who-we-become

The Hidden Brain podcast is great in general. 

Enjoy!
 

malando

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Pete McVries said:
May I ask what you mean by zero carb? Like no sugary or white wheat products anymore or zero carbs in general, meaning you do not even eat vegetables anymore (which consist mostly of carbs)? Not to be a smart ass but I think zero carb is virtually impossible. And I think carbs in general are not bad per se. Polysaccharides take time to digest and therefore give you a lasting energy supply and are not bad like sugar (monosaccharides). I totally agree though, that the western carb diet is problematic in many cases. Personally, I was on a low carb diet for a while to lose weight. It was highly effective, I didn't have to starve myself to consistently lose weight and moreover my skin got really clean and clear. I was really astonished about this because I never had any problems with pimples or a 'dirty' skin but even in my case I could make out a distinct change for the better.
Ok, yes, zero carbs is practically impossible. What I meant was reducing carbs to the absolute minimum whilst still meeting your nutritional needs. In the past, low carb meant something like 15-20% carbs total. But now that has been revised as far too high for people with type 2 diabetes, or people carrying immovable weight, or people with metabolic syndrome. I'll have to disagree with you that polysaccharides are a desirable energy source. Whilst they are preferable to simple sugars, they still result in high insulin response, which is the cause of a lot of problems with metabolism and chronic disease. Evolutionally, humans were never designed to run principally on carbs as an energy source - that's an invention of modern marketing. More on that below.

I don't eat any unnecessary carbs now. For me, that results in having no more than 2-3% carbs - and the main point of emphasis here is that I don't chase carbs at all as an energy source. Most people, whether they are aware of it or not, are metabolically compromised because they rely entirely on carbs as their source of energy. If your carbs are above 40% you will be running very high levels of insulin in the blood most of the time (except when you sleep). This means your body never turns off its fat storage mode and you don't burn body fat. It also means, for most people, you will develop insulin resistance over time, and it will progressively worsen as you age. Insulin resistance is the main reason people develop weight problems, like the large belly, in their middle age and older. It's more significant than ideas around slowing metabolism with age. Carbs are a trap - they lead you into a lifetime of struggle with energy and metabolism.

We were all sold a lemon with the "healthy food pyramid" - it's literally responsible for the obesity epidemic the world is facing. Cardiovascular disease is not a result of fat consumption and cholesterol - it's because of high carb diets. Anthropologically, we weren't heavy carb eaters - carbs were fairly hard to come by until later developments in farming. Our ideas around what constitutes good food come more from farming and industry (and medical authorities bought and paid for by same), rather than studies proving what is healthier. Carbs in nature have always been a scarcity, rather than a constant supply. They were great when we could get them, and our body knows how to use them, but we were never supposed to be gorging on them all day everyday. What we see in supermarkets now, with all the highly abundant fruit, sugar and processed grains, is a total anomaly compared to what our bodies require. The carbs in nature are not highly calorific, and they come with plenty of fibre, that's why people who eat veggies like cruciferous greens, mushrooms, etc have no problems, but people who eats lots of potatoes, pumpkin etc, don't fare so well. It's all about the insulin response. We simply aren't supposed to be living with such high insulin levels in our bodies. Hyperinsulinaemia, and the resultant insulin resistance that follows, is the biggest cause of chronic disease, and cancer. It provides the perfect breeding ground for maladaptive processes in the body. It's a crying shame that fat was demonised the way it was, when carbs were the problem all along.

Another thing to note is that the problem with carbs is not just for overweight people. There are countless skinny people with metabolic syndrome which results in them being apparently thin, but having fatty livers and fat surrounding internal organs. They are known as "skinny-fat people". These people have significant insulin levels and insulin resistance, despite carrying little apparent weight. But the outcome for these people is just as bad as for morbidly obese people. They carry the same risk for heart-attack and stroke as obese people. These are some of the most problematic cases because they think they are healthy and they don't even find out that they are diabetic/prediabetic until something goes seriously wrong with their health. The cause of skinny/fat people? Carb-heavy diets.

Regarding cancer and disease. The reason we need to get our carbs down is because when they are high, the body is so busy dealing with them, it rarely properly engages a process called "autophagy", which is a our bodies main defence against mutated cell components which cause things like cancer and metabolic syndrome. By eating less carbs, and by having periods of fasting, we engage the autophagic response which involves the body digesting and recycling these damaged cell components before they turn into cancer. It also results in obvious changes in the body like clearing of the skin when on a low-carb diet.

I could go on and on about this, but I'm sure you've had enough, so I'll leave it there. 
 
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