Is porn addiction real? Is "Death Grip" real? I see a lot of people talking about these like they're real thing but I'd always thought they were made up by Catholics and Mormons to shame people out of masturbating. And then "NoFap" formed out of the miasma of religious trauma and poor sexual health education and things just kind of mutated and spread. Any thoughts? Preferably with studies by atheists to back them up?
Porn addiction is real. It would probably fall under the sex addiction diagnosis in DSM IV. Catholics and Mormons are just insane freaks obsessed with bodily fluids and it sucks ass. Consider that a lot of abnormal human behavior is only consider a disorder or a problem when it negatively affects your life. So if you are, say constantly watching porn morning and night, you can't get erect, you sneak away from work and it starts affecting your performance, that can be diagnosed as a disorder. I think Porn is a symptom of an addictive personality more than it being addictive on its own - but the internet and algorithms definitely do not help.
Combine religious trauma and poor sexual health education with shitty terrible porn that's freely available. Where there's zero understanding of consent, foreplay, orgasms, communication. Honestly, it's a LOT to bulwark yourself against the misogynistic aspects and trying to "enjoy" that type of porn.