Episode 185: The Problem With Porn “Reboot” And Recovery Programs

The growing anti-porn movement has fueled the rise of an entire industry centered around selling people on the idea of masturbatory abstinence. Often referred to as a “reboot,” these programs encourage men to forego self-pleasure and orgasm for prolonged periods of time, which they say is necessary to reset the brain and boost testosterone. But do these programs work as advertised? This is the second installment in a 4-part series on the science of porn and, today, we’re going to go inside the world of porn addiction recovery programs. I’m joined once again by Dr. Nicole Prause, a licensed psychologist and sex researcher, founder of the sexual biotechnology company Liberos, and a scientist in the Department of Medicine at UCLA. Nicole has studied the experiences of hundreds of men who tried reboot programs, and the results suggest that these programs may actually be causing harm and taking a toll on men’s mental health. Some of the topics we discuss include: Where is the rise in anti-porn sentiment coming from? What might a typical reboot program look like? What does a “relapse” mean in the context of a reboot? How common is this kind of relapse? How do men engaged in reboot programs fare in terms of their mental health and sexual function? For individuals who feel distressed about their porn usage, what can they do? Learn more about Nicole and her work over at Liberos and follow her on Twitter @NicoleRPrause. Thank you to our sponsors! The Modern Sex Therapy Institutes is one of the leading sex therapy certification programs in the world, meets all AASECT certification requirements, has 12 other specialty certifications, and a Ph.D. program in Clinical Sexology. Visit modernsextherapyinstitutes.com to learn more. On display now in the Kinsey Institute’s Beebe Gallery on the IU Bloomington campus: Universal Language: The Legacy of Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Kinsey Institute Collections. Open to the public on the 3rd floor of Lindley Hall 9:30am – 4pm Monday to Friday. Learn more about upcoming events at kinseyinstitute.org or follow the Kinsey Institute on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. *** Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here for previous articles or follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram. Listen and stream all episodes on Apple, Spotify, Google, or Amazon. Subscribe to automatically receive new episodes and please rate and review the podcast! Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.