In this eye-opening episode of Parent Guide: Helping Your Teen Overcome Pornography Addiction, host Matt Bulkley, a seasoned psychotherapist specializing in teen and family issues, explores the critical role of serotonin—the brain's natural mood stabilizer and "chill pill"—in your teenager's emotional world. Discover how pornography delivers artificial serotonin spikes that mimic quick relief from stress, anxiety, or loneliness, but ultimately disrupts natural brain chemistry, leading to mood swings, anhedonia (inability to enjoy normal activities), sleep issues, and a vicious cycle of dependency.
Drawing from studies like the 2021 Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2017 Psychiatry Research, and 2020 Addictive Behaviors, Matt explains the science behind porn's hijacking of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin pathways, and shares a real (anonymized) client story of a 16-year-old boy named Jake whose reliance on porn left him feeling numb and disconnected.
Most importantly, get actionable hope: five practical, science-backed steps to help your teen reclaim their brain's balance. Learn how to start judgment-free conversations, promote natural serotonin boosters like exercise and hobbies, foster real-world social connections, set healthy tech boundaries, and know when to seek professional help—including resources like the Recovery Toolbox for Teens from Therapy Associates, or intensive programs like Star Guides for higher-risk situations.
Whether your teen is stressed from school, friends, or social media, this episode empowers parents with empathy, biology insights, and tools to guide them toward lasting coping skills. Tune in for support, strategies, and the reminder that recovery is possible—one step at a time. Perfect for parents navigating teen pornography addiction, brain health, and family healing.
teen pornography addiction
serotonin and porn addiction
helping teens overcome porn
brain chemistry pornography teens
parent guide porn recovery
natural serotonin boosters for teens
porn hijacks teen brain
teen anxiety stress coping
Recovery Toolbox for Teens
Star Guides wilderness therapy
Therapy Associates Utah
dopamine oxytocin serotonin porn
teen mood swings addiction
family tech boundaries porn
judgment-free porn talks parents
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.