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Justdudeatplay t1_j60edjw wrote

I’d be careful with that correlation. It could be that people who are prone to hyper religiousness are simply more reactive to the dopamine/serotonin they get from it. An addictive personality may respond to sexual desire in similar ways. It might not just be about repression, it could be the person.

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Olclops t1_j63zyun wrote

Former hyper religious person here with some anecdotal evidence ... I used to think i had a compulsive problem with sexual behavior. When i dropped the religious shame-based belief system, the compulsivity went with it. Like magic.

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Violets_and_honey t1_j64gkjl wrote

Exactly, if you stop feeling ashamed about something you won't "binge" on it, you will enjoy it freely and have less of a scarcity mindset, and therefore control your urges better because it will just feel more natural and pleasant, rather than shameful.

It's also kind of a labeling issue. Say a really religious person is "cumpulsive" and gives in to their urge to masturbate, then feels guilty and ashamed and believes that they were compelled, they couldn't help it. A less restrictive person would just feel horny, choose to masturbate, and feel good after, no shame or calling it cumpulsive.

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