David J. Ley Ph.D.

In flight, pilot Eric Hodges with Laura Ornelas and Katie Witkiewitz in the balloon basket

View of mountains and city from the balloon

View of two balloons with city and mountain in background

The balloon crew with Katie Witkiewitz, Eric Hodges, Laura Ornelas, David Ley, Morgan and Felix

Fridays are also for balloons! Besos Amigos flight with @lcornelas.bsky.social @davidleyphd.bsky.social

Missed you @joshuagrubbsphd.bsky.social

If you want a balanced and evidence-based perspective on sex and porn use, follow @silvaneves.bsky.social @nicolerprause.bsky.social @davidleyphd.bsky.social

Who had June 5 in the bet on what day Trump and Musk would turn on each other? I know I didn’t. I’d predicted March 3.

Hearing that Jobcorps is being defunded across the country, given a week to close?

Super thrilled to help author this paper exploring the intersections between modern politics, sexual health, and ethics in psychology. Was honored to support a crew of extraordinary scholars and clinicians.

Shout out to coauthors: @tabachnickar.bsky.social @cassie-boness.bsky.social @stef-l-sequeira.bsky.social @davidleyphd.bsky.social
Plus many who aren’t on Bluesky

Let us know what you think and how you are grappling with this in your work!

Unm psychology is on fire!!!

I randomly emailed an author of a paper on sexual regret, looking for a PDF. (Don’t know him, just found his email) No lie, he had just this morning been on my own website looking for info on me after reading one of my papers. He initially thought my email was some kind of auto spam. Small world.

So.

Feeling this pretty hard. Like, rigid, granite, in your face level of over exaggerated expression.

folks who believe in sex addiction see it as external to the person, separate from who they are, acting "like a drug" on a person, and not entwined with or reflective of who the person is. they really do believe these people are victims and at the control of their sexuality.

Seems like accepting a plane from a foreign country with known Russian ties and using the plane to transport the President might have some security concerns. Surely the plane might not be wired for monitoring or have secret killswitch?

G yes.

Some rando sent me a ChatGPT “analysis” of one of my articles. Was rather reassuring how inaccurate it was. Apparently ChatGPT believes “porn hijack’s dopamine systems”?

Traveling always inflames my sciatica. Yikes. Is there an airline where I could fly inverted? Or doing yoga?

also you all need to see this, because this is something I don't think *anybody* could predict for where this ad goes

No, Abstinence Won't Increase Your Testosterone Claims that testosterone is increased by abstinence are based on rather poor science, and seem unlikely to be accurate.

Semen is not a magic fluid that gives you superpowers when retained. Can’t believe this still needs to be said. No, Abstinence Won't Increase Your Testosterone. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wome...

Robert Virgil Dindinger Mormon sex abuse case

Utah psychologist, BYU grad, affiliated with LDS Church, author of a workbook on treating porn addiction gets caught with what? (Drumroll) yes. Child sex abuse material. And charged with exploitation of children he treated. (Not a drag queen, btw). floodlit.org/a/a837/

My book ethical porn for dicks! Also @silvaneves.bsky.social book on compulsive sexual behaviors.

Same. And yet we both survived! I predict lots of future techno panic over this aspect of AI.

AI Romantic and Sexual Partners — More Common Than You Think Many young people are using AI for sex and romantic purposes, and some report they find it more appealing and comfortable than dealing with real people.

Are AI generated romantic partners good or bad for us? I think it depends. But 1 in 4 young adults have used them. We have to start wrestling with this, like it or not! www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wome...

Every time someone says “COVID was a fake/fraud/panic,” I say “you took John Prine away motherfucker!” Then, well, I can’t say anything else according to my attorney. See. I can listen.

Years ago I explored writing a book with a woman who was a former Mormon polygamist sister wife. She’d entered polygamous marriage in order to be with another woman, whom she was in love with. As a lesbian, she embraced polygamy as a means to be with her female lover. Fascinating story…

The idea of porn addiction should be abandoned, argues @davidleyphd.bsky.social—according to a meta-analysis, it is not the frequency of pornography use that predicts problems with porn, but religiosity and the associated moral incongruence leading to guilt and shame:

buff.ly/DFbcjUH

This is one of the most fun trainings I get to do. Why are group play, orgies, threesomes and cuckolding such popular fantasies? We explore every nook and cranny! ;-)

Truck with trailer and hot air balloon on empty road

Balloons inflating on a dirt lot with sun rising in distance.

Inflating a hot air balloon with fan.

Hot air balloon rising with sun in distance.

After one of the most stressful weeks of my career. Thankful to inflate with the Besos Amigos crew today. Saturdays are for balloons. @lcornelas.bsky.social @davidleyphd.bsky.social @joshuagrubbsphd.bsky.social

Does nose spray addiction exist? A qualitative analysis of addiction components in rhinitis medicamentosa Nasal congestion is a prevalent symptom often alleviated with over-the-counter nasal sprays containing decongestants. Rhinitis medicamentosa (RM), caused by the overuse of decongestants leading to rec...

Wonder why i despise the proliferation and blurring ofbthe concept of addiction? Heres a good example. I call this “Valley Girl Science.” Just because using bassl spray may be “like” substance use doesn’t mean it’s an addiction. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Who Is The Real Father of Sex Addiction? Who is the true father of sex addiction? Could it be a man who treated homosexuality as an addiction?

Oh even further back than that! Hatterer blamed homosexuality on sex addiction and did conversion therapy to treat it as early as the 60s. Got a big surge after 73 when APA removed homosexuality as disorder. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wome...

Neither Addiction nor Epidemic Thought is an infection. In the case of certain thoughts, it becomes an epidemic.  –  Wallace Stevens Back in February I published “Not an Addiction”, in which I criticized the popular confus…

I've been slamming "sex addiction" since early 2011; by November of that year @davidleyphd.bsky.social was calling it "hype" after Newsweek published a cover story on it. maggiemcneill.com/2011/12/04/n...

Duggar's case didn't start blowing up until summer of '15. maggiemcneill.com/2015/09/02/i...

It got a big boost in the early 80s when moral majority used porn addiction claims as part of getting playboy magazine banned from 7-11.