“As humans we are sexual beings. Not amoebas or hammerhead sharks but sexually active beings said Steve Holladay, Certified Pastoral Sexual Addiction Specialist. Holladay serves as the Director of Ministry Operations for an organization, called Ultimate Escape, he founded in Brentwood, Tenn. that focuses on counseling sexual issues.
On Tuesday night, Holladay, spoke to a packed room of giggling Pepperdine students about the Ultimate Sex Organ: The Brain.” Combining informative brain science with pertinent analogies he presented the importance of understanding healthy sexuality.
“People of the traditional college age 18 to 22 are in a very important time of making decisions when they may not be totally aware of how long-lasting the consequences will be said Holladay.
For the first half of the presentation in a packed PLC 125, Holladay explained the specific neurochemistry related to physical attraction and emotional behavior. The presentation touched on dopamine, the pleasure chemical testosterone, the desire chemical norepinephrine for physical attraction, phenylethylamine as connected to romance addiction oxytocin in relation to skin-to-skin” response and vasopressin as the thermo regulator to the brain. Some student attendees agreed that while this information was insightful it wasn’t what they had forecasted for the event.
“[Holladay] had some good points backed up with a lot of biological evidence. It was more of a scientific lecture than I expected Freshman Chris Czupak said, calling it a scientific lecture based on how relationships are made.”
Another audience member freshman Sean Ross felt that the convocation was a “chemistry lesson that proved true a lot of the values that have been drilled into students’ lives.”
Holladay followed the same train of thought in making his presentation relevant to the college-aged audience heavily influenced by societal pressures concerning sexuality.
“If I’m absorbing everything from culture and buying into it I’m going to make decisions based on that. Then one day I’ll realize that I was wrong and what do I do then?” said Holladay. “The earlier that you’ve got good information and are better equipped to make decisions the better life will be long-term.”
Following the neurochemistry background in the presentation Holladay used several household items to create a deeper understanding of not only attraction but also sexual relationships.
One of these analogous demonstrations included student from the audience sipping an energy drink with a straw as Holladay placed electrical cords into the can and casually said he was going to connect the cord to the “hole in the wall” the electrical outlet. Immediately the audience reacted to the horror of the possible electrical shock and Holladay played unaware of the dangers of the simple “hole in the wall”.
He related his indifference of the electrical dangers to society’s attitude of sexual interactions and challenged the students to have the same apprehensions with sexual relationships as the obvious risks of the electrical shock.
Having spoken primarily to Christian-affiliated audiences Holladay also addressed the tentative taboo that statistically exists in conservative households about discussing healthy sexuality.
“Either our parents either didn’t feel comfortable talking about it or didn’t know how; that’s a battle that a lot of people fight Holladay said. There’s some core belief that we shouldn’t be talking about it and I try to be sensitive about that especially in a church setting because many people are uncomfortable but I challenge them to think about why it feels weird.”
Holladay hopes to approach these sexuality issues during the other two events as part of Pepperdine’s “Relationship Week.” Thursday at 4 pm Holladay will be leading another presentation on “The Ultimate Escape: Celebrating Healthy Sexuality” as well as another convocation credit available at 9 pm for “The Ultimate Illusion: Over-Sexualized Culture”.