Lust Addiction Recovery

Welcome to it! It’s been dormant for quite a while but has some good nuggets. I should drop stuff here more often.

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Hi MikeSeekingRecovery!

I too am struggling immensely (really only with porn, masturbation, and lustful thoughts - I couldn’t get a wife if my life depended on it! Probably for good reason). I keep resetting the app for my masturbation time after no longer than two weeks (and usually within a day).

I gave my life to the Lord two years ago but still struggle more than I can bear - it’s like what I imagine a heroin addiction to be like, and my experience has been FAR worse than alcohol withdrawal.

Can you PM me for that first step, and some of the things you’ve done since? Thanks, and I wish you well on your road of recovery!

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Welcome @OK2BVulnerable :wave:t2: :innocent:

There’s a good number of people here recovering from porn. One of the active threads right now is this one, you may find some insights there:

PMO - Porn, Masturbation, Recovery

Personally I have found it helpful to work with my counsellor on some of the internal things that I have neglected, which are enabling the porn use, including my misunderstandings and neglect of healthy vulnerability, healthy attachment, and healthy intimacy (emotionally; all these things, we can learn and practice them in healthy family and friendship relationships). It has taken time and it is still a work in progress; as the old expression goes, if you walk a mile into the forest, you need to walk a mile out.

Part of it is also just determination and persistence. That voice to use will whisper in my ear. I use recovery friends (I was in a recovery group and still maintain those friendships), I use a mirror (or the selfie cam on my phone) and talk to myself (I repeat my determination: “I will not __”), I “move a muscle, change a thought” by going for a walk or changing my space. The urges always pass.

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Thank you so much, Matt! I struggle with friendships with women (and occasionally men), but I feel like women baffle me and I don’t want to be their friend, despite knowing that sometimes I really need to be and nothing more.

Also, dating in the Church is really hard and limiting, so I’m trying to exercise patience there. After all, I’ve come to learn that everything happens:

A) according to God’s will
and
B) in God’s timing

Thanks, and have a blessed day. :pray:

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Hi Mike, I’m interested in your first step. I have been struggling with overcoming lust for pretty much my whole life. I don’t know how to dm on this platform. If you know how send me a message thanks. I want to have ministry but my addiction is destroying me, especially now with Ai. I need to overcome this. I know probably a great deal is just to actually use the will God gave us and say no to it. Especially if we pray and ask for strength to say no. The addiction strangely gives me an unholy comfort and I just want to have a hatred for it. I know how bad it is but I keep indulging. Please let me know what has worked for you. It is a very isolating problem. Sometimes I consider ending it all, because I can’t overcome this. I don’t want the guilt and shame cycle to keep going I can’t take it any longer. I want to have true integrity with God and man. I want to have a sanctified imagination, and have true dignity. And improved memory. Man does this stuff ever attack the memory. I’m 25 years old brother and it’s embarrassing how much I forget. Often elderly people can remember better than me. It’s truly atrocious. It’s keeping me from being the man God wants me to be. I feel like such a hypocrite as I give Bible studies. I can’t bring myself to preach a sermon though as I have too much guilt, I want to be overcome this if I’m to represent the Creator. It’s really hard man.