It’s my 8th day and it’s not easy. I can’t stop thinking on masturbating or watching porn. I know that if I masturbate I will feel like shit, but my body wants to watch porn and explicit images, I keep going but i know that a long path is in front of me.
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You have to take it one day at a time. Don’t worry about the future - it hasn’t happened. Your time is the present.
Change is uncomfortable. Get used to it, and welcome it. The more you practice being content with being uncomfortable, the better you’ll do.
The more you say that your body is pulling you to porn, the more power you give away. You are making the choices, not your body. Don’t surrender your power. Instead, be assertive.
Try a recovery program. These give support and community- it helps:
I have found counselling has also helped me. My wife and I go and it is helpful for resolving emotional intimacy issues - which has been behind the physical issues.
Another helpful thing for many is meditation. The Insight Timer app is a good one.
And learning about the trafficking and exploitation in porn helps too. Porn uses people and spits them out to use the next person. Being paid doesn’t make a difference; it’s an industry that exploits the vulnerable and leaves them:
Take care and don’t give up.
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Too true, Matt! Welcome @marci! Breaking the cycle is difficult, but achievable. I’d say in early recovery, distracting yourself is temporarily helpful, but important. Dive into this forum. Read a lot, interact with us. Take your mind away from your vices until you can start processing the whats and whys of your addiction.
Another helpful thing to note is the acronym HALT. It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. Acting out occurs most often in one of these situations. Be vigilant in stopping before urges come on.
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Thank you for your support and time, i really aprecciate your answers and advices, i know that every day that i control myself i’m better, and i won’t let my body win this battle.
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@marci this is extremely important. In our addictions we neglect our basic, normal human needs (the ones represented by HALT, above) and replace them with a hollow, solitary, shameful substitute (it’s shameful because it’s something we hide; it’s not something we share and it’s not something that moves things forward, with ourselves or anyone else).
- Be sure you have healthy food.
- Be sure your concerns - the things that anger you - are seen and addressed appropriately.
- Be sure that you actively seek out human companionship in healthy ways. Everyone needs time to be alone, but in our porn behaviours, it’s often too much time we spend alone.
- Be sure you get enough rest. Take naps. Lie down. If you sleep you sleep, if not, get up and take a walk.
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I will be aware of this advices, rhank you so much and I’m also here for supporting you and all the people with the same problem.
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Addiction is just like a rollercoaster ride, i try to think it through to the end what I’ll feel like and what good using will really get me. Nothing positive only feelings of guilt shame remorse and discontent. It takes work to reprogram our way of thinking and to realize that the quick gratification we get is not worth it. Its tough but possible to be free from our obsessions and compulsive thinking
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Man sometimes addictions can’t be just thrown away very easily and instead we have to walk them down step by step. What i mean is that this compulsion starts in the mind and we need to let go of each and every thought as it enters the mind. Dont let them linger.
Sometimes when fighting doesn’t work, allowing something to deflate itself can.
But either way the idea is similar. When the thoughts enter your mind and you feel the need for relief, try to just let them float away. Over time you will likely find a decrease in frequency of these thoughts. You will hopefully find a decrease in the severity of these thoughts too as you stop feeding into/submitting to them.
Its a hard road, but a high one whose path will lead to greater satisfaction! Be well my friend
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Thank you for answering! Today I’m better, I feel that the society should be carefull with the new generations, because tyis is happening to me with only 19 years old, and kids are in danger if they can have acces to porn so easyly. I know that my brain has to recover the dopamine and reward system. Having a girlfriend that supports me is helping me a lot! For thoso que are in my situation try to find someone to talk with, if not a girlfriend just a friend or your mum or dad, it really helps.
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