All of us need prayers. Please pray for me too brother “in arms”.
I LOVE the Great Hunt!!! 
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Such a good book! Amazing ending! Think thats good? Wait for The Dragon Reborn. Mind blowing!
Praying for us all.
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Hi! I am new to the subject and a little confused. I understand the concept of porn addiction and desire to fight it. However, what’s wrong with masturbating? Or are we talking about excessive, disruptive behavior vs. a natural occasional desire for a self-release?
There is a good bit of controversy around this subject and really it comes down to how it is used and personal preference. For me, masturbation has been a coping mechanism for over 20 years. Often times coupled with pornography, but not necessarily.
So, given these circumstances, what once may have been a case of “occasional desire for self-release” has become destructive and isolating.
There is no intimacy there, only fantasy.
In my case, a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist explained that my brain cannot tell the difference between orgasm from sex with another person or masturbating. Essentially making my partners nothing but sex dolls. In order to have any chance at a healthy, intimate sexual relationship, my brain needs a “reset”. I gotta cut out all masturbation, all stimulating images and excessive sexual fantasies for a few months. She said up to 6 for someone like me who has been using excessively since he was 10.
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I am in page 200 of the Great Hunt. I didn’t finished yet but I love it.
The good thing about this series of the Wheel of Time is that I remember you and @Meggers almost all the time. Then I pray for you both a lot because you introduced me at such amazing books and my form of gratitude is
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I have the same problem with masturbation. In my case is always link with porn and It is always harmful for me. I know if I masturbated I will binge immediately
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Thank you for explaining! It totally makes sense 
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I find that, weither or not mastrabation is healthy or not, I am thinking of those images and actions I saw from pornography while acting out. I can’t let those images into my head or else I am basically going back. So, for me, I can’t do either or else I will be doing both.
I do, however, have a seperate counter. But they are almost always the same date and time.
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53 days no porn, just listening to music, kinda watched some p subs on netflix today but besides that still going.
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You are absolutely correct. Even though I stopped watching porn a while ago, the images are still there, and they sure resurface triggered by the act. It bothered me tbh. Oh boy, it seems I have more than one thing to work on…Thank you kindly for your reply!
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First time posting in here and think I should.
I definitely need to stop using porn as much as I am. It used to be a weekly thing but over the last couple of months since proper sobriety has kicked in its become a daily thing. Once in the morning and once at night. Possibly swapping one addiction for another but going to see how easily I can stop. I guess we’ll soon see.
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Hi all, I am new to this, but I am determined to overcome my addiction.
I have been sober for 1 day & it has been a real struggle so far. I am really fighting feeling like I won’t be able to get long-term sobriety. I am feeling so much shame it feels overwhelming & I know I can’t battle it alone.
My relationship with my HP has suffered a lot through all the years I have spent acting out. I have had periods of closeness to my HP, but at this time it has been months since I have willingly reached out to my HP. I have held on to my belief in a HP, but I am also trying to work through years of religious abuse.
I have struggled with literary pornography for more than 20 years. I was introduced to it as a young teenager & it continued to escalate until I was also addicted to watching pornography & masturbation by the time I was 19.
I have tried many times to stop & have stopped for a time, but every single time I ended up relapsing & then I would spiral out of control.
Being a woman in sex addiction recovery has been such a major struggle for me. I have felt ostracized even from sex addition recovery groups.
I truly want to be sober & live a life of balance & joy. I am in therapy to work through the traumas that led to my addiction, but I also realize I need a community of people who understand.
So here I am.
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Welcome @MagMo333,
Thanks for having the courage to face this with us. Looking forward to getting to know you and your story a little better. What sort of program have you worked that led you to some success in yhe past?
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Welcome! This is a safe place and we’re glad to have you. You won’t be the only woman on these boards. I think there may even be a closed thread just for women. Perhaps @MissJ can set you up there.
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Yes! I can’t tell anyone about my addiction, for this same fear. Super sad. Hopefully this app helps.
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I did SA for a little over a year & got 13 months sober then relapsed & spiralled out of control.
I am also getting into ACA because of my trauma story. That has been extremely difficult, but I know my addiction is just a symptom of my trauma & if I don’t work through the trauma I will just stay on this cycle of sobriety-relapse.
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That’s an awesome stretch of sobriety! If you’ve done it once you can do it again!
I’m not familiar with which institution ACA refers to. However, it sounds like you’ve got a good handle on what you need to do to increase your chances of success. Going to therapy and reading “Breaking the Cycle” by George Collins both really helped me in my recovery.
I hope you find the support you need to work through that trauma, whatever it may be. Reach out if you need someone to listen!
ACA is Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families.
It started out as just Adult Children of Alcoholics which is why it is ACA, but then they added the “& Dysfunctional Families”.
Just going to those meetings is probably the hardest thing I have done in my recovery.
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Because of the feelings it evokes? Or just nervous about going?
Because the main focus is talking about my family & the trauma within it, but talking about all of that feels like a massive betrayal to my family. I am extremely protective of my family, so the idea of sharing that part of my trauma story with a group of strangers goes against every fiber of my being.
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