BlueHeronFan said:
All progress is progress, and even small steps count. It can be frustrating that this recovery can take so much time, but it sort of makes sense. How many years have you been deep into PMO? I know I've been tied up in it for very long time, so why would I think I could untangle myself in a few weeks? It doesn't make sense.
Of course, man. I don't expect to stop being addicted overnight. Fortunately, it won't really take years but a number of months I guess it's inevitable and obvious. Think about it, I think I've been PMO-ing for 15 years. It's like when you have 220 pounds. It takes time to get to 154 or whatever. That's why I like to look at it like a plan, like training for a boxing match. If I do the right things for a number of months, I will hopefully be done with it. But, the situation when I won't be done with it could happen too but I feel like I've come a long way. I know a lot more than back then so I should do better now.
It used to be all I could do to get through a single day without PMO. But I've been working at it for a few years now, and I'm working on going through a few months at a time without a binge. Healing takes effort and determination, but it also takes time. So just keep on going, and don't let the slow progress sometimes get you too down.
Man, I remember when going a day without PMO was the hardest thing ever but I've done it. The idea is we can do it, this is not impossible. Maybe it seemed more impossible back then to end a day without PMO than it seems now to end a month. Many guys make the mistake of not recognizing the progress, which it's understandable because, without knowledge, you wouldn't know. But think about it: Until my early 20's I binged everyday, so that's more than 100 PMOs in a month. Then I've reduced it to 20-30 times a month. You can't say this is not progress. It's less damage to the brain. It's like when you hit your finger with the hammer. Hitting it 100 times vs hitting it 20 times makes a big difference. We, sometimes, are not aware of the damage we do to ourselves psychologically. If it's not physical, it doesn't mean we are not wounded. But yes, it takes time and patience. After years of still not being free, it could get frustrated but we must remember that we've come a long way. We haven't been wasting the time. Sometimes it really takes years but we must not call it failure. It's not failure. It's like training judo, for example. For years you are beaten by other guys, more experienced than you. But you are not a failure, you just need time to learn. After you learn, those guys stop beating you. That's the attitude we must have with this fight. We didn't fail a few years, we trained and learned things.
