Good luck getting back on track! It's great that you're putting in the effort to be free.Fapped the past couple of days because of just succumbing to any random feeling of withdrawal. I’ve just been feeling a little down on myself recently and not really giving myself enough love (I know how cheesy that is lol). I’m done with PMO because I just feel disgusting afterwards and always crave cigs and food afterwards. Just worked out and showered and felt really happy so going back to that will orient me in the right direction. A fun night with friends and then my GF will also do me well.
Back on track lads. How is everyone doing? Would love to start helping anybody out and chatting whenever needed, just respond below or PM me.
Thanks brother! I appreciate it. I hope you’re doing well too!Good luck getting back on track! It's great that you're putting in the effort to be free.
Thanks for the recommendations dude. I’ll try the deep breaths out. Social media is actually a big trigger and led to my big relapse last week. I’ve tried to cut it as much as possible through app limits so hopefully that should do the trick.Hey man, i hope you're okay. don't give up. I don't know your triggers exactly, but something that helped me a lot when the relapse period is coming is trying to avoid social media. Another thing that helps me is when I get the feelings of withdrawal, I take three long deep breaths focused. It makes the thoughts of craving more easy to handle.
Day 3 - All clear baby. Monday is always my busiest day so really had no time to think about PMO (which is good!). I was saying this on another thread but a new fail safe of mine to push myself away from PMO when I have urges is to post on other people’s threads, giving motivation, advice. I find that when I’m most likely to fail, it is because I am so unbelievably wrapped up in my head; it’s that craving for a state change, to not feel so alone and spiraling. PMO is the selfish antidote to that. It’s so easy but I end up hurting everyone in my life because I shut them out. Instead, if I can take the high road, be selfless, and post on other people’s pages, trying to insure that they continue the fight, it will keep me going as well. That hasn’t been a feature of my past streaks so hoping that can be a big ticket!
Hope all of you got through the day unscathed! If you went another day without P, let me know in a reply or message. I’ll check in on you from now on!
I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been clean for so long brother. As I get older, it feels more and more ridiculous that I haven’t fully kicked the addiction, but it always helps knowing that people like you are out there and are doing great. Happy to see you on these forums helping other people as well.Thanks for your post. I dealt with porn from my early 20’s until now (I’m 41), and by now I mean I’ve been working on bettering myself and kicking the habit for the last 2 years (long story which I’m happy to share if interested in a privat message). The last two years were off and on to start but this last year I’ve really gained a lot of success. I know it may sound weird but the first year and a half I really read a lot about porn addiction and was involved in a few groups on Facebook, however, I noticed the more I consumed in reading or podcasts or videos the more I felt like I was thinking about porn and it actually made it harder to stop thinking about. In the last 6 months I’ve distanced myself from the groups (I still talk to some friends I made as accountability partners), however by not surrounding myself with it everyday has actually made it easier for me to stop thinking about it and made it easier for me to just forget about it most days. I may have an occasional memory but by and large I don’t have an urge to edge or visit chat rooms and act out.
That being said, I still educate myself but in small doses so I don’t forget where I came from, but toning it down seems to have had a big affect on my recovery.
Chatting with my girlfriend and being with her always helps me stay clean. Obviously not putting the pressure of recovery on her, but just by being with her makes me think cleaner as well. Glad to hear you’re still doing great dude.Day-3 it's was a little difficult cos I stayed home all day but I got through by chatting with my girlfriend.
I'm on to day 4
Well, to be fair, the first 17 years of my addiction I did t even really know of it to be an addiction. It was something I massively enjoyed, even when it caused me to act out in ways that go against my sexual identity. And admittedly even when I learned I’d the addiction it took me getting caught by my wife and our marriage being on very uncertain footing that I decided I needed to stop. I didn’t want to lose my family over it. So at first I stopped begrudgingly, but as time went on I realized how much better it felt not having to hide my addiction. Not being afraid of her to use my phone is so much less stressful. It’s a process that needs momentum, small victories gain momentum and turn into streaks. Streaks have occasional set backs, but you are never starting over from square 1 after a set back. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and press forward. Give yourself grace, pay attention to what triggered you and try to set new boundaries. Perseverance is key and required, but the longer you’re away the weaker the draw gets. Keep fighting on!I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been clean for so long brother. As I get older, it feels more and more ridiculous that I haven’t fully kicked the addiction, but it always helps knowing that people like you are out there and are doing great. Happy to see you on these forums helping other people as well.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write out a post to me man! It means a lot! Really appreciate the kind words and helpful reminders. It’s always a process to put myself back in the headspace of someone recovering and it always helps having kind and helpful people in my corner!Hey bro, great to see you back on track, from my early experiences the first few months are the hardest as you're trying to rewire your brain to change a habit that you've been used to for so long but hang in there. If you relapse make the next reboot last longer than the previous and learn from what went wrong. Makes me happy to see that you're self aware about how you've been going about it and made some changes to the plan.
One thing I've learned about having important goals that you need to reach is to always reflect and adjust the process, the goal will always be the same. It wont always be easy and you will have days when you're feeling low and tempted to relapse, those will be the real make or break moments. When they happen, go out for a walk, even if its 5 - 10 minutes, do a few push ups, some home exercises or something new that you've always wanted to try. Whatever it is, start small and build up the habit slowly.
I believe in you my dude and as you said in one of your previous posts "One day we'll kick the habit, look back at how far we've come and be grateful for all the progress we've made and where we are"... or something like that.
No dramas homie, I know the feels and struggles of a relapse. We'll all get through it together.Thanks so much for taking the time to write out a post to me man! It means a lot! Really appreciate the kind words and helpful reminders. It’s always a process to put myself back in the headspace of someone recovering and it always helps having kind and helpful people in my corner!