36, PIED, new plan

Blondie

Respected Member
Nice!

Yes, it's good to differentiate between those two. I'm still getting those thoughts as well and all you can do is acknowledge it and move forward. It's really crazy how the mind works.

Keep strong brother!
 

logicprox

Well-Known Member
13 days. That doesn't sound like a very important milestone but prior to 2022, in all my years of use I had only gone longer than 12 days one time. Without painfully scanning this whole journal, by memory I believe this is the 4th time crossing that threshold in 2022, with one of them being 66 days.

I have a long way to go in my journey, and there have certainly been slips and steps backwards, but from January 2 until now is easily the longest consecutive period I have gone without throwing in the towel and saying I will just deal with this problem "when I an ready".

I would have liked to have an unbroken streak from January 2 until now without any form of use, but the most important thing is that I am moving forward. I used to feel an urge to use every time I felt stressed. Sometimes when I was very stressed during work (I work from home) I would even go use in the middle of the day. Sometimes I was even late to calls because of it. I used when I was tired and I used when I was bored. Some weeks I would only use a couple of times, some weeks every single day. I couldn't fall asleep without at the very least fantasizing, but quite often I would use so I could sleep. I had gotten so used to not having any morning wood that it was somewhat shocking when I did.

Now I do not remember when the last time was that I used to deal with my stress. I no longer regularly use when I am bored or tired (and I have been tired quite a bit lately due to sickness and some sleep problems). I really only feel urges when I wake up in the middle of the night, but even that has become faint. I wake up with morning wood of some degree consistently enough that now I notice when I don't.

I feel mentally healthier and stronger than I have in a long time. At 36 I am finally learning to deal with my stress in healthy ways instead of running off to a fantasyland. I've got a long ways to go, and I regret the period of self deception just before this current run, but there is only forward. And overall I have been moving forward a lot lately.

Thank you all for the support.
 

Blondie

Respected Member
Logicprox, I'm so proud of you man. You really have accomplished amazing things since you started this journey at the beginning of the year. I really admire your tenacity and how you're always willing to get right back up when you fall in the ring, it has been really inspiring to see. I also love how you're able to see the big picture in all of this, which can be a very hard thing to do.

I can't wait to see your progress going forward.

Keep on keeping on!
 

logicprox

Well-Known Member
I love it! Real or no deal.
Absolutely. Porn has a lot of detrimental effects but two of the biggest for me are that it absorbs you into a fantasy world that doesn't actually drive you to improve your real life but also that it makes you think life is just about having sex with beautiful women. But in reality, there is so much more to life experiences, including with women, that contribute to our happiness and sense of well being than the orgasm.

Not to get cheesy, but silly little things like making a pretty girl laugh and looking into each other's eyes do more for my positive feelings than porn ever did. That stuff, though less intense, is real, and improves my real life. But porn and its dopamine overload make it easy to lose sight of that.
 

Phineas 808

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
...but silly little things like making a pretty girl laugh and looking into each other's eyes do more for my positive feelings than porn ever did.

A pretty woman has the power to bring out of us our own beauty and mystery- and a lifeless screen can't do that, even if it makes our dopamine shoot through the roof!

Have you ever met a woman so beautiful, and maybe got to know her a little (even without sex), and you literally wanted to change your life for her?
 
Not to get cheesy, but silly little things like making a pretty girl laugh and looking into each other's eyes do more for my positive feelings than porn ever did.
Not cheesy or silly at all - really that's what life should be about
Enjoying time with others and bonding with partners, family, and friends
We just let our perspective get warped by porn

Seems you're making great progress @logicprox. Keep it up! 💪
 
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