I am utterly stuck, I feel so trapped and hopeless... to ANY guy who has overcome this beast... you are an absolute HERO and I want you to know how deeply I understand how hard you fought, and how intense the addiction is, and how deep the pit is... where I am right now. Its a dark, dark place, and i personally cannot find a way out. I HAVE willpower, I am an otherwise confident, smart, successful guy. But this has its evil talons so deep in me... Ive learned a lot about addiction, and myself, through all of this. I will never look at a drug addict, an alcoholic, a chronic gambler, or anyone struggling with an addiction the same way again. I am absolutely no better.
Seriously... to anyone who has overcome this... how did you do it?
I am going to speak from my experience, but I make it clear that my case does not necessarily apply to the others here.
My experience was the following:
The day I stopped believing that pornography was an "invincible beast" or a form of addiction impossible to overcome, curiously and ironically, I began, from that very moment, to have a "healthier" relationship with pornography.
In my case, I didn't say to myself, "I have to quit porn forever." No. I, rather, told myself: Oscar: You should have a more "moderate" and "healthy" relationship with pornography. You shouldn't give it up entirely, but you should at least reduce its use considerably.
In my case (I repeat: very particular) this served as a success room. For my part, I didn't commit to cutting out porn forever, but simply committed to having a healthier relationship with porn, and that worked for me, even curing my PIED.
Keep in mind that this is my very unique case and that this case would not necessarily apply to all the others here. But, I risk inviting you to perhaps approach it from that point of view:
Reduce consumption instead of trying to fight to eliminate it altogether. It is something very very risky, but I can affirm that it worked for me. Nowadays, if I "relapse" into porn, I do it very rarely, but, I am no longer the addict that I used on a daily basis as in the past. That, on my part, worked.
You can try. I come back and repeat: it can be risky, and it may not work for you. but:
And if it work in your case?
Maybe Yes or Maybe No.
I wish the best for you.