Does this really work?

[takemeback77]

I started masturbating to magazines as a 15 year old im now 38 and have struggled my entire life to give up I have been many times of giving up for weeks sometimes a month or 2 but never have completely, I feel my personality changed from a confident fun loving funny child to being somewhat shy and withdrawn and very self conscience and always thinking in my head about things and what to say! 

To this day I still masturbate even when I have a girlfriend sometimes, I just want to get back to a more confident outgoing person who is not shy in social situations like I was when I was younger and before I started masturbating!  I want to give this a try but have lots of porn on my computer to delete!

 

[tostadora]

Hi!

I can relate to your personality changes. I was a very fun kid and turned into an introvert with my dopamine/P abuse. This will work, for sure, as it had worked for me and lots of others, but if you're really hooked, you'll only succeed if you have a clear goal in your mind that you can get free and I don't think that you have one right now.

 

[challenged]

The success stories about guys who have successfully rebooted and gained more confidence and eliminated social anxiety are becoming too numerous to count.  Yes, it really does work.  Get rid or your porn and stop M to porn and change your life for the better.  You'll be amazed at the changes you will experience.  We all tend to think in the beginning that we won't be able to do it, and it won't really work for us.  This is natural human fear and uncertainty.  But it does work.

I wish you the best, takemeback77.  And welcome. 

 

 

[Mbg]

It certainly does work.  However, although some may disagree with me, I don't believe this is simply a 90 day challenge.  For me, this isn't just a fad diet, this is a new way of life that requires one'a lifelong commitment.  This may not mean being a regular at SAA meetings or a regular in the forum for the rest of your life, but it requires dedicating yourself mentallyto recovery. 

 

[challenged]

Staying away from porn is indeed a lifelong commitment and it requires dedication.  There is little point to eliminating porn for 90 days, and then going right back to a previous habit.  So I agree that it really should be viewed as a significant, long term, life change.

At the same time, the beneficial effects of removing porn from one's life are experienced in the relatively short term by a lot of people who are porn "addicts" or habitual porn users.  Some guys experience certain benefits in as little as two weeks, others experience benefits after 30 days, for others it might take 60 days or 90 days, and some issues might not be resolved for even longer, depending on various factors (age, when porn use started, relationship status, etc.)

So certainly the ideal is to put porn out of one's life forever, but it I also think it is important for those who are just starting the rebooting process to realize that it does not take forever to experience substantial benefits from eliminating this habit.  And it is also important to realize the breadth of harmful effects that porn can cause -- which are detailed on the YBOP site -- so that those who are just starting the process of healing will also realize that certain personality issues (anger, depression) and certain physiological issues (ED) that might be the result of habitual porn use can be resolved or substantially remediated once porn use is eliminated for a relatively short period of time (e.g., 90 days).

 

[Mbg]

Oh of course I totally agree!  I definitely felt much better after 30 days or so, the first two weeks were very rough.  Mental and physical withdrawals.  I in no way meant to discourage anyone.  The point for me is to, rather than simply set a goal as my counter suggests, is to chose a life in recovery one day at a time.  Days, months, and years of sobriety will come as a result of dedicating myself to a program of recovery. 

I only speak from my experience and realize fully well that others may or may not share similar experiences.  I have come to terms that I am a sex addict.  Retracing my past sexual life has uncovered for me a lifetime of shame, guilt, and destruction to myself and others.  The risks I took for sex and the extremes at which I would seek out and use pornography were not alone enough for me stop my behaviors.  It wasn't until I began to fear for my job, my family, and even my freedom that I caved and admitted that I could not overcome my addiction on my own.  We all pick our own paths to recovery, this is mine so that's what I offer.  I don't try to project my views or methods onto others. 

 

[fugu]

Hey friend! Definitely check out the success stories on this website and on yourbrainonporn.com

It has worked time and time again.

Good luck on your journey!