masterdebater said:
lte said:
masterdebater said:
Thought I'd give another update. It's been exactly 8 weeks since I've said goodbye to porn. And 5 weeks since my MO relapse. I've never felt stronger. Though, I worry about going back to college in a few weeks. This addiction started while away at college. I needed somewhat of a stress reliever. I never thought I'd get addicted. I know if I keep reminding myself of how far I've come then I won't relapse while at school.
Try to keep I mind that relapsing won't actually relieve stress.
That's some great advice. When I relapsed a month ago, I was upset with myself and I experienced so much anxiety. So you're spot on. Thanks.
At least for me, it comes down to realizing that porn and masturbation were not capable of filling the need inside me. Even at this point, nineteen months out, I remind myself of this frequently.
The similarities between this process and the recovery process for an alcoholic are strikingly similar. Ultimately, an alcoholic hopes to find the solution to their problems at the bottom of a bottle while a porn addict hopes to find the solution to their problems through self pleasuring and uses porn as a stimulant. Eliminate either of these types of behavior and the problems boils off into thin air.
Alcoholics are known to recover fairly easily once they realize that alcohol can't help in their search for happiness. I have known people that quit drinking because they simply last interest in it. Somewhere in their consciousness they simply stopped seeing alcohol as a solution.
That may sound far fetched compared to the language usually associated with recovery programs for alcoholics, but it's not far fetched. It actually happens more often than not; think of all the people that realize this early in the game and never develop an alcohol problem. Dick Van Dyke was a heavy drinker and his alcohol use abated of its own. It was as of he lost interest in it. I had an uncle that was much the same.
I think that is a very viable way to look at porn recovery too. One has to convince themselves that the answer to their anxiety and discomfort is not to be found in porn. In the final analysis, it really is that simple. Even as I write this, I'm feeling a bit randy and wishing that I had a sexual outlet. I'm not going to "take matters into my own hands", so to speak, because it won't do any good. I'd feel good for a few seconds, then feel lousy for a very long time.
