Just Starting Out and Happy Not to be Alone

[yettan]

Hi All

just starting out my journey, was so happy to find this site and forum and realize that i am not alone and that my experiences are common and fixable. i have been suffering from PMO addiction and what I now know to be PIED for many years.

i started PMO as early as I can remember, even before reaching puberty, especially after finding my father's pornmag stashes and then later on when the Internet made it so easy to find all kinds of things. i have experienced all the symptoms - obsessing over finding and hoarding porn, edging for hours and then wondering wtf i did with my time, escalating into weirder and weirder fetishes (and then feeling guilty about it), even wasting money - paysites, harddrives, etc. I am so glad to know that I am not the only one.

ironically i had a healthy dating life and had access to women, but more stressfully was that real women never seemed to satisfy me, they could not live up to the porn fantasies, and in the last few years ED set in and that just made me feel like even less of a man. i resorted to self medication with all kinds of random self supplements (god knows what they've done to my body), and lately seeing doctors who prescribed me the blue pills. fortunately the pills do help with the hardons but not the arousal and satisfaction of being with a women, sending me back to PMO, even after being with a hot chick.

i only recently made the connection with porn and then stumbled on ybop and PIED and have taken the plunge to go cold turkey. did not even realize it but my life was overtaken by this, not just your hc porn but crawling instagram, fb, tumblr you name it

it has been about 1 week now with no relapse, which is good, although i can feel the urges starting to claw, but i shall dig deep for my own good. wish me luck!

 

[the_doctor]

Hey Yettan!

Congrats on one week! Your story sounds very familiar, I can relate massively to it, I'm also about a week in. I won't give too much advice, still feel like a bit of a newb to it all, and I think a humble recognition of my own lack of progress (so far) is a healthy outlook - the desire to return to it is always there and I don't want to be cocky, but glad you've made this recognition. I'm sure like me the more you read and educate yourself, the more that temptation will diminish compared to the rewards of a porn free life. keep going, and I'd advise following the tips others have given - keep busy, find alternative and more productive things to pour your energy into, and one week will quickly become two.

Keep going!

 

[workingonit]

Hi Yettan,

You are on here, on a Reboot and on a the way to a new life!

Even trying to start takes a lot of courage and energy.  Yeah, there will be ups and downs but there are learning anything in life.
If I was to offer advice I would say do not expect to change the world in two minutes. It is quite emotionally stressful having to fight yourself, rewire and find positive coping strategies. Some people smoke, some drink, some are exercise, work junkies, some drugs, some porn - they are all coping strategies.  Find positive ones.  Eat well. Learn about healthy foods. Exercise for health not just to try to be a body god - Find positive goals!  I have learnt to swim and am studying but only after time.

I had a therapist as well (specialising in sexual problems - not a really expensive one either but it meant I could talk stuff through).

Good luck and may the schwarz be with you! ( A Space Balls quote)