Another Try!

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
Stay with it my friend! You are doing well! The erection stuff can actually lead you to PMO as you start to panic and think you've had a total failure to lower your under-cart! Not even ONE of the three green lights! However, PMO is not recommended in the Quick Reference Handbook, as it won't really really recycle your gear and will cause the electronics in CPU to malfunction.

A check on the gear with a hand crank only should not be an issue! However, best to apply full power and go round again. Seems like you are already troubleshooting the problem up there! Stay with it, the field is still in sight! I'll make sure we leave the lights on!!
 
Oh 2 days 23 hours and 30mins...... I almost did the 3 days.... But again i only did 30mins or less. I tryed just mo but wasn' t working well so... I think i'm affraid of going to withdrawal at work and getting anti social and angry at women or something or just acting all weird with the ones i like and losing them forever. Thats why i did it today i wasnt feeling all that horny but was affraid of how id feel tomorrow if i didnt do it tonight. All sounds like rubbish now that im done... Still im using less and less since i started posting here. I was using 3 hours a day everyday at least and now im 30mins every 3 days. And i feel better during the day. More energy and enjoyment of life. Also im more open with the women at work. Not sure its good or bad. It scares me to lose control and start touching them like i did today. They dont complain,, but im affraid of rejection of ridicule of social exclusion etc...  Porn is so much saffer!!! But its not what i want! It just seems to be. Almost seems to be. But its not. I'm getting fed up with reseting the counter and starting it all over again. I really have to make a decision and go into that 3rd day! Hey thanks for reading and replying! 
 

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
You'll find that your openness around women will improve as you PMO less. It's very common to use PMO after female rejection. I know I certainly have. The feelings of aggression you might experience around women as well are all part of hyper-sexualising your brain with image after image. I found it can lead to almost a dislike of women because, let's face it, in male porn they are presented like slabs of meat, referenced in totally abusive terms, and simply objectified for our male pleasure. As far as our brain is concerned it doesn't matter to it if those are images or reality. The brain treats them just the same.

I know just what you mean about the safe feeling you get with porn. It's your world, your space, your own intimacy with the pixels, your pace, your time but interestingly enough it's NOT your fantasy! This is like junk food, cooked up quickly, produced on an industrial scale and then served to you in wank sized portions. If you need to MO, COOK YOUR OWN FEAST! Praise your own sexual performance out loud if you want! Stop telling yourself loads of negative stuff, tell yourself YOU ARE THE BEST, YOU ARE THE EXPERT, THE STUD, THE VIRILE ONE and you will even start to FAKE IT TO MAKE IT! It's like porn is junk food, your own imagination is enough to give you the makings of a gourmet meal! Only YOU have to do the cooking!
 
Still im using less and less since i started posting here. I was using 3 hours a day everyday at least and now im 30mins every 3 days. And i feel better during the day. More energy and enjoyment of life.

That's progress. Spending 3 hours every day on something like PMO is going to make change difficult, but not impossible. Keep focusing on any ways that you're seeing benefits.

I tryed just mo but wasn' t working well so... I think i'm affraid of going to withdrawal at work and getting anti social and angry at women or something or just acting all weird with the ones i like and losing them forever. Thats why i did it today i wasnt feeling all that horny but was affraid of how id feel tomorrow if i didnt do it tonight. All sounds like rubbish now that im done.

For me, before the reboot I couldn't MO without P. It was around 2 weeks of the reboot before morning wood started showing up. Several days later, I found that I was able to able to get very hard and MO in the shower without P or thinking about P. I considered that an important step in my progress. I had simply assumed, "I'm getting older, so it just takes more work and I can't expect to get boners like when I was a teen." Wrong. PMO was a serious problem. The equipment still works fine, it just hasn't been used like it should have been. The erections are a solid as I ever remember. I'm not a teen, thankfully I don't have the voice cracking and the acne... much. LOL.

Regarding your concerns about social interactions, this is where professionals might be able to give you specific help you need. My treatment history involved depression, anxiety, low self-esteem. I'm guessing that yours might be closest to mine with some level of social anxiety, "Am I going to say the right thing? What if they think I'm nuts?" One thing, in my non-professional opinion, is that porn will not help with attitude and social interaction. I see porn as a totally unrealistic point-of-view with women eager to do anything without any kind of dating, conversation, flirting, foreplay, etc. Yeah, reality then becomes frustrating when you find a beauty that isn't ready to jump right into the sack and do acrobatics.
 
      Hey there! I really apreciate your feedback. It makes all sense to me. Definitly pron is a way of dealling with rejection( a bad one) but then i think i feel rejected everyday even by women i never asked anything. And yeah i think im hipersensitive in these matters i hope its a consequence of porn and it goes away if i stay away from it. Also all the things i was affraid id feel today if i didnt pmo yesterday i felt them anyway. Plus im angry. Not specificaly at anything. Im just angry! And tired. I was flat line all day not much interest in women today. I hate it. Plus i think they see it and laugh at me. Ive only managed to reduce drasticaly the pmo but still i think im sort of flat... Today i just wanted to be left alone, and i wanted to pmo to jump start things again, but i wont no matter how i feel i wont use today.  I dont care what happens tomorrow or how i feel. Even if i hate everyone including myself and im a ridiculous antisocial angry loner i wont use. The world will have to put up with my withdrawal. Well... the little portion of the world where i dwell... Thanks one more time.
 

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
Remember the feelings of anger can also be dealt with in other ways! Screaming into a cushion works well with me! Your hyper-sensitivity around women may also just Reigate to low self image, which it's self has been self medicate  by using porn. I had the cycle repeat in me for ages. What was really perverse was having an ex Wife constantly telling me how useless I was, what a total waste of space I had become and 'if you only had a brain you'd be dangerous', further demolished any remaining self confidence. In fact I only really survived because I felt total confidence in my work role, had many amazing and supportive friends and at the base of it all was inwardly convinced she had major personal issues that had turned her into a sadistic bully.

Of course, the brain being what it is and the neural pathways growing as they do, you can in fact reinforce that bullied, hopeless, negative, self image with porn. The brain can turn even that negative into a positive with the reward of sexual hyper stimulation.  It why so many men like to visit the Dominatrix sites...If some real person is telling you that you are useless, why not torn all that into some stimulating PMO right handed graffiti! Yin think you have recovered control in the situation but actually you would have been better just saying to the person 'Sorry, I won't let you talk to me like that ... You have a point that I did not do x, y or Z but you are NOT carrying out a full blown character demolishment on me because I'm me and I'm happy with who I am.'

The number of times a I look back now and just think 'If I was how I am now, my ex Wife would simply never have spoken to me in the destructive manner in which she frequently did.' Frankly I was presenting my ass to have her kick the same. What I should have been doing is being assertive enough to set boundaries which could not be crossed. In fact, having been constantly told 'I'm leaving you' year after year, I should have simply said 'okay, if you want to, that's fine.' The problem is that I was not fully ME!  Hence you can see how these perverse relationships can translate into Porn and just feed your cycle of PMO.  Oddly enough, even while that was happening I could somehow see it from the outside but until the marriage failed I somehow would continue to 'self abuse' through PMO. It's like surviving an air crash, seeing the exit door but being so frozen in panic you can not undo your seat belt.
 
            Hi there! Just relapsed again!!! It's become a every three day thing since i started posting here which is better but not good enough. I feel much more confident and less self wooried and self searching like this. Im also quicker at orgasm. Just two weeks ago it took me about one hour to get erection with porn and now its 30min to orgasm. But i hate that i still do it. And i feel lousy after... I feel angry, fed up, impatient, lost, intimidated by other people. Also i feel a lot like smoking. I really want to belive this will work, But when????? Thank you
 
      Hey again ive just been reading it back. Things have changed in just 10 days. And i seam to forget what it was like 10 days ago before i joined this. Theres one sentence i used that is very revealing: "porn isnt sex, its a drug." And thats just what it felt like. It doesnt feel like that anymore. It feels like bad sex, but not a drug anymore. Plus i think the withdrawal isnt there anymore. So why dont i stop???
 

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
Great that you wrote 'porn sex is like a drug.' We all know that is SPOT ON! All the research shows it hits the same neural receptors and targets as drugs. You get the same dopamine rush and the cycle of binge, reward, binge is identical.

Even better that you sense the hold of the addiction lessening. This seems to be leading you towards greater objectivity about your current state and restoring your freedom of choice to either use porn or refrain from porn. I know, when the addiction was total and constant, it was not a case of 'choosing to use', anything from bring bored in front of the telly to an argument with the ex-Wife would send me off towards an early hours, dawn, marathon click fest!

That freedom to say 'yes' or 'no' only returned SLOWLY. I'm not sure many drug addicts get off the heroine all in one hit! With their own shot at 'cold turkey.' Just as with them we are talking about an addiction that has become part of our neuro-physiology, we can not just unplug it from the brain like taking out a memory stick.
 

survivor

Member
Hey buddy!

I was just reading your post of July 5.

You mentioned the words 'shame' and 'oddity'. I'd like to comment on those two words based on my experience.

1) SHAME - shame is a killer man. Shame is not about what we have done but who we think we are. The absolute worst thing we can do is be consumed by shame. More than anything else shame will cause us to act out again and again. I think you mentioned something about never being able to quit. Not true. You can and you will. But above all else strive to stay away from shame. Combat shame with the same intensity you would combat getting smallpox.

2) You also mentioned the word 'oddity'. I believe the two words 'shame' and 'oddity' are actually interconnected and feed on each other. If I'm ashamed I see myself as an 'oddity', different from other folks, a pervert, what will they think of me if they really knew. Conversely, I am ashamed of being 'odd' - different from others. These words become labels, "I am a this!", or "I am a that!". Labels are dangerous things.

In reality you are simply another human being walking the planet with your own struggle. You may be a good father and a caring son, give financial support to starving children and help out with the homeless AND you struggle with porn. The struggle is only part of you. It's not all of you. There are so many other good parts about you.

For myself my addiction became the only thing I saw about myself. I made it all of me. Gratefully a professional counselor helped me to see that there is much more to me than just my porn addiction. Additionally I am still a good person. Everybody has a dark side. It's just that some dark sides are currently more understood and empathized with by society than others. It does not make those issues any less destructive than porn addiction. They are just more out in the open.

Strive to be proud of the fact that you have the courage to do what needs to be done to make your life better.


Thanks for sharing your story.

Survivor

 
        Makes all sense what you wrote.  Thank you. Yeah i expect it to be a bit like pulling off a memory card but of course it isnt like that. In fact.... Well i'm here again, to post again another relapse at day 3. Cant get past that yet. Its been 2 weeks like this. But i feel better and better and i belive it will get even better. Thanks
 

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
Excellent reply Survivor! I would also add 'avoid anybody that wants you to focus on shame and guilt!' These totally toxic emotions, as Survivor says of shame, will get you into using and re-using all over again. I realise I saw that very early on in my addiction. In a strange way I think knowing that shame would lead to this cycle of re-use, possibly helped to prevent the addiction to PMO deepening, holding me in a more vice like grip. It was like know that by taking a particular route to work I was bound to be held up in heavy traffic but, if I took an alternate route, the delays would be less. So at least I could CHOOSE the alternate route.

I also think that very possibly addiction relates to routines and patterned behaviours. Oddly enough this relates to how I can sometimes behave in the car when driving. I'm an ex DOT Driving Instructor and in fact still ENJOY my Driving and mainly like to think it is safe and considerate.

However I  became an instructor and learned to drive in Leicester, European Road Rage Capital of the Universe. It got to a state that when driving on my own there I would only have to hear a horn on the road and, without thinking, pretty much as a pure REFLEX action, I blurt out something like 'F*** off you t***' It literally was like a kind of auto-pilot. I'd still deal with the situation on the road safely but decades of Leicester Road rage, being sworn at, hooted, cut off, abused, often nearly killed, had just developed this 'tension release mechanism' in my head. It was never helped by my ex Wife constantly slamming my driving even though it was approved to Department of Transport Standards...She always knew better and was always RIGHT to the extent that she once joined a dual carriage way straight in front of a speeding Artic, causing him to slam on, blast his horn, and flash all his lights and calmly said 'well, he should have hung back for me!' Even having told her she could have got us all killed, nothing worked, she was STILL in the right!

So I think we may tend almost to develop a kind of PMO reflex, just like I might still do when driving. It's a brain pathway already laid down, it's the unthinking short cut, so we take it literally without thinking. We've programmed the old neural networks to act this way and so we must act on reflex.
I think you are doing great my friend. Just keep being NICE to yourself!
 
        Hi here it is its the 3rd day again only this time im not going to use. I felt really dull today. only got better after abnormal amounts of dark choc. thanks
 
          There i'm on 5th day and feel as if i'm begining an opiate withdrawal... Feel uncomfortable around people (still have to deal with customers today...) feel tired spaced out skin is strangely sensitive. I mo saturday night but no porn (today is monday morning). It was easy. Finally. I cum quickly with little fantasy. And had long lasting morning wood today. It just wouldnt go down! Yeah i think i can go through today without. Ill try to stay away from flirts and other stimulus too as it may bring feelings that lead to porn again. Also ill try to think of spiritual stuff as everywhere i read i find this spirituality is the opposit of addiction. I dont understand it. I find neurochemical explanations ans solutions much easyer to understand, but i must pay attention to this spirituality as its everywhere i look spirituality vs addiction.
 
          Hey there! Today i felt like using porn. The girls at work were having some dirty talk and i started picturing what they were saying and felt like watching it. I think thats a lot what porn is for: making more real the sex i imagine. An aid to imagination. If i picture sex in my mind and it just slightly turns me on, i imediatly crave whatching it to make it more exciting.
 

sonofJack

Member
Hey Mal, if you're seeing pornography as your mind's way of satisfying a craving, you're probably right. If your natural tendency in such an instance is instant, easy, gratification, then it's pretty clear that porn fills that need. I think all of us are here because we felt uncomfortable in always taking that easy out; we're hoping to discover something in ourselves that causes us to shun simple, convenient solutions.

A fourteen year old can be excused for thinking "I might be horny; I'd better jerk off. I'd better make sure I'm really horny; I'll look at some porn." Mature males are capable of so much more though. As we grow older, we see that junk food, cheap booze, hallucinogenic drugs, or any other quick fix solution to our moods, are just stop gaps; they don't fix the emotional state we want out of, they just hide it from our consciousness for a time. Now I find that I'm less inclined to get hammered, but instead, go out and enjoy, really enjoy, a couple of fantastic beers, or some excellent wine. I know how quick a Big Mac will stuff my stomach, but I'll take the extra time to either make a great meal, or go to somewhere interesting, where I can savour every bite.

Pornography fits right in with those other "solutions." If the girls at work said stuff to get you horny, you probably don't need any more impetus than that to go do your business. Why add another element to the formula, when you're more than capable of dealing with this mood on your own.

Or better still, with one of those "girls at work," who sound like a hell of a lot of fun to be around!
 

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
Great reply Sonofjack! Indeed, why bother with junk food when you can 'eat real?' I would totally agree that the porn hit really is just like a sticking plaster over a deeper wound. It helps deal with a symptom but leaves the cause. Problem is, over time, we can damn nearly bleed out before we even start to deal with the emotional illness.
 
          Hi! Thanks for reply! Last night i mo what a reliefe! No need for porn it easy now. I woke up too early and couldnt go back to sleep. And i was feeling uneasy and it felt as if it was caused by lack of pmo. So i mo. Fell asleep right after. But today when i started work i started to feel really emotional and anxious i started to worry that id start crying uncontrolably!!!! I dont know why!! Then it got better and actually ended up really well. It was good day at work. I dont know whats happening to me. I never cry! Ever! Only if something extremely disturbing happens like when my dad died. And now i felt like crying for no reason at all! Also ive been feeling like using opiates all the time which i havent felt like doing since 1999! I dont know whats going on. Is this just the porn? The good part is i havent looked at porn for a whole week and only mo twice. Thank you very much.
 

DeltaFosAware

Active Member
As I have found don't worry about the need to masturbate. It's perfectly normal and I have done so myself only in the last few days. It was nice to wake up with some decent wood and just self pleasure. No need to wake my partner who is very tired these days and suffering from poor sleep patterns. Just nice to know it was thoughts of HER getting me that woody!

I wasn't surprised by the fact that I came quickly. If you think about it, for most of us high speed internet has meant high speed porn and high speed ejuculation. We'll have to recover control over the 'hounrable member' before he can stand in the house again and not 'instantly loose his deposit as an independent.'(Sorry,man adaptation of an old gag from Private Eye!)

That will come and Inam totally fortunate in having a partner who is not shall we say 'highly sexed.' I reckon the ex-wife was odd really. A woman who never masturbated! She honestly didn't. I think it must have been a feeling of discomfort with her own body but I had to be inside her for her to come. It was like it was her 'gold standard', the ultimate gourmet feast, no snacking between meals, just the meat and two veg as and when needed. Problem was feeling very depressed at constantly being told how useless I was did not encourage sexual contact. Add to that being exhausted because of untreated sleep Aponea and I guess the guy whom she left me for ticked all the boxes and still rings her bell! Good luck to them both I say! I'm happy, living a great life and still get to see both my Sons. What more could a man ask for from his life?

The need to cry dam associate with all kinds of things. It may be a hang over for repressed grief reaction, you may be mourning a part of you that you have lost or are in process of loosing. If it hels as a release just cry. Although  cried immediately at the death of my Father, I in fact howled the place down, it took over 18months to cry for my Mother and that was alone, in her old house, while clearing the last of her things. Don't worry if you don't have a read on to cry, your brain just seems to need to, so cry!

Sounds like you are progressing. War all know images are all around us. I just get myself to a point of filtering them out. I smile because I can see how much the marketers want to hook us men in by our crotches! This whole thing of needing to feel potency helps these people to sell us stuff we want with our eyes and pay for from our pockets. Sometimes it helps just to remember that these models are people, just like us! They wake, sleep, eat, fart, cry, laugh, have famalies, have kids, have job kids, get diseases, die and do all the stuff ordinary humans do...They know they are being exploited but they also know they are smart enough to be paid...However, as recovering pron addicts we need to refocus on their humanity...We've chooses to turn these people into OBJECTS before and we do feel sorry for doing as much. So now, when they continue to do their jobs, we DONT have to look,at them in the same way. We can CHOOSE to see a REAL person not a chance for a wank!
 
              HI have been pmo every night.... Starting  tomorrow i wont have any private access to internrt. Maybe that will help...
 
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