Hello everyone, my name is Daniel, i'm 31 years old.
I have been using porn ever since i was maybe 14 or 16 years old.
I had periods where i did it 1 every day to periods(rare) where i did it once a week or rarer.
I did try to stop a few times but without following any goal, technique or schedule. I failed every time.
Starting this year i tried tried to lessen the times and I did it managing to do it only 2 times a week on average, but still had highs when i did it 3-4 times a week.
What made me stop was the craving/the trigger i had one night about a family member(i instantly knew it was because of the things i watched). That scared me so bad i couldn't move. That was the moment i decided i can't do this anymore, my only options were stop watching porn, or cutting off my penis to stop myself from doing a really really stupid thing because of my own addiction.
I am halfway through day 7.
I decided that i need to avoid anything that could trigger me, and i have been avoiding them successfully for now.
What helped me keep myself still that night was the 5 seconds rule(though it was more like 20 or so minutes until i calmed myself down and the urge faded away).
Basically whenever i feel any urges i start counting back from 5 to 1, again and again, for a few good minutes, if it doesn't fade away i change to saying something more complex, a mantra if you will, in my case it was a prayer, but i guess it can be anything as long as it's a long line of words you know by heart and you need to focus to say them in the right order.
Decided to hold a journal as well, on which i'm writing on what day i am of my reboot, what happened that day, how it made me feel, how my urges were, and what i am grateful for that day. I'm only on day 3 of my journal but it looks like it's working ok.
Another thing i noticed works for me, especially when i have recurring thoughts, no matter the type of thoughts they are, is writing them down, writing how i feel about them and just generally rambling about the subject that keeps popping on in my mind. After writing that down the recurring thoughts seem to fade and stop. After that night i kept having thoughts about my family member but after writing them down, they faded away and it seems like it's ok.
I started working out at home as well,(light exercises, a few sets of push-ups a day, a few sets of abs a day, some weight lifting), hope this will help keep me in check.
Overall that's my story so far, i will try and post updates every few days about how things are going.
Thank you for this awesome place where we can help each other get past our problems.
Have a great day everyone.
I have been using porn ever since i was maybe 14 or 16 years old.
I had periods where i did it 1 every day to periods(rare) where i did it once a week or rarer.
I did try to stop a few times but without following any goal, technique or schedule. I failed every time.
Starting this year i tried tried to lessen the times and I did it managing to do it only 2 times a week on average, but still had highs when i did it 3-4 times a week.
What made me stop was the craving/the trigger i had one night about a family member(i instantly knew it was because of the things i watched). That scared me so bad i couldn't move. That was the moment i decided i can't do this anymore, my only options were stop watching porn, or cutting off my penis to stop myself from doing a really really stupid thing because of my own addiction.
I am halfway through day 7.
I decided that i need to avoid anything that could trigger me, and i have been avoiding them successfully for now.
What helped me keep myself still that night was the 5 seconds rule(though it was more like 20 or so minutes until i calmed myself down and the urge faded away).
Basically whenever i feel any urges i start counting back from 5 to 1, again and again, for a few good minutes, if it doesn't fade away i change to saying something more complex, a mantra if you will, in my case it was a prayer, but i guess it can be anything as long as it's a long line of words you know by heart and you need to focus to say them in the right order.
Decided to hold a journal as well, on which i'm writing on what day i am of my reboot, what happened that day, how it made me feel, how my urges were, and what i am grateful for that day. I'm only on day 3 of my journal but it looks like it's working ok.
Another thing i noticed works for me, especially when i have recurring thoughts, no matter the type of thoughts they are, is writing them down, writing how i feel about them and just generally rambling about the subject that keeps popping on in my mind. After writing that down the recurring thoughts seem to fade and stop. After that night i kept having thoughts about my family member but after writing them down, they faded away and it seems like it's ok.
I started working out at home as well,(light exercises, a few sets of push-ups a day, a few sets of abs a day, some weight lifting), hope this will help keep me in check.
Overall that's my story so far, i will try and post updates every few days about how things are going.
Thank you for this awesome place where we can help each other get past our problems.
Have a great day everyone.