For me, that has meant learning to get at the root causes of my anxiety. Porn isn't the problem, it's a misguided attempt to solve a problem. So when I feel stressed out or depressed, instead of running to porn to feel better, I try to figure out what is really wrong and to work on solving that problem in a healthy way (instead of just avoiding through addiction).
From the ages of 18 - 21 I went totally without porn. I had never felt better in my entire life. I finally had the confidence to talk to girls and the thought to look at porn didn't even cross my mind.
Welcome dude! Here's a quote that's been very very helpful. "You are who you are, you are what you are, because of what has gone into your mind"In it's simplest form, a reboot is not putting pmo in your mind and putting something else in there to help you become who you want to be.
Although I'm only 2 weeks in, I'm trying to view stress triggers as a form of energy, and I try and change the energy, even if it's watching a favourite TV show of mine, or listening to some music. As long as it calms me down.I am also taking supplements to help deal with physical stress (licorice root and ashwagandha). Might be worth looking into for the early stages of the reboot.
Wow, thanks for the support! Something interesting that I have also read is PMO it is a learning disorder that you have to unlearn. I think my biggest problem with PMO comes when I have a lot of stress and a lot of free time where I feel like I can put stressful things off because I usually relapse on days where I don't have class.
Days off can be especially dangerous. For me, it really helps to have a to-do list and a schedule for every day, especially the days off. That way, I can be sure that I'm using my time and not just setting myself up for a relapse because I have nothing else to do.Keep going!
you still need to be careful about "the old demon" like they say. You're not out and that's it! It can come back if you don't learn know what you feel and why you feel that way so you can do something about it!
No matter how long or short our streaks are, the only thing that really matters is what we do today. We can't change what happened to us yesterday, and we can't control tomorrow yet. Today, though, is right in the palm of our hand. Each day, just focus on taking care of yourself and getting through the day, one day at a time.
I think the removal of Instagram has been a HUGE stepping stone for me. I'm going to try and keep identifying and removing triggers to give myself the best chance possible.
It has been really helpful to realize that I can't use other people's "normal" as my guide. Knowing what I know about me and my addictive tendencies, some things that seem "normal" just aren't an option. And I'm finally making peace with that fact. Even if there are benefits to social media, the risk of relapse just isn't worth it.
I uninstalled the Facebook app from my phone and it hasn't been difficult at all without it. I think the hardest part about addiction is when we remember we have it. Because I uninstalled the app, I don't have the constant notifications and I don't even think about it. It's obviously a lot harder to get some notification and then fight the urge to look and see what it is. When the notifications are gone the urges disappear as well. Just a little insight from my journey.
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Topic: Recovery is an incredible process (Read 7738 times)
