May I ask you something ? - when did you feel the Brain Sharpness ? I mean no more brain fog - I'm talking about feeling that you're so smart ? When did it happen ? At what month ??
It's not an instant thing, it's progressive. Not sure exactly when i started to notice improvements but it was definitely within a few months. It got much better with time but that's also because of all the other things I started doing. Like I mentioned in the og post the addiction is usually a symptom of other stuff so it might not single handedly be the cause of your brain fog. It wasn't in my case. Nutrition was the closest I've felt to something black and white in terms of cognitive improvements. I stopped eating processed and animal foods and noticed a huge change in mental clarity and energy within like 3 weeks. But in general you're probably not gonna have some black and white moment where everything changes so I can't really say what month. It's like how muscle training doesn't make you instantly buff, the change happens slowly but over time you clearly see a difference from when you started.
Thanks a lot for sharing. This is another source approves that the only way to recover is by awareness, vigilance, and health knowledge. It can not be treated by simply sitting down and waiting. There must be a continues effort to understand why one is feel what he feels and how to improve it. I am going to read deeper into these books and resources. Have a good day mate!
Happy to hear it helped! Hope the resources really resonate with you! Wishing you all the best! Stay strong! ✊
I hope it's like that and I get to that state, because I'm on day 20 and today I'm feeling an incredible craving. Plus every day I think about it from time to time, but it's stronger to not want to have these cravings anymore. Perfect about the meditation, because I actually know how to do it and lately I'm doing it once a day. Really looking forward to getting closer to day 90 :/ Thank you so much!!!
In the 5 years you spent away from PMO, which years you startzd feeling that you are getting to your normal self ? I'm struggling with daily Mood Swings, Irritability, Brain Fog - that's why I'm asking if you don't mind thanks in advance!
Like everything else it's progressive so there's no sudden moment where things change, it just happens over time. I noticed big improvements within the first 6 months at least and stuff was mostly better by the one year mark. But there's so many other factors at play so even that might not match other peoples experience. Cptsd was playing a big role in that type of stuff along with other things and I was dealing with those things within that time frame too so it's impossible for me to say what the timeline looks like for others. Some will be faster some slower but I doubt anyone would have bad synonyms for more than 9 months to a year from the addiction only. At that point it's definitely other problems which also would have it's own timelines for everyone. I found it best not to worry about the past and future and just focus on the present. It would feel debilitating trying to imagine how long stuff will take since we don't even have an accurate view. But again, I'd say 1 year in the worst case scenarios, probably less for most people.
Not really. Shame isn't useful but if the way you feel is like "i don't care if it happens again" then that's bad. If you're still just continuing to fight and not getting caught up in shame and regret then you're doing better than most. A lot of people get screwed over from feeling shame and regret which weakens them and leads to more relapses. So it's good to not feel that way if possible.
Thanks. And I have stopped day count too. And I am already now a day without PMO. Will keep your suggestions in mind.
I admire anyone who can get rid of this terrible addiction! It's so hard to do. I have known it for a long time that I am addicted to porn, but I have never really tried to stop until recently. I have 'failed' over and over and gave up for a while. No one in my life knows this and carrying this alone along with other ''problems'' I have is tough. I feel like I don't belong anywhere. I'm not depressed, but if nothing changes I will be eventually. I am going to try quitting pmo again starting now. I have too if I want to change my life for the better...
Hi @JJackson, I have serious issues with keeping the consistency. I recently completed a 100+ day streak. But fell down. Started over again but time to time I get these urges. The urges mainly come when I have met some important goal or after writing some exam I was preparing real hard for. My mind finds this as a reward for completing some task. Can you give some advice based on your experiences?
I definitely dealt with those types of bs tricks from my brain. Validating porn for stress relief when things are bad and validating it as a reward when things are good. It's just something I had to get better at not falling for. Meditation and wim hof breathing helped a lot with that specifically along with many of the other things mentioned in the og post. Maybe try some of those and see if they help you. If you need a sort of brute force method to shut down urges try keeping your hands in a bucket of freezing water and focusing on the sensation. That always shut down urges for me if they were really strong. It's the same effect as a cold shower but much easier to do. Just try to keep in mind that thoughts like that are just your brains attempt to trick you into getting what it wants. It's just tiny electric signals in your brain. It can sometimes feel like something is a fact simply because you're thinking it but just knowing that it's not true helps a lot. It's called meta cognition, understanding your own thoughts. That on its own does a lot to make the thoughts not feel overpowering. Again, mediation helps a lot with that especially the "healthy minds program" app since they actively teach you the science in an understandable way. Hope at least some of that helps you. And congrats on the huge progress you've already made! 100+ is huge and you didn't lose that progress from a few relapses so keep going! Stay strong!
Good on you for not giving up! It can be rough sometimes especially when you feel alone but you'll definitely get there! Wishing you all the best! Stay strong! ✊
Thank you! Meditation is something I should try. Most of the days I find no time for it and try to just keep on working, when these distractions come. I will read your other methods too in the first post. It's so inspiring to have members like you here.
Yeah I used to have a hard time fitting it in too but its worth trying to make time if possible. That app I mentioned works around people's schedules so all the meditations have a 5 minute option and even that small amount if done daily will make a difference. I started off with that until making time for 15 minutes became easier so maybe it would work for you too.
