I have been having a hard time making it past approximately day 2-3. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to be an orc forever Day 1 though!!
Day 1 Today was nice, I've been keeping myself really busy today so I haven't had any urges that I can recall. I seem to have gotten a nice routine going -for work days at least- which looks something like this: Wake up, get breakfast Play a game either with friends or on my own in the morning for a couple of hours. Work out, shower Go out on usual walk + Usual Japanese studies Meditate once I get home Work (which usually goes on until I go to bed) If I finish early and have spare time afterwards: study more, watch a show, read a book/manga, play a game etc. It's not the most productive routine in the world but it makes me happy and makes me feel like I'm progressing toward something in life instead of feeling stationary.
Day 4 complete! Good stuff today -- run, cold shower, lots of prayer time, and in the evening to keep myself occupied I spent some time reviewing my Greek lessons. I can see Isengard on the horizon. St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us!
Day 2 Yesterday went ok, as I made myself drop into books and studies all day long. So I didn't get time to think about it. As I woke up today, I had an urge, but I got out of bed, and started moving around. And here I am checking in to leave my urges behind. Wish me luck.
yeah, the first 2 weeks are the hardest of them all. most people slip in this period. but there´s a lot of stuff you can do to overcome this, in fact so much that it´s long to post here . see "my story and tips", on my signature . Hang in there my brother, we´re with you!!!
Checking in Fellowship!!! Morning weekend check-in . Lot´s of stuff planned for today and i´m ready to hit the day . my back are still giving me a bit of pain, but i´m better than before. On the addiction department, slight urges, nothing to worry about. All my strategy is being followed. Nothing more to say brave Fellowship. Here´s a great excerpt that i read just now, right before entering the forum. The importance of dopamine for a normal functioning. "Your brain on porn", page 66. "Although symptoms such as erectile dysfunction, social anxiety, concentration problems and depression are quite different, they share a common finding in the scientific literature. As I explained, one brain change that occurs with addiction is desensitisation. Again, this term refers to a general dialling down of a person's responsiveness to all pleasure – a baseline drop in dopamine and reduced dopamine sensitivity. And it's worth repeating that the German researchers discussed in the previous section found evidence of desensitisation even in moderate porn users. In the case of porn use, desensitisation could potentially account for lots of symptoms heavy users report. A decline in dopamine signalling is associated with all of these: - Diminished sexual behaviour,[152] which, as noted, is a possible cause of sluggish erections/climaxes, - Decreased risk-taking[153] and increased anxiety, combined with a tendency toward angry overreaction,[154] any of which can decrease willingness to socialize, - Inability to focus,[155] which can account for concentration and memory problems, and - Lack of motivation[156] and healthy anticipation, which can lead to apathy,[157] procrastination, and even play a role in depression.[158] In fact, when a medical student courageously allowed doctors to deplete his dopamine briefly using a pharmaceutical,[159] look what happened: During increasing dopamine depletion in this case, a range of subjective experiences appeared and disappeared consecutively. These experiences resembled negative symptoms [loss of motivation, dulled senses, decreased fluency, lower mood, fatigue, poor concentration, anxiety, restlessness, feelings of shame, fear], obsessive-compulsive symptoms, thought disorders, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. [Bracketed items are listed elsewhere in the article cited.] Addiction researchers have measured a decline in dopamine and dopamine sensitivity in the brains of addicts of all kinds, including internet addicts.[160] We also know that this decline can happen very quickly with ‘natural rewards’ such as junk food.[161] [162] The flipside is that when dopamine and related neurochemicals are properly regulated, sexual attraction, socializing, concentration, sexual responsiveness, and feelings of wellbeing are more effortless. I suspect that a return to normal dopamine signalling helps explain why many guys report similar sets of diverse improvements after they unhook from excessive consumption of internet porn."
You might be right about the fear being the cause. I really have no idea what caused it. Thank you for your kind words.
Day 229 no PMO. I’m back with my family now and happy to still be going strong with my 229 days. Both of my daughters have sports today so it will be a good day supporting and enjoying them. Good luck today guys. Side question… how many people have actually made it to 500 during this challenge? Is that information reported somewhere?
Why I am not using p today: to re-build that lost grey matter in my brain. Feeling more focused every day. Just finished practicing guitar.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions, I'll just cheer up, and I hope I could go further with you all. Day 1, I've started again.