Success! Went down the rabbit hole and didn't relapse!

Hey! I often read about how some of you all are struggling and looking for stories of success and inspiration. I have personal story about how I was able to overcome some of the challenges we all face on this site. Here's my story so far:

I used to masturbate compulsively to deal with strong emotional problems I had everyday. I would actively watch porn and seek out sexual attention to make myself feel better. I decided to stop that kind of destructive behavior and actually deal with the relentless feelings swirling inside. I am on Day 15 of no masturbating and so far it's gone well. There were days when the urge to masturbate was unbearable though. Instead of ignoring those urges and pushing through them, I have instead chosen to face them head on. I have realized that the reason I act out sexually is because I am hurting. Instead of giving into a quick fix of masturbation and porn, I instead recognize that I'm hurting due to being lonely or frustrated. Once I've identified why I hurt, then I just pick an equal and opposite solution to whatever emotion I am experiencing to help. So far it's been working.

Today the urge to masturbate and look at sexual websites apexed and I was starting to crack a little bit. I was able to recognize why I wanted to masturbate and I managed to quell that urge. A few hours later, I heard a voice in my head and it told me to visit one of the sexual fetish websites I had been addicted. I had no idea why my brain wanted me to do this and I also wasn't sure what would happen. Would I relapse? Would all of my handwork so far been undone? After mulling it over for a bit, I visited one of the fetish websites. And something incredible happened... I felt nothing. All my masturbation triggers were there dancing right in front of me and I had no desire for them. It was like I could look at all of my triggers objectively for the first time ever. I could see all of the triggers that would ultimately lead to destructive sexual behaviors and I actively chose not to engage. I went to another fetish site I used to love and the same thing happened. Something has clicked inside me and I understand I don't need those vices that contributed to my unhealthy behaviors. I am more confident than ever than that I can overcome my addictions and stop masturbating entirely.

Thanks for reading and I hope this was helpful to you all. We can do it!