I've been in fighting this addiction for 3.5 years. The first time I stopped, I did hardmode for 50 days. It was easy. I thought I wasn't an addict, so I tried relapsing. Worst decision of my life. Not immediately, because after that I also had some good streaks. 125 days, 166 days, 70 days... But since 2020 I can't get to 30. Last week I was on 18, then I ended things with the girl I was dating and that became the perfect excuse. Of course, I already know about all the problems of porn addiction and how it affects me. But I just fell like I am two people. Eventually I will become the man who doesn't care about doing harm to himself. Not because I am sad nor anything (it may be, but not necessarily), I just don't mind it. And then the cycle repeats itself. And everytime I am on day zero (like today), I feel like everything I can do to escape this addiction is useless. Like I know I'm gonna lose. I don't stop fight, nor I ever will, but my point is that, if I could fight porn with more hope and 'the eye of the tiger', I think I would do better. I exercise, I only take cold showers (for more than 1.5 years now), I eat healthy, I sleep healthy, I have friends. But it seems I can't defeat porn. All I ask is if somebody knows what I can do to try to wake my soul.
Just know your not alone. Just got to keep fighting bud. I'm struggling myself a bit at the moment I wish I had not ended my steak as well. But we will overcome. Take heart.
One thing they say about addictions is that they are not curable - only treatable. Which would meant we will never defeat porn. But maybe it's not about defeating and being defeated? By taking this up as some sort of fight, one can easily end up being split into two. One knows what is healthy for him and goes for healthy options, the other waits for an opportunity to step into your life and sabotage your goals. Both have needs that may intersect. Both are you. Accept that both exist. And then reflect, start asking questions. It may turn out that the part of you that goes back to porn is not trying to harm you.
This is eerily similar to my own situation. When I first started I got to 70 days easily, then relapsed, managed to go on very long streaks, and have now spent 2020 unable to get back to even a month. I really wish I had some great piece of advice to give you but obviously if I did, I would have applied it to myself. What I will say though, is I've noticed that its very easy to fall into a trap where the routine of relapsing is what your brain ends up craving, not always the actual relapse itself. For example, I get insanely strong urges to relapse on a night, because I always used to PMO later in the day, and never ever earlier on. In recent months these urges get even more potent than that between day 10-20 or so, because my brain has become accustomed to expecting me to relapse at around that time. I hope that makes sense.
You have a very strong point. I will think more about that, how can I conciliate these two selves into finding an agreement. I agree one is addicted for life, an alcoholic can never go back to 'drink socially'. Interesting, my cycle is stopping for 10~12 days at most and then binging. Sometimes, when I am at day 5~10, is almost as some part of me thinks I am saving myself for the binge. You mean the guy on my avatar? If so, it's Augusto dos Anjos.
It's a Brazilian poet. I would have linked if the forum let me, but you could just have looked it up on google too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
I started NoFap 3 months ago and my highest streak is 14 days.... since that I have difficulty to get to one week. Guess it's life.
I've been trying nofap for literally a decade (I'm 27 now). And still here I am, struggling. The most I ever got to was 60-ish days. Lately because of the virus it's been worse than ever. It's hard to date, and easy to isolate...
Best streak I had was about 12 years. Then I discovered fapping. Not good. Anyway it's no nut November coming up boys we must all try!
Friend, don't lose hope. Keep trying. You will definitely get success. Try to find out the causes that triggers your mind to relapse and stop them. Take healthy diet. Stop pornography. Read books. Spend time with family and friends. Do yoga and meditation in the morning. Play some sports everyday. The main problem is thinking that you cannot quit this addiction. Half of the people lose hope and they always remain where they are. Doing something is better than doing nothing. We also relapse many times but we never give up.We always think that our next streak will be life changing. We always try to do the next streak with more power and motivation. At last, we all know we will quit this addiction. The only thing matters is trying.
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk True, brother. I think we can all go easier on ourselves for we're all passing through really difficult times.] You're right. The most important thing is never giving up, and since we're all here we can all be proud of that. @EDIT Can someone tell me how can I put my streak on my signature?