90-day challenge complete: inspirational resources that helped me a lot

Greetings Fapstronauts,

Here I just want to share with you a couple of resources, mainly books, that I used during the last 90-days and still using today, moving on with the challenge. I will briefly explain why I think these are useful and what one may expect to learn and experience going through this material. I will probably talk about the results I experienced doing the 90-day challenge in another post.

- Gary Wilson, Your Brain On Porn (the book and the TED Talk) : a very popular resource here on NoFap forums and for a good reason. Gary Wilson has studied in depth but shares with accessible words how porn is programming your brain, why it has so much power over you and how to get out of its influence. The book is filled with inspirational and hopeful porn-recovery testimonies.

Inside this book you will learn :

- the science behind addiction to porn (and addiction in general) : what dopamine recepters are, how the mind gets hooked, how tolerance works, why porn along with junk food can be called "supra-stimuli", and how to break the vicious addiction circle...

- several tips for a successful reboot along with testimonies

I found this book helpful because :

- I learned I was by no mean alone in this fight
- Recovery is possible, my friends, it just works ! And it has for so many people having watched porn for longer than I have, so I definitely got a big confidence boost reading all these testimonies
- I also was able to be more supportive of myself, knowing that addiction to porn is not the mark of a twisted and pervert mind, we just happen to be biogically triggered by what our brain perceives as an evolutionary goldmine (supra-stimulus), now we must take action to take the power back but shame has no place in this fight, my friends


- Noah BE Church : Wack : Addicted to Internet Porn : a video of that guy was shared with me by another Fapstronaut whom I warmly thank. I then checked out the book written by this disciple of Wilson. Church shares his own path against porn and how he managed to get out of it. It is more a personal testimony although it has just enough scientific facts (that you will know if you read Wilson's book before) to get you on track with how porn messes up with your brain.

Inside this book you will learn :

- the story of a relatable guy like you trying to gain back control over his urges

- the main symptoms and consequences of a porn addiction : PIED, PIDE etc

- to accept your problem

- what to expect when you start and go through a reboot and how to be off to a good start

- to understand your sexual history and write it down

- useful tips

I found this book helpful because :

- I liked the format, more personal than Wilson's book and relating to another guy's story helped making the support real

- There are very powerful pieces in that book such as going beyond addiction and living the life you've always wanted, about writing down your purpose in life : "continue [repeating making drafts of your life's mission statement] until you write the answer that makes you cry"- quite powerful point here, and yes, I cried reading that sentence

- It has some strong tips you may immediately use and put to the test


- Matt Fradd : The Porn Myth : awesome work that tackles the main arguments used by the porn industry or people in general to minimize porn's impact. It settles the debate with brio, to the point and well documented and always reliably-sourced arguments. Some of the myths that will be debunked here are : "porn is just adult entertainment", "to be anti-porn is to be anti-sex", "the actors freely choose the lifestyles they lead", "free porn is not contributing to the industry", "women don't struggle with porn" etc.

Inside this book you will learn :

- the reality behind the porn industry taken from porn stars testimonies, figures and the facts behind addiction, medical studies about PMO etc

- In the Appendices, you will find a lot of scientific facts about porn addiction, a guide to parents, brain studies by Gary Wilson as well as all the sources quoted in the book

I found this book helpful because :

- porn culture is a thing and I'm sure you'll find some if not several assumptions you or your peers made about porn clearly debunked here

- it gives you a external perspective about porn : you learn about dreadful stories of abuse in the industry and it makes you want to have no part in it whatsoever


That's it for now, hope you'll find these as informative, useful and inspirational as I did, please let me know your thoughts on these and may you all have a good reboot and a wonderful porn-free life.

Cheers,