Are you fighting other addictions?

I use my phone like 8-10hrs daily and it's mostly non productive time wasted.
In my experience, during long streaks I had the discipline to reduce this to 2-3hrs and do other productive stuff like tasks and work, or just play sports, exercise or read etc.

 

I spend too much time on various screens. A lot of the time is spent being productive but a lot isn't. I wouldn't say I'm addicted in the same way I'm addicted to PMO but it's absolutely a problem.

 

I have a history of removing one bad habit from my life, only to lean that much harder on another. This has ultimately lead to the situation of rearranging deck furniture on the titanic. So! For folks like me, it's easier to approach sobriety/abstinence to the addictive and unhealthy crutches all at once. However! For some people it's much wiser to just focus on the top priority problem in their life, and once that bad habit is broken, move on to the next.
W/e works for yeh, as long as you're consistent enough to actually recognize what does and doesn't work.

 

Well, if you see abstinence as a fight (which costs you energy), you'll get exhausted over time and the probability of completely falling back is high.

However, there exist synergies between certain types of addictions, or synergies between different habits you may profit from.
The thing is, I believe, you need a replacement for a bad habit. You cannot leave that spot empty, you need to fill it. But you can surely fill several empty spots with the same replacement.
So yes, I think you can beat several addictions at once, however it may be helpful to focus on the really harmful ones first.

When quitting PMO, I also stopped smoking, which worked out. And that also encourages me to work out and eat healthier.

 

I need to quit energy drinks. So adding that to the mix.

 

Well it's like I'm maintaining clean habits so I find it much easier to make other changes simultaneously. After relapse it feels much difficult to stay disciplined and I lost my improvements.

 

I came to realize this problem myself, thanks to the guys over at the Rewire Companion site. THe more time I spend in front of some kind of screen, the less productive I become, and the more time gets wasted. These days, I try to train myself out of this line of thinking that says that the only way to have fun or enjoy my time is by staring into a screen for hours at a time. My posture suffers, my eyes are dried out, and I end up getting far less done.

EDIT: Case in point, I think we're all addicted to the internet, staring at screens, and internet browsing in general. I wish to break all three of these addictions at once.

 

Trying to quit alcohol. Been drinking way too much due to reduced hours and boredom. Also upped my porn use so I got to cut down on that too. Luckily for me, I got a lot of hours/days now, so that should keep me busy. I usually don't pmo anymore when I have a lot to do. But yea with the alcohol, I want to finish the last few beers of my 18 pack then I will go from there.

 

No because I don't frame it in terms of fighting discreet things, like less time online is obviously one but connected. That's like saying are you fighting a problem with your hard drive, as well as cpu and memory on the computer. It's one system. The Whack-a-Mole game is one mechanism underneath the mole heads that pop up.

 

No other addictions in my life.

 

Finally quitting alcohol now. Been drinking so hard and often that I may have built up a dependance. I poured out all my liquors and beers to get rid of the triggers. I usually drink when I'm stressed out or want to escape my life for a while. I'm going to try to heal my fatty liver by eating greens and foods that heal you back up. Also trying a 30 day NoFap challenge on top of that.

It will be great to not spend so much on liquor and sweets and save all that money for my goals. This would be my first time in a while 100% sober. (I used to be a heavy pot smoker)

 

Yeah, I'm addicted to food. That's why I'm so overweight.

 

For me the only way I can stay away from porn is to substitute it with healthier choices. My other addiction is alcohol and I was aware of my excessive drinking way before I realized that I had a porn addiction.

While working on no porn, I am more focused on cutting back alcohol consumption. I allow myself 14-drinks per week, my drinks are measured with a shot glass so I keep an accurate count. I used to say I only had 2-3 drinks, but when I started using a shot glass I realized it was more like 4-6 drinks per night.

14-drinks per week sounds like a lot of drinks to a non drinker, but I'm sure I was drinking 30 plus drinks per week during the pandemic when my drinking was at its peak.

 

I’ve started to read fiction again to counter phone use. I’ve bought about 20 massive high fantasy books over the past 3 months, so maybe that’s a new addiction!

 

Damn that's great bro. You definitely won't regret spending some time reading about a different time and space.

 

I’m loving getting back into reading in a big way.

 

Honestly books are better than tv these days