Confused about the severity of my PIED

Hey howyoudoin,

I will try to be as quick and thorough as possible.

The first thing I will say is: stop worrying. PIED is very much reversible as long as you follow the necessary steps and avoid further porn/masturbation.

1. Avoid Stress. Simply put, stress will work against you by slowing the recovery process. Do your best to avoid anything or anyone that will cause you stress.

2. Hard Mode. Hard Mode is the path of righteousness for those of us suffering from PIED. No Porn, No Masturbation, No Orgasm. Remember the board game snakes and ladders? The rule that required you to go back to the bottom if you landed on a snake? The same theory applies with PMO. Carrying out any of these exercises during your reboot, may not see you lose all of your progress, but A LOT of it. Keep going with Hard Mode and avoid all three, no matter what. O especially.

3. 90 Days. 90 Days is the precursor for recovery, however everybody is different. Some recover in a matter of weeks, some a matter of months. Others a matter of years. It mostly comes down to how long you have been PMO'in. Start with 90 Days and see how you get on. If you reach 90 days without being cured, move to 150 days. If 150 days isn't enough look at 180 days, and so on and so forth. Best practice is not to focus too much on the recovery time, but on yourself. However tracking your days to start off with can be helpful.

4. Stroking/Testing. The human organism is a beautiful thing, in the fact that it is able to heal itself against unfathomable odds. By this I mean; you can and will recover. With that being said, stop stroking/testing your 'sword'. Get your hand off the hilt and practice keeping it sheathed for the time being. Morning wood is just one of the many indicators that will tell you that you are recovering.

Congratulations on the 7 day streak, and keep going.

 

I agree, meditation does indeed help not just with PIED but with life in general. Be patient with it.

Morning wood this early into the reboot is always a good sign. I would point in the direction of it not being severe PIED, however do not quote me on that. Again it depends on how long you've been PMO'in for. The longer the reboot, the higher the chances of severe PIED. Continue the reboot and see how you get on.

Throw any others questions you have this way and i'll do my best to answer.

 

Yes, PIED is usually the result of sensitisation.

Sensitisation occurs when your brain wires sights, sounds, memories and emotions to a big 'reward'. In this case the reward is porn and masturbation. The moment you think about porn, this brain pathway is activated resulting in a craving for more. Instead of responding to the sight of a physical beautiful woman in front of you, your brain has been conditioned to react to digital images aka porn. This is why you currently struggle to achieve erections like you used to.

 

You could say that yes.

Imagine the story of Alice and Wonderland. You are Alice, and the rabbit hole you travel down is your porn addiction. The further you (Alice) travel down the rabbit hole (your addiction), the longer and harder it becomes to escape the hole. Had you graduated on to hardcore porn, you simply would have been taking further steps to desensitise your brain.