So After more than 4 years of dealing with this addiction, in an out of flatline over that whole time (mostly because I was not trying hard enough but my problem is not as bad as some) I managed to string together 90 days of no porn again, but still MO'ing about once a week. I had got away from flatline completely, had 100% morning wood and 100% wood when MO and even eventually had sex a few times and it was great. I was worried about doing damage and going back into flatline as my MO had increased to once every 2 or 3 days after the 90 but everything was still fine even after this increased amount of MO. Then a few days ago, I binged porn for a night and BAMM! straight back into flatline... I'm so mad at myself, even though I was MO'ing i felt great about at least giving up porn for 90 days... and the plan was to never watch it ever again... but I think I had a false sense of security and somehow ended up down the rabbit hole. My take away from this is that, after I felt rebooted (which I probably wasn't fully) MO did not impact how I felt or my libido, however in one porn session I went from Hulk Dick to the flattest of flat lines, it's been 2 days of flatline, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for my libido to come back. So based on this I can say Porn is a much bigger problem than addictive masturbation, which makes sense since the human race have be masturbating for years, and this hasn't been a problem until high speed internet porn. My advise if you need to a reboot is obviously quit porn forever, and try quit fapping for 90 days and see if anything get's better, obviously some take much longer to reboot. But just know porn is something that can sneak up on you and can really set you back much worse than MO.
This is exactly why I'm not a fan of the whole reboot method. It's not that it doesn't work at all or that there's no science to back it up, there is. The problem is that people do it and they think their brain now "magically" healed itself and they are now less addicted. What they don't understand is that they on some level still want porn. People aren't animals simply guided by their lust, we have free will, we want things. People like you never dealt with why you want porn exactly. There's more behind it then how much it turns you on. Porn has a certain meaning to you which is deep and complex. You build a relationship with porn over the years. And just like you can't forget a woman in 90 days that you've been with for a decade, you can't forget porn. Understand what porn means to you. There's a lot of delusion that goes along with it, just like we're delusional about women we love. Clear that fog by thinking hard and honestly about it. Understand how crappy it really is and how you don't need it. You gotta stop wanting it, not just quit it. Otherwise that next relapse is just looming around the corner. No matter how many days you "reboot". Man I've quit being on the beach for 8 years and I can't wait to get back there! And I've never spend as much time on the beach as I did with porn. x)
Yeah I totally agree, I am actually in sex therapy and have been uncovering the underlying reasons I use porn, there are multiple layers to it... the most people develop and do not outright have is using porn to cure boredom, when you're board your brain is looking for some dopamine, when you are young you'll happily watch a movie or go play with your friends etc. but once you discover porn you find this quick fix that down the line causes you to neglect other things that would normal give you that dopamine hit. That's the outside layer that most people have to deal with and you only have the problem because you have used porn for so long regardless of any underlying reason... this can lead to depression and eventually your using porn to not just fix your boredom but also depression. The next layers are reasons you use porn outside of being bored, for me it is mainly loneliness as well as frustration... when I feel like I'm all alone in this world trying to deal with all the challenges without anyone by my side, I use porn to "pretend" I have some kind of intimacy in my life. Frustration is the bigger one, when things are not going well at work or I am feeling demotivated about something I use porn again as a quick fix. So I definitely have a good understanding where my head is at but still discovering more and more... I started to despise porn, towards the end of the 90 days I felt like I hated porn, but I broke up with my girlfriend recently and the loneliness hit me hard, so my desperation to feel intimacy go the better of me... the trick is to remember that porn is not real intimacy but easier said then done after a breakup when you are desperate. It's also why i have only been able to quit porn and not MO... however I need to quit MO, I have been fooling myself that I don't need to quit full PMO, I have known that from the start but have been lying to myself... it's time to stop.
