I’ll try and keep this short and simple. [Day 27 – first report] Here are some tips I have and some benefits I have already seen so far: (1) I have tried to stop my porn addiction before, but I would always relapse eventually. Whether it was a stressful day, anxiety, or simply just letting my hormones/sexual desires getting the better of me, I’d find myself back at looking at porn. I couldn’t get a permanent break. … The advice and tips I read on yourbrainonporn.com has changed that. The most helpful advice I’ve read so far is to think of your break from porn as permanent, and not as temporary or open-ended. This has helped me tremendously. I no longer see porn as an option.
I completely ignore it and try my best to avoid any potentially troublesome websites that might lead me to a porn site. I’ve accepted that I must forget about porn forever. No more checking for new updates at my favorite sites and no more looking for the latest/hottest new girl. It’s simply no longer an option. Porn has already hurt me enough. The porn induced ED was the main motivation that made me want to end the addiction, but the loss of time, friendships, relationships, etc. was all important too.
(2) Not watching porn has literally given me an extra 30 minutes to six to seven hours of each day. Admittedly, some days I don’t do much with the extra time (just watch tv), but other days I use it to exercise, get work done, or hang out with friends. My relationships with friends and family is much better already because I am present when I am with them, rather than thinking about porn and wanting to go home to my computer. Also, I’ve even completed some needed household projects or other tasks, like making sure all my online bill pay accounts are in order. All in all, not watching porn is allowing me to accomplish more with each day.
(3) Now, to the best benefit so far. My porn induced ED is starting to go away! ED was causing me so much anxiety and depression. I was starting to feel worthless.
Fortunately for me during this time of healing, I have a girlfriend to help me through these trying times and also to “test” the results. After the first 14 days of no porn, I did not see much in the result of helping to stop my porn induced ED. But everything started to change around 21 days (3 weeks). We were making out and I could feel my erection coming to me, like I could when I was fully functional and healthy before my porn addiction days. We had great sex and I had a solid erection throughout. We had sex again the other night and once again my erection was solid throughout.
(4) I am now starting to reboot and get turned on by (gasp!) actual women. When I am with my girlfriend, I appreciate and am turned on by her body and clothes. My last relationship was so poor and frustrating. I was porn addicted and my porn induced ED caused major problems that led to our breakup. I remember one night my ex-girlfriend was laying next to me in bed and wanting to fool around. I ignored her because I had already watched hours of porn that day and masturbated twice. I had no sex drive at all. She felt so rejected. I can now totally understand her feelings.
I’ve already written a lot more than I thought I would, so I better conclude now. But I just want to say that you can do it too. Porn is so destructive to your life, it must be abandoned. I know that every day is a struggle. I sometimes have moments of weakness when I want to log in to my favorite old porn sites, but I power through and know that I cannot go back to my old ways. I want to be a fully functional, healthy man that has regular, solid erections and can have great sex with my girlfriend or maybe even wife someday.
P.S.- last thing, something that has really helped me to get to 27 days is the idea that each and every day without watching porn is a “win.” So even if I have a bad day, or just a totally unproductive day, I don’t let it get me down. I say to myself, “well, it’s a win for the day because I didn’t look at porn. Each day I go without porn, the better my reboot will be and the closer I will get to being fully functional and healthy again (able to get normal, solid erections). I struggle too, porn has been a big part of my life (regretfully) and it is hard to say goodbye and make the changes needed. But it is so worth it. I’m feeling much better already and my sex life is starting to get back to where it should be. Each day is a win. Stay strong one day at a time. Good luck to you.
April 05, 2013
LINK – (32 years old)—-27 days of no porn and already seeing benefits
June 6, 2013
Today I completed 90 day challenge! But “challenge” continues…
First off, thanks to this site and yourbrainonporn.com for providing the inspiration and support I needed to finally address and stop my porn addiction. It works! I knew I needed to stop watching porn and reading about the science of dopamine and Internet porn, etc., finally convinced me that my porn addiction was harmful to me and needed to stop. I knew in my gut that watching all that porn wasn’t good for me, but I had become addicted to it. The agony and distress I felt because of my erectile dysfunction caused me to search for answers. I am so happy I found these sites and didn’t go the pharmaceutical route. Rebooting is possible and for me, it has changed my life.
I am back to healthy erectile function. I feel like my brain has been rewired. I am back to being turned on by real women, not delusional fantasies of women I watch on the computer screen.
So all I can really say is that the 90 day challenge worked for me and I recommend it to anyone that is wanting to quit porn and/or restore healthy erectile functioning.
There is a lot of great advice/tips on here already. The thing that worked for me the most is that in moments of weakness, when I really wanted to watch porn, I remembered why I was doing this in the first place. Simply put, porn was ruining my life. It cost me a great relationship, a woman I really loved, and also, it was hurting my career (making me unfocused and distracted). So whenever I felt a craving or urge to watch porn, I thought back to the agony and humiliation I felt when I had my girlfriend laying next to me, naked and wanting to have sex with me, but I could not get an erection because of porn induced erectile dysfunction. In fact, to share what happened that day before I got together with my girlfriend later that night, I had watched over 5 hours of porn that day. I was screwing with my brain, and then not only did my erectile function go haywire, but my relationship did too because my girlfriend could not understand what was going on (and rightfully so). She thought I wasn’t turned on by her (not true at all).
I included in my topic subject that the challenge continues. I did this because I know I am a porn addict, and it will always be something I have to fight against. It literally is one day at a time. Fortunately, as I get further along, many days are quite easy. I don’t even care about watching porn. I know what the consequences are and I know any temporary dopamine rush I may get is just not worth it. But with that said, I still have tough days. It’s usually after a bad day of work, or especially when I’m feeling lonely. I’m single right now and it’s tough on a Friday or Saturday night to be alone and not watch porn to somehow feel better. But I know that is just coping, and further, it’s a temporary fix that will ultimately have negative consequences. If I’m really struggling, I go for a walk and that really helps. Also, putting on a funny tv show or movie helps too.
So here it is, I got to the 90 days. You can do it too! Commit yourself to the change. Know why you are quitting. Maybe even write it down. And know it gets better and easier as time moves on. The science is correct. If you give it time, the reboot will kick in. For what it’s worth, I think I got “rebooted” in terms of erectile function at around the 60 day mark. But I was fortunate, I didn’t start my porn addiction till I was 20 or 21, and from what I’ve read here, it is a quicker reboot for guys that started their porn addiction later and not in the more formative, early teenage years. Either way though, the reboot works. Maybe it’ll take longer, but who cares? I know for me I’d rather reboot in 300 days if need be then to continue to stay porn addicted and suffer from porn induced erectile dysfunction. I’m not allowing porn to ruin my life and self-confidence anymore.
Thanks everyone for the great advice/tips and support I’ve got from here, and good luck to anyone embarking on the 90 day challenge. And if you’re on the fence, thinking about it, I say go for it! What do you have to lose? I know there’s a lot to gain. And if it doesn’t work, well we all know the porn will still be there. It’s worth the try, I think. I am grateful for my ongoing turnaround. I know I don’t want to go back to my miserable, porn addicted life. Good luck everyone, stay strong and keep your eye on the prize!
;