Three Weeks Later, I Still Feel Guilty

Be strong and focus your attention on something else. if you have an erection just let it pass. Go outside, do some exercises, watch a movie just don't focus on failing to much.

 

Do you keep a record of how many days you have been strong and resisted the urge of PMO? I'm a very visual person and seeing my progress in a tangible way helps me to focus in my progress rather than feeling guilty.

" be patient with yourself. Perfection comes not in this life but in the next life. Don’t demand things that are unreasonable, but demand of yourself improvement. As you let the Lord help you through that, he will make the difference." - Russel M. Nelson

You can do it Rog! We are all cheering for you!

 

There are no answers or Magic pill to the withdraw symptoms. Once you are able to really, really understand that, live with that, and comprehend it; then you will be able to move forward. If you don't, you will fail. To many times we look for answers that are not there, and with porn/masturbation, there are none. Short of inpatient hospitalization, where you are removed from the world ( your computer and the real world triggers ) and medicated; will, faith, emotional, mental, and physical sacrifice, are the only true measures to beat this thing. If you can arrange one, a fabulous tool that has no equal is being able to speak with somebody about your problems with this addiction. And I mean talk at all hours of the day and night, no different then Heroin addicts who have accountability partners. And hormones have nothing to do with this. Hormones are a healthy thing. I guarantee you there are men of your age group who have just as much or higher hormonal production as you ; but they are not addicted masturbating to porn. Don't blame Hormones. Be prepared for the withdraws, remove yourself from the room, go outside, take a shower, sing, etc. There are hundreds of things you can do to remove yourself from the environment of the symptom. And guess what you might have to do this multiple times a day, multiple, multiple times a week. You have to be prepared to fight the withdraw and urges. Preparation to any battle is the key to victory my friend. Prepare your mind, body, and soul. Porn/masturbation addiction is a Fucking monster. It will eat you alive if you don't prepare yourself to fight and beat it. BUT, it's very beatable, cause it's all in your mind. And only you control your mind.

 

You seem to have the right mindset to tackle this problem. For many it's all about trial and error in order to quit their addiction and never losing hope
If you think it could help you to have an accountability buddy, I would be more than glad to help. It would also be helpful for me. Just think about it.

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with suretyhope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." -Ether 4:12

There is always hope for a better day. Keep trying!

I believe that as you acknowledge your need for your Savior in your life, your feelings of guilt can be swap away

And I think it's great you want to set some goals for you (like being physically fit) I have noticed that the more concerned I am to help others, the easier that it's for me to resist the temptation to PMO. Find someone to help this weekend and see if that helps to ease your desire to PMO

 

Hey...Well I made it to July 18th which put me at 15 days No PMO and then a relapse. Yikes, I wasn't even looking for porn, my smart phone APP rejected any attempts to access it...dam..it was a you tube segment that unhinged me. I refuse to deal in shame, this is a tricky process when one deals in lust and loneliness at the same time along with the vast wasteland of images surrounding you on the internet. If one has to look on the bright side, I felt calmer and even felt that my response to arousal had improved so I have hope in that sense. This is tough and takes real focus.

It took me a few days to admit that I have to start over. but I need to. I am trying to eliminate more "trap doors" in my way to success.
CSTGUY

 

Just be careful Rog when you take this so called "benefits" into consideration...just think of the source from where these arguments are coming from... people and friends who masturbate on a regular basis and maybe are trying to normalize the behavior by accepting those claims? scientific articles? the porn industry is a billion-making industry and may have the power to influence some of the research done in this area, so keep that in mind.

Benefits I have heard from masturbation are things like, it keeps your penis healthy, and it's a stress reliever. What people conveniently forget to mention is that your body (through wet dreams and other processes) has already provided a way to warrant healthy sexual functioning. And in terms of stress relief there are SO MANY OTHERS THINGS YOU CAN DO THAT WILL YIELD THE SAME IF NOT GREATER STRESS RELIEF, like working out, watching a movie with friends, spending time with love ones, set S.M.A.R.T. goals, mindfulness, self care or simply tackling the source of your stress in a healthy manner.

So masturbation is not unique on its benefits. What people also forget to mention sadly is that masturbation rewires your brain, makes you create tolerance to more crude and unnatural sex stimuli and seems to be linked to depression and the rewiring of the brain messes up with your neurotransmitters. To say nothing about the physical problems that may carry for you and your penis (sexual dysfunction, finishing too quickly or not being able to finish at all).

So masturbating for the benefits is sorta like smoking a cigarette daily just because "it mellows you out" while pretending it's not affecting your health in significant ways.

And spiritually, it dulls your ability to listen to the promptings of the spirit. It creates a barrier between you and your Heavenly Father. In my opinion that's part of the guilt someone may feel; knowing that you have distanced yourself from your Father in heaven. But the moment you start doing things to regain this connection (serving others, living a meaningful life) I think you will start feeling little by little how your feelings of guilt are removed. And hey! do not get discouraged! if it takes you months/years to kick PMO out of your life, that is normal! I still struggle with it... I fall short almost every 3 - 6 weeks. I am 25 now, but when I was 16-17 yo I would masturbate 4 times a day if I had the chance. It's all about moving forward. Twice I have been cleaned of PMO for over a year each time so improvement does happen

 

Also Rog, what religion are you? PM I think we have lots to talk about

 

Masturbation is a healthy thing, masturbation to excess, to porn, is not. Healthy not in the terms of dieting or drinking water instead of soda or juice, but healthy in the way of expressing or releasing sexuality. Those of us who are or were addicted to porn/masturbation have to approach masturbation much differently then those men who are not. To compare masturbation to smoking a cigarette on any level is beyond Moronic.

 

@dannylomora: we can disagree and have different views and that's totally fine. This is a community built in respect and mutual support, so I find your use of the word "moronic" out of place. Be kind in your online interactions, for kindness goes a long way thanks for sharing your point of view on the subject. Your differentiation between MO and PMO is definitely relevant to the concerns expressed in this thread and it's both useful and appreciated