Hi, I've recently come to terms with the fact that my "hobby" is not healthy. I'm 40 years old, and this "hobby" has been with me since I was 13. When I was stressed, when I wants to celebrate, when I wanted to kick back and unwind. But lately (perhaps the most damaging and why I decided I needed to seek support) it's been when I'm bored. It's become the equivalent of checking out Facebook, or playing a game on my iPad. I check out porn, often without even having the desire to masterbate. I scroll through pages and pages of naked women, to the point that I started to feel desensitized and over sensitized at the same time. What I mean by that is I felt desensitized to the fact that these women were showing very intimate parts of themselves (both physically and emotionally) and I looked at them all with the same thought I'd give to deciding which pair of socks to wear in the morning. When I say oversensitized, I mean that I've started to view all women as a sum of there physical attributes and what they're wearing (my fetish is clothing related). To make matters worse, I have a beautiful wife that I find very sexually appealing and who I'm in a loving relationship with. When we have sex, I'm not in the moment of three- dimensional people enjoying themselves - I'm focused on trying to remember the details of a two-dimensional picture. I disconnect, and that's not cool! Anyway, I feel like I'm oversharing on my first post. Even as I post this I feel the pull of my "hobby." I'm looking for support, and I'm glad that I'm a part of this group. I'm hoping this is the first step to becoming the me that I want to be. -a-
Welcome to the forum. Porn addiction is not only for the young. Many of us 40-somethings have been addicted for decades. We got married and had a family and hoped the problem would just evaporate into thin air, but unfortunately it only grew worse and worse. For many of us our porn addiction became our stress reducer, anxiety reliever, reward system, means of escape, and primary form of entertainment. Start a journal in the 'Ages 40+' folder to document your recovery. Read or post questions in the 'Relationships' folder. I hope you find success on your journey.
Welcome. I'm here for support and to support my husband, who is in your shoes. Your wife is welcome here. As well as the main forums we have a private group for SOs. My husband and I discovered some great tolls to help us repair our marriage here. See links about FANOS, karezza and nonsexual cuddling in my signature. (If you're on a phone, turn it to see my signatite.)
Thanks for the support. I'm new to this world, so I have questions about acronyms and jargon. What is an SO and PMO? Also, what do you mean by "hard mode"? Thanks -a-
Here is a link to the glossary: https://www.nofap.com/glossary/ Here is a link describing basic addiction: https://www.nofap.com/porn-addiction/ Here is a link describing basic rebooting: https://www.nofap.com/rebooting/
SO is not mentioned in the glossary. SO stands for Significant Other. The SO is the partner in the relationship who does not have the addiction.