I can feel my self getting further and further and further away from PMO. The urge to search porn or artificial sexual stimulation feels like it is near away completely sometimes. But an issue I am having is I feel like I want to drink alcohol nearly every day? I don't know if stopping PMO could cause me to want to drink alcohol more often? Another issue I have is I don't really enjoy doing much. But I used to always love to PMO, and I do still like drinking alcohol. You know the urge I am talking about to search porn or artificial sexual stimulation. That extreme force that pulls you towards it, that almost seems to cause you to search it without being able to control it much. Well these days I maybe get a tiny thought to search it, but then I get this little voice in my head saying no best not to search it. The not searching it is overall winning these days.
Yes, trying to end one addiction may cause other co-addictions you have to manifest or get worse. You need to be mindful of all these things and try your best to find healthy alternatives to fight boredom or anxiety like exercise, journaling, visiting friends/family, etc.
Try looking at yourself in the mirror. Seriously put other things away and focus on what you see on the other side. Think about who you are and what you are proud about yourself. It decreases the urge to PMO.
Hey Drew - there's been points where other vices will surface or re-emerge - sometimes it's about picking a lesser of two evils before you can learn to control all of them. Which one has the biggest impact to the physical and mental well-being of yourself and those around you?? I too like a drink, and have setup goals to try and not drink in the week, as well as avoid porn. Naturally this isn't easy unless you find fulfilment in other things. For me, the gym and exercise are the way I avoid boredom now, and i'd say that they are powerful tools to overcome one or more addictions. I'd recommend doing some research on 'addiction' as a whole, because it doesn't necessarily matter what the stimuli is, the core chemical triggers + responses are relatively the same. Alcohol, drugs, gambling - I pretty much enjoy them all, and it is tough sometimes. Keep testing yourself and pushing yourself to try new, positive things, and replace old ways and negative behaviours with good ones. It is possible to overcome! Good luck with it bro
Porn abuse comes as coping mechanism, if you remove porn - you will seek other ways to cope. What you should be asking yourself is - what are you coping with? Usually people cope with depression, which usually stems from lack of social contact, poor self esteem, poor nutrition and health. Depression is not when you are on the floor crying. Depression could be far more mundane, its when you are not motivated, have no clear goals and days end before they begin.
What Ronila said, plus: Your porn, alcohol and almost any other compulsion and addiction is a form of coping mechanism, in most cases running away from emotional pain: loneliness, boredom, fear/anxiety, rejection, lack of validation etc. https://www.nofap.com/forum/index.p...g-with-negative-emotions.235876/#post-2091926