Hey, I've just started out here. I'm a 24 year old female from a relatively small town in India, a place where female porn addiction is somewhat unheard of. I have been struggling with porn and masturbation addiction for the past seven years and it has affected affected every aspect of my life. I keep having negative feelings, went into depression couple of years ago and had a suicide attempt too. The addiction has made me isolated from people and God and I keep blaming myself for everything that I'm worthy of normalcy. It is as if I've been having a double life, so much so that my parents don't even have a clue. I went on a nearly two weeks without anything porn and I relapsed just today and that's when I felt need to do all I can to seek control. It is a long process I know but every good thing has to start somewhere and I hope you good people would help me
Welcome to NoFap and congrats on your decision to quit porn. It takes guts to admit what you have been going through. Being a fellow Indian, I can understand how you feel right now. But never lose hope, no one is about to judge you. We are all here to support and help you. Do not blame yourself, this is just a phase in your life, and it will definitely pass, given you work hard for it. For nothing can be achieved easily. Battling PMO can be very difficult, especially if you are battling PMO alone. The chances are high to return to your old habits if you don't replace them with new good ones. So my advice would be to work on your personality development at the same time. It makes you a better person, and also helps in your fight against porn addiction. - Set a goal in your life, something which you are really passionate about, and work towards it. - Have a daily routine, and stick to it. (Waking up in the morning and exercising really helps, from my personal experience. Also it helps with your depression, and gives a positive outlook towards life.) - Fill your time with productive work, such as exercise, meditation, yoga, reading books, studying, pursuing your interests, etc. - Identify your triggers, and prevent them from occurring. - Keep visiting the forums, and interact with the community. Reading success stories really help. It's okay if you relapse, but just don't punish yourself for it. Learn from your mistakes, and never repeat them. Keep fighting. Good luck.
I my experience the inner negative feelings(low self esteem, depression, fear, etc.) feed the craving for porn and masturbation, and the shame feeds the addiction. Often a successful NOFAP journey is also a journey to improve our self esteem.
Hi! I'm really glad you are here! Congratulations on two weeks! Well done! That's a pretty impressive start! I would really encourage you to start journalling, and consider joining the Christian Fapstronauts group (under the "Groups" tab). I would also like to ask you a question, and take some time to mull it over for yourself: does the porn drive the negative feelings, or does the negative feelings drive the porn? Or both? See, there's a really useful theory in psychology that we, as humans, never really do anything without it having a purpose. And if we know what purpose an action serves, we can change the action to better meet the need, or we can eliminate the need altogether. So what purpose does porn and masturbation serve for you? Why does that need exist? And if you want proof that you are worth something, look no further than this: while you and I were still looking at porn, Christ died for us. Amazing grace, eh?
Thank you so much everyone! the support here is so incredible and its so nice to finally hear some positivity. Yes PMO is hard to battle alone, has been all this while and addiction thrives only in silence. You guys are so awesome. God bless you all!
Congratulation to doing this step. Yes there is a way out and you can gain control again. It needs dedication and discipline honesty and commitment. I went the journey already after having been addicted and completely came off into a again pure and beautiful life. Then years later very challenging life circumstances that kept extending created the base that I slid into edging until after a few years I realized I was addicted and now want out to a good life. There is a beautiful life that can be lived. I wish you the best on your battle. This place here helps. Writing and connection here and speaking it out instead of keeping it a hidden dark secret are the first important steps. Congratulations.
