Porn as Stress Relief

Stress is my trigger. Stress is easily my number one trigger.

I have learned that when I feel bad (Stress), I want to change my feelings to feel good. I reach for a vice to feel good. Porn is my vice.

Porn makes me feel good. Dopamine is my drug of choice. Dopamine makes me feel good. Dopamine is released in me from viewing porn and PMO. Porn makes me feel good.

• I've learned to face challenges
• I've learned to overcome obstacles
• I use positive affirmations multiple times daily
• I focus on being awesome
• I accept stress as a necessary means to grow stronger
• I realise that the path to a clean, righteous and rewarding life is disguised as work with problems, trials and stress
  • I realize that evil presents itself in the form of beauty and seduction

I shouldn't carry on. I could carry on.

• I employ self awareness to not use PMO as stress relief.

Believe me, stress is a huge trigger. Be self-aware. When you're about to dial up porn to PMO, realize your reaching for a drug to mask pain. Face your pain. Identify the source of your stress. Don't back down or run away. Don't PMO to hide your pain.

(I fear I started sounding preachy)
Seriously, I could carry on wayward son.
Good luck!

P.S.
I don't mean to sound condensending.

 

Sounds like you still have access to the internet? if so, redirect your search engine to seek out stress remedies. YouTube can be very useful to learn stress relieving techniques. If you don't already meditate take a beginners course on YouTube and meditate each evening after work.... Good luck

 

I used to use porn for stress relief, to help me fall asleep after ejaculating, I would use it after I failed at having success at bars/clubs with women, and I would watch porn and masturbate after having sex with my girlfriend (in private). Porn was my drug of choice. I would suggest that you look up ways to deal with stress. There are many positive ways to deal with it. Don't use porn though as it temporarily relieves stress. Whats keeping me going right now is the fact that after so many years (10+), of porn and rough masturbation I see how I abused myself and my tool. If you're bored leave the house or get some new hobbies. I'm getting more into other things like going to shooting ranges and improving my masculinity. You kind of have to fill your time up so your mind is not running idle. Meditate if you can. I think that would be helpful. I hope this helps and gives you some sort of value. Good luck!

 

Same here, porn isn't even pleasant anymore, I just do it because I m stressed and tired all the time.

 

It has been a stress reliever that i have used my whole lifetime. Not going to lie, i am under a lot of stress at the moment and have thought about relapsing for the past few days. Luckily i have not broken my streak so far... I just replaced the porn with something of an equal addiction but the lesser of two evils. Gaming. And you know what it does not even have to be something hardcore like Fortnite or PUBG. It could be something simple like sudoku or any of those apps which are good for learning or stress relief. Better to be spending your time working on your brain doing something positive than rotting it doing something negative like fapping.

And like others have said meditation and youtube is good too if you do it right. I have as of right now found another way for stress relief i have just started trying it today. Im using a foot spa bath with Epsom salts. Its good for relaxation, massages, muscles etc... All the good stuff.

 

Porn has been my go to stress reliever since age 12. But here’s the crazy thing-
It does not relieve stress. It actually creates stress. All addictions create stress. Because what happens when you try to remove the addiction (cigarettes,alcohol,hard drugs etc) you become highly stressed. Your body and brain become tied to the addiction to maintain homeostasis. Plus all of the emotional baggage tied to porn addiction (shame,guilt,anxiety) are also highly stressful. So radical change needs to occur in order to break the cycle. New habits need to form.

Exercise
Mediation
Counseling
SAA meetings
Journaling in private
Journaling on this forum

Trust me life gets a whole lot less stress when you take away an addiction as a means of stress relief.

 

@JayMack Porn was my stress reliever. It was a way to run away from my problems and just get lost in a fantasy that wasn't real. But like the others have mentioned, its short lived and actually brings about more shit. More anxiety. More stress. More questioning. So the only thing to do. Is remove P and M from our lives completely. With me, M has to be done with P and P has to be with M. They work hand in hand and they literally are next to each other if they were drugs. Which they kinda are lol. But yeah. replacing it with other things, new addictions. Healthy ones, like this forum...Really does help a lot. Good luck on your journey

 

I think being aware of the stress trigger has helped me stop from using porn as a stress reliever. What I do now is think over the situation and put together a game plan on how I'll handle the situation better next time or how I can deal with the situation right now. And this really seems to help. Running off to PMO was just hiding from the situation and not dealing with it at all which means it's a problem that's still there.

My biggest trigger for PMO is the boredom. What I've been doing to combat that is to come up with places to go visit and get my lazy ass out of the house. I don't do very well at home with staying away from the porn so I've been concentrating on getting out of the house more and get tired out exploring and finding out new things.

It's worked out well. One day last weekend I decided to go visit a train store after work that was over an hour away. The store wasn't what I expected but after the store visit I ended up visiting a friend in that area that I hadn't seen in awhile. By the time I got home I was too tired to mess round with PMO and went to sleep. Another day I went out to take pictures of the cruise ship that was in port. Ate at a restaurant with a friend, watched the ship sail out, then went home and went to sleep.

No I haven't been perfect but my game plan is "Progress towards Perfection". I'm in a lot better place now in life than I was a year ago. I was seriously contemplating suicide a few times last year, I was in such despair. But after counseling and taking action on advice I really do have HopeForABrightFuture!

 

Get rid of it and replace it. The mind is like a "use it or lose it" system, the more you fire up neural pathways the stronger they get which is exactly how addictions become a thing.

So with that knowledge you want to be starving the pathway that's hooked on porn by not using it but also creating and strengthening new ones. Get into something new or do more of something you're already into.

Every time the addicted pathway wants porn but doesn't get it, it weakens so combine that by strengthening another in those moments. For example, when the urge pops up instead of listening to the rationalizations ("I need it for stress" "Im just gonna take a quick peek" "I'll just look but wont MO") acknowledge that those are just rationalizations, nothing more and don't give into it (pathway weakens a bit) then go for a walk, listen to music or something, any activity of your choice (Good pathway strengthens)

It'll be hard as you start because your reward circuits are just hard wired to porn at this point but with every "no" you give it, it'll get weaker and then with every "yes" you give to other things the more enjoyable those things become. And just in general other things naturally become more enjoyable as your brain wires away from porn.

Im at the point where I have a huge appreciation for nature now and just the world in general which is something that wouldn't even have crossed my mind in the past. Like I even find pleasure in just breathing in some fresh air now which is crazy to me, I feel good from breathing oxygen... the stuff that's quite literally everywhere... I seriously can't get over that shit.

Stay strong man! Good luck!

 

I can completely relate.

I’m doing CBT therapy with my therapist. And as for stress and anxiety it seems that we must walk right up to it and face it without escaping with PMO (or anything else). It will be uncomfortable and painful and skin-crawlingly horrible, but every time we face these things with a conscious mind (not running from it with fantasy) then we slowly start to heal. Overtime we will be able to handle stressful situations and not turn to PMO as a relief.

I’m in this journey in the beginning stages and it is the toughest thing be ever had to do. But being honest and recognizing my urge for PMO over and over again in every stressful situation without running from it is making me able to deal with anxiety a bit better.

I should also say that it feels like I’m going backward into depression again, but it’s just the heightened uncomfortability of facing yet another layer of crap that’s been blocking me from being real.

I guess it has to get worse before it gets better.

 

Exactly your on the right path. I have OCD and I'm doing CBT with my therapist as well and yes you will feel intense anxiety. You just have to push threw which is easier said then done. Some times it feels like every fiber in your body is telling you not do it. What my therapist says is , if it's something you want to do and it aligns with your values do it. Talk to that girl, take that job opportunity push threw the anxiety and teach your brain its OK. There's nothing to freak out about.

Good luck man is hard but we're doing the right thing.

 

I have this a lot!! Gets me of themes and thinking like nothing else a

 

Porn does nothing to relieve stress. In fact, it does the opposite. It makes you feel sexually stimulated, but not sexually satisfied. It makes you feel ashamed and disgusted with yourself. It often will keep you up past your bedtime. Porn doesn't relieve stress at all. It just creates more. Maybe realizing that will help you.

Awareness is an extremely powerful tool, and it's probably the first step towards dealing with stress. The first thing to do is to build up an awareness of your stress. Give it an identity, a personality. Get to know your stress. When does it come to visit? Are there particular things that stress you out on a regular basis? How does your body feel when you get stressed out? What happens to your breathing? What happens to your muscles (especially your jaw and face muscles)? What happens to your voice? What sorts of thoughts do you have when you get stressed out?

You don't need to analyze the answers to these questions. Analysis or engagement with your stress isn't the goal here. The goal is just to become aware of your stress. It's really very simple (though that doesn't mean it's easy...). If you can become aware of your stress, you can realize that it's actually separate from you. You are not your stress, but rather your stress is something that happens to you.

If you're having trouble looking within and answering these questions, I recommend meditation / prayer. You don't need to be spiritual to meditate. All you need to do is set aside some time to just focus on your breathing and stay awake. It will help you slow things down and separate your emotions and experiences from your true self. Ironically, it's also a great way to relieve stress!