Hang in there man. This could be a good time to experiment with new, healthier coping mechanisms. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Thank you. It really means a lot to me. These 6 months have been difficult but rewarding. My mind feels better and I think my PIED is close to being cured. Even though I know this is how I want my life to be, the urges (sometimes very sudden) try to bring me back. I really want to know what one year feels like. Thanks again.
I think all the short streaks are important. All the days without PMO are good for your brain. Eventually, a longer streak will develop as long as you keep at it.
Thanks man for reaching out. My work goes in cycles and it's a particularly hectic season. There is some uncertainty about the future of this career path due to financial problems in the industry, so there have been a lot of anxiety-producing discussions with my wife and with co-workers. Under pressure, I tend to want to revert to old coping mechanisms, including PMO. My strategy lately has been to try to manage the anxiety better through mindfulness, just trying to stay in the present moment, and limiting my thoughts to what immediately needs to be done rather than letting my thoughts race to the future or mull over the past. I have also been getting to the gym regularly. Not losing weight, but not gaining either, so that's an achievement. RE: PMO itself, I'm not really doing anything new or innovative, just really thinking more about the root cause, which for me is that it is an effort to medicate anxiety.
If only there was something better than PMO or booze in a short term! did you try wim hof breathing? It’s a healthy way to get a high without resetting your counter.
I don’t mean to give you unsolicited advice. I found him super helpful when I’m stressed out. He developed his “method” after his wife committed suicide and he was down in the dumps.
Thank you artifact! Today is also 100 days without porn!! During the first 40 days, I M'd 9 times, without porn. It was a major factor towards being able to go the next 60 both P and M free. M'ing without porn to me is like methadone treatment. It is a big stepping stone. I highly recommend to everyone that is still PMing to force away the porn when the time comes, when you know that you're gonna M. Just start training yourself to the feeling of M without porn. It will help pave the way for giving up both later. Also, keeping track of everything has helped a lot too. I am still very focused on the date October 8, 2019. Any and every slip counts toward my yearly total, thus helping to prevent binge sessions.
I'm glad for the advice and I don't think any advice here is unsolicited. We're here to learn from each other. I appreciate not only the advice but the example of success, that makes me realize it is possible to overcome PMO.
M without P is an excellent point! It’s a completely different experience. I would also add that if you going down this route, just M quickly and simply without trying to increase the pleasure, and to slowly increase the intervals between M “sessions”