One of the consequences I've suffered from pmo is that it destroyed my social. I've never been a very social person, but I'm not antisocial neither but since I started to masturbate and to watch porn compulsively I've noticed that a my self esteem is on the floor. It's been really difficult to go out and have a normal social life. I don't know what to say or do. It's really difficult to have eye contact when I go out. I see other people that have meetings and it looks like they're happy and I look at myself and what a see is a real mess. Once I thought I was Asperger ir something like that but when I became aware of my addiction problem then I realized it was because of pmo. Porn turns you into a solitary and insecure person. I used to watch these georgeus women having sex and I used to feel like he-man but when I was in front of a real girl, I was a real mess ( I'm still a mess). Watching porn is like going to the movies to watch The avengers. You see people flying, using superpowers and things like that but when the movie is over and you go out of the room then you realize that real life is not like that. It was just a fantasy movie.
Same thing here my friend. I've been in a pretty similar situation to yours. Porn has truly destroyed what we used to be and how we interact and view the world. It will take time to heal, maybe a long time, but once we become healed from it we will be able to return to the world better than ever.
That's right. We have to overcome this addiction to become in a better version of us. It's no easy but we have to.
I can fully relate. Porn has caused me to become an introvert. Always keeping to myself. The thought of going out and meeting new people actually daunts me. As of this stage i only have 2 friends and even them i don't interact as often. I may seem them once or twice a month. For a middle-aged person that amount is reasonable for someone in their early 20s, that level of social interaction is very very low. Aside from gym, most of my hobbies seem to be spent in-doors. Porn has ruined my self-confidence. As of right now, i generally think i will never find a woman. I have adopted the mentality that i am not 'pleasing to the eye' and that i do not have any of the traits a woman desires in a man. One of them being confidence. I really hope in 2021 we are able to overcome this, TOGETHER
I relapsed 3 days ago and have not recovered yet. Wasn't really social to begin with but porn has destroyed my social life. Not to mention that Corona lockdown has made me even more distant from the real world and pornography isn't helping. My last streak was 35 days. Since then I I relapsed 3 times and I have the lowest energy. I am gonna go on a 90 day streak now that I'm back in the real world.
Read the whole thread so my advice goes to all of you. While I cant deny that PMO causes brain changes and make you addicted it is usually not the problem itself. It is a symptom. You guys need to figure out what the root cause of your problem is. PMO is like smoking weed from a very young age. You miss out on life. You need to take a closer look at what you need to do to live a happy life. Focus less on the addiction and more on fixing the actual problems. Need to get fit? Try a diet and workout plan. Need a social life? Find a way to go out and meet people even if you dont want to. Want to study and get a degree? Try it out. Create small positive habits and work on them, then turn them into bigger ones. The addiction will disappear quite easily when you start making real life connections and get hobbies. I know the pandemic isnt exactly working in our favor right now but I would encourage everyone to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing right now: Binge porn and get fat. Not sure how many men watch porn but I would suggest that over 90% do it and most dont even know that they have a problem. If you do some daily push ups, meditate and read 1 book a month while everyone else is wasting their time watching lame TV shows you will come out ahead of the herd. Maybe you can be in the top 1% by the time the pandemic ends. Even top 10% would be better than most.
I've felt the same. The problem is that whe you have a long streak and you relapse, it's like it's more difficult to start again. Lockdown plus pom is just a real depression trigger.
Very hard to recover after a long streak but it is as it is. I relapsed after 105 days once and that was it. Before I knew it I was back down the rabbit hole. The trick is to not let the addiction get a hold on you again. I have decided to stick to Nofap trough the rest of the lock down. I am doing positive things for myself. Working on my habits. My diet, meditation routine, reading, studies starting soon and I will try my best. Doing daily push ups. 240 so far this year. Think im going to mix it up with some sit ups so my arms can rest. Staying clean is easy once you develop a strong mindset. Remember all the tools you used during your longer streaks. Just remind yourself of why you are doing this. The chaser effect will be strong for a few days but then you are back at it again.
