At what point does quitting become easy?

There is no such point where quitting becomes easy. You have to constantly be alert. In fact, it doesn't become easy, you get the ability to manage urges better! I think checking counter and stuff is a compulsive behavior. Our mind is addicted to compulsive behavior because of P! Like I had this weird habit of creating multiple social media accounts and delete the previous ones. I always wanted them to be perfect, with accurate usernames etc. But it will go gradually with time. Just until yesterday I had the compulsion to stay online on this site all throughout my day. But I didn't do it today. Wish you all the best. Keep posting. Pay attention to the scientific aspects of this addiction and stay clean!

 

Hello 'FreeAndStrong', in my experience, the least you think about it, and it comes gradually, the easier it becomes. Not that the effort to overcome PMO gets easier, but as you acquire more knowledge
about what you, and all of us, are up against, and strategies to defend against it, it becomes natural to; be alert; know what your triggers are and to avoid them; understand the biochemical mechanism that got you addicted to this stuff as we all are. As for the amount of time you spend looking at your counter, I think it is normal to do so initially, because every incremental day gives you hope, confidence that what you
are doing is working. Hang in there, but focus on 'living' my friend, on 'living your life' engaging in activities that are fulfilling to you. I am spending a great amount of time on NoFAP because it keeps me focused
on building my defenses to overcome it. It inspires me to read about others' successes and how they achieve them. It also allows me to give hope to others because of the little I have accomplished. I'd rather be
here than spending time engaged in PMO, that's for sure.

Avoid isolation, being alone with your thoughts, as you progress through this fight (trust me, you are not alone, not at all), and engage life. That is what this PMO crap is keeping us from doing. Make no mistake
about this; Will power alone WILL NOT WORK, you will ultimately fail over and over again. This is a daily grind, but understanding what happens to your body when you engage in PMO, and when you stop, will give
you hope. Learning strategies about how to combat the urges that am sure are hammering you on a daily basis, among other strategies, will help you become stronger, again ONE DAY AT A TIME.

The urge to watch porn will subside, over time, and I keep emphasizing 'one day at a time'. What you will be hit with is the memories (images) of what you watched in the past. These images will come at you in bursts, some more intense than others, one day more intensely than others. Eventually, they will begin to fade and so will the urges to look at this stuff. It's happening to me. I have no interest in looking at porn anymore. That said, I have enormous respect for my enemy and how powerful it is. I do not ever plan to put my fortitude to the test by trying to look at porn and see how strong I am. No sir I am not doing that. I am running for the hills. Now, having said that, triggers will linger for sometime, maybe forever. Images such as girls in bikini, cheerleaders, lingerie, etc. can trigger sexual tendencies. The tendency to fantasize will be there, meaning objectifying women to our sexual liking (imagining having sex with them, etc.). Movies that have intense sexual content (i.e soft porn) will do the same. Each of us is different, and will react to them differently. It's something to be alert about, and prepared to take evasive action (skip the picture, change the channel, etc.)

Fight on brother, and come on back with questions, concerns, successes. We are here to help each other conquer this thing.

 

I don't know if we can remove it. We can redirect our attention.

My limited understanding of brain science is that when we shift our focus from a habitual pattern to something new, the old pattern (meaning the connection of neurons) weakens. After a period (not sure how long - months? years?) the old pattern can actually disconnect - the neurons are no longer connected.

What seems to be the case, and fits my experience, is that it takes persistence over time.

I'm with you on that!