Has anyone substituted another addiction instead of fapping ?

Well I've been recently playing video games and surfing this forum alot. So yes sometimes in the beginning substitution for a lesser evil will be done since they all release dopamine but in the long run all this will fade away. But in the case of alcohol and cigarettes , even I shy away from them because they weaken my awareness which leads me to not question my actions at times.

Best of luck. Stay clean

 

In my experience, having multiple addictions makes it even harder to break them. I used to be in a vicious cycle of PMO, video games, PMO, video games, etc. When I had my fill of one, then I would switch to the other. Tellingly, once I stopped playing video games (though I still play once in a while), I made huge progress in my reboot.

One should be completely free of addiction.

 

Crack cocaine. Deliciously dirty.

 

Fast food. I figure thats a better one than the others, and something I can recover from quickly. So instead of fapping I go and get a fat burger.

 

It's a strange thing to do. Surely it's just a different source to give your brain a hit, and never actually wean it off needing one.

Smoking is also hugely bad for the body and can come at a crippling financial cost. If you're not addicted to it already then why in the world would you start?

 

Not the same guy, but speaking as someone who has had long clean streaks, it makes relapsing worse than before. The ultimate goal should be to not ever fall back into the habits of watching porn and fapping. It gets even more paramount when there are loved ones who couldn't bare the thought of you watching porn. I once told my girlfriend that I had watched porn with thought being that telling her would help me quit somehow. Her eyes well up because she thought of herself as not good enough and she even felt partially responsible because we are waiting for marriage before we have sex. Why would would anyone want to be stuck any cycle of such an addiction? Wouldn't you rather shake it off and keep it off?

 

I believe the whole point is to change your life. I am guilty of substituting PMO with lots of TV, or sugar, or whatever.

Until I did the hard work of figuring out why I was constantly seeking some artificial comfort, I wasn't actually sober. I just found more socially acceptable forms of addiction (we all binge watch Netflix, right?).

The first 90-days are hugely important in detoxing your brain of all that dopamine wiring. But fi you are crawling through the 90 days, constantly struggling, taking cold showers, trying to just hold on, without doing any deeper work, it won;t last loing term. Its more like going on a fad diet.

During the 90 days, people start to feel emotions they haven't felt in a long time because they have been pushed aside. Do you feel sad? Want to cry all the time? Are you inexplicably angry? Figure out why. You have been avoiding these feelings by acting out. And until you deal with them, really get to know yourself, really understand what's been driving your addiction, you won't be free.

The hard work is knowing yourself. Admitting that your parents weren't perfect. Or that your childhood was "happy" Or that you're over your ex-gf.

Addicts will always be addicts. There will always be some part of us that seeks the easy way out. But we can be strong. We can know ourselves and learn to appropriately deal with feelings and struggles and life.

 

Nope. I wasn't born an addict, I became one, so it's reversible. Everyone instinctively looks for the less painful approach. This is human nature not addiction.

 

Yes.

I am addicted to my job. I work off the clock for approx. 30 mins (always varies) each day.

I'm fucked in the head.