1 year of trying, reducing the frequency by 10-15 times. Want to become a part of the community

Welcome! Congrats on the progress you have made so far!. I believe we can only kick this with each other's help. You're in the right place to get that.

 

Great post and welcome to Nofap!

A great reminder that there is no quick fix when it comes to overcoming this problem. Medium to long-term recovery plans are great strategies that can help pave the way for a successful way out, whilst also helping to remove the unnecessary pressure that 'counting days' can place on people who are often feeling an overwhelming sense of stigma and shame and other pressures in their lives.

I took on a long-term approach last year too which has focussed more on making progress in living the life I want to live and becoming the person I want to be, and not the habit I want to stop. A series of small, but significant successes has seen me shift from acting out multiple times a day and night, month after month, year after year, right down to single figures each week.

This has been a major accomplishment for someone who has had a severe relationship to PMO for 35 years, and I owe it mainly to planning and practicing whilst also learning to be brutally honest with myself. It's fascinating how in denial I have been over the years and the array of avoidant ways that denial can manifest in my life and the way I think and act.

It's crazy, but finding the courage to look within, own my faults and shortcomings has also been paramount. I've also had to learn to ignore the ignorant haters and nay sayers who judge the hell out of you, as they do nothing but try and sap your life force and will to succeed. I like myself today more than ever because I've made monumental investments in myself in ways I never really appreciated before now. In ways that most people in the world don't, or can't. I really think the recovery process produces better people through that journey of self-discovery.