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35M, Married. Starting 90 day reboot

Discussion in 'New to NoFap' started by ten-eleven-tristar, Oct 21, 2018.

  1. ten-eleven-tristar

    ten-eleven-tristar Fapstronaut

    15
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    Hello All,
    I'm 35, married, and I have a child on the way. I found porn when I was a teenager, maybe 13 or 14. I've PMO'd nearly every day since then - lots of hiding and sneaking around, except when living alone. I've tried stopping numerous times, and never really been successful for more than a week or two before relapsing. It's just like a habit that I can't quit. I feel like it would be better to take up smoking instead. There's a patch to quit that at least :/

    I'm sick of sneaking around and hiding my problem. I know that it makes my wife feel very inadequate when I PMO and it how it hurts her. Especially now that I have a child coming, I HAVE to stop. I need my relationship with my wife to be strong - she needs to be able to trust me. I need to be able to trust myself.

    About three weeks ago, she caught me (again). This time I promised I would quit. I went cold turkey, but without much of a plan. I installed blocking software on my phone. I lasted almost two weeks. I started seeing a therapist, and I've lasted a week.

    My main trigger seems like its just being alone. As soon as I'm by myself, the thoughts and rationalizations start: "no one will know so how can anyone be hurt by this? etc." Of course after the fact, I feel shame and then I'm nervous that maybe I've left some evidence behind. I've also wasted all of that time when I could have been doing the things that I need to get done that day.

    The therapist suggested during the week that when I get urges I can try a delay tactic - just tell myself that I won't look at P now, but maybe later I will. He tells me that's a tactic that can work with alcoholism. It works in the moment, but unfortunately for me, delaying until later eventually turns into a plan to do it later. I know when I'll be alone and there's little risk of anyone noticing - so that becomes the plan. My wife is out of town this weekend, which is why my counter is back to zero. I need to figure out a better tactic to deal with urges.

    I also feel like the way I relate to women is screwed up. When I see an attractive woman on the subway or walking down the street, I can feel my eyes looking at them the way I look at P. I don't know if I'd say I'm fantasizing about them, or that I'm even imagining having sex - but my eyes are looking for that same visual stimulation that I get out of P. It's like I've trained my brain that looking at women is a way to get that dopamine hit.

    Anyway, a lot of thoughts in my head, but it felt good to write it down. All that really matters is that I have a healthy relationship with my wife and my future child. A 90 day reboot seems like a good place to start.
     
  2. Porn is poison and will bring your relationship with any woman down eventually. There is no easy way to quit and it sounds like you’re taking the right steps. I’m 51 and divorced. My PMO habits were not the only reason for the demise of my marriage but it played a large part in it.

    If you truly love your wife and want her in your life then dig deep and find the courage to move past this.
     
    ten-eleven-tristar likes this.

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