365 days A year after being born again.

Hey guys, a year ago I wouldn't have imagined being here. I thought I was doomed to live the rest of my life as a miserable hypocrite, a slave to pornography and masturbation. But, look at me today, a year without PMO. I really can't believe it, but it's real. There is a deep gratitude in my being for having the opportunity to reach this stage of the process. The road has not been easy. I remember the first few weeks and how I went through the withdrawal symptoms, but it was worth it, and it's not like I'm completely healed, but today is a great achievement in that healing process.
I am a few weeks away from turning 32, in which 20 years I have lived as a PMO addict (at another time I will share my story of how to become prey to this terrible addiction).
This year, without a doubt, has been the best I've ever experienced. I have really been reborn, these months have been a starting point to change the course of my life.

Some of the keys to my progress are as follows:

Change the way you see addiction. Due to my religious beliefs I used to see this addiction simply from the perspective of a “horrible sin” that I had to secretly repent of, it was a pattern of feeling bad and hoping that this pain would help me not fall again, but it was just a repeating cycle. Everything changed, when I stopped seeing this addiction as a simple spiritual problem, and learned to see the other areas in which this addiction was destroying me. When I saw the physical damage, the mental deterioration, and the effects on my social development, the picture widened. Pornography and masturbation is a serious disease that has consequences on a physiological, mental and spiritual level. Learning about the damage that porn causes made me aware of the true face of this terrible addiction. I stopped looking at porn as a hobby or a harmless action and looked at it for the first time for what it is; a deadly disease.

Adopt a new style of eating and exercise. I learned to change my eating habits. The key was to move again. I had a sedentary lifestyle, without taking care of my diet, I had a problem of being overweight. The truth is that I wasn't happy with myself, I didn't feel good. But, at the same time, he didn't do anything to get out of there, he didn't have the strength to do it. However, this was where discipline became vitally important. I stopped eating sugary foods, I stopped staying awake, I stopped drinking coffee, I started drinking 2 liters of water daily and above all things; I promised to exercise. Currently, I work out at home, I haven't decided to go to the gym yet out of caution to the visual triggers I may face. But, there are no excuses, there are exercises that can be done at home, it's just taking the first step and starting to move. In truth, you cannot imagine the benefit this will bring to your process.

Meditation and dealing with my emotions. For me, porn was a way to self-medicate the emotional pain in my heart. Faced with any situation of anxiety, of frustration, I used to flee as a coward to take refuge in the PMO. But, everything changed when I learned to face those uncomfortable emotions and face my demons from the past. Facing the traumas and healing the wounds of my childhood was the best decision. Porn never helped me, it was just a drug that temporarily reduced the pain, but only made it worse. If you don't start to heal your wounds, porn will always be in control of your emotions. Practicing meditation and therapeutic writing have been fundamental tools in my process and, above all, memorizing biblical portions to face temptation has been the key.

Knowledge is the best method to deal with addiction. He lived in ignorance. Like the frog in the boiling pot, I had adapted to a destructive lifestyle. But, this Nofap community, and other men who have shared their experience, helped me see that there is new life behind this addiction. I let my addiction normalize and the cases of overcoming it made me see that I can also get ahead, and in the same way, the testimonies of brothers who have relapsed, helped me identify myself and learn from the mistakes of others to avoid them in my process. Keeping the mind occupied in studying about the restart and in everything that can help us is of great importance, otherwise, an idle mind is a breeding ground to continue reproducing this addictive behavior.

Some of the benefits in this process:
Greater self-confidence. Years of insecurity, of living in shame have been exchanged for a new version. Now I am able to look anyone in the eye, I have eye contact with women. I no longer look at them as a beta man, but as a true man, with respect and cordiality. I walk safely and with my head held high.

My appearance has improved significantly. My eyes radiate a special sparkle that children admire, women notice, and men respect. The light of life is in the eyes, it makes sense. If you cultivate your inner being, if you heal the soul; your eyes will manifest this to others. My skin is no longer oily and full of acne, I struggled all my youth with this, but in this year, this problem has completely subsided. In short, you feel alive and you transmit it to others with your gaze and your presence.

Better work performance. It is as if the creative potential that I had not experienced for a long time resurfaced. The reality is that it was always there, but the brain fog produced by PMO always hindered it. Now, I have a better ability to memorize, my verbal communication skills have improved considerably (the stutter that characterized me for a long time has drastically decreased).

Living true Masculinity. One of the things I have achieved this year is learning to live my masculinity in a healthy way. I am learning at this point in my life to see that my virility does not consist as society promotes it, as a hypersexualized being. Actually, masculinity lies in taking care of our essence, guiding those around us, leading our lives, governing our impulses. As a man I was not created to live worshiping women and their bodies. On the contrary, I was created to transcend, to inspire, protect and motivate others. Porn castrates us as males, but abstinence gives us back the manhood the world needs and real women crave deeply.
I am aware that there are areas in my life where I need to work more, but this year has been just a starting point to continue becoming that man that God always wanted me to be. If anyone took the time to read this far, thank you very much.

Truly, I hope you can have hope knowing that there is an extraordinary life waiting for you. I am experiencing it.

I apologize for the expression errors, I'm using Google translate.

 

Friend, it is a pleasure to answer your questions.
1. About withdrawal symptoms.
In my experience, the symptoms were intense (headache, flu-like symptoms, mood swings, etc.) the first 3 months; Carrying out physical exercise and improving my eating habits and hours of sleep helped me to face this difficult stage. The body is getting rid of a drug from the system, understanding this helps a lot to not give up
2. The flat line. Actually, this has been a process that little by little I have been overcoming. At first it was very good, having been sexually stimulated for much of my life, this was a positive thing in the first few months, seeing that those uncontrollable sexual urges were not there. However, in recent months this has been returning to normal within a healthy framework. Each case is different, but it took me more than 6 months to get out of the flat line.
3. I always suffered from insomnia, caused by PMO and my poor sleep cycles. But, this is a thing of the past, now we sleep very well. It helped me a lot to give up coffee and start exercising. I think these adjustments have helped me overcome insomnia.
A hug mate and continue on your way.

 

One factor that has helped me deal with brain fog is the practice of mindful breathing.
If possible, at one point in the process, improve the mental fog. Keep walking, adopt healthy mental habits every day, the fog does not disappear from one moment to the next, you must persevere. Greetings!