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Can't get a goodnight's sleep because of cruising SM sites.

Discussion in 'Porn Addiction' started by Deleted Account, Jul 5, 2018.

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  1. I've started an account here maybe about a month ago and still keep relapsing. I don't even think I've made it to a week without going back to those sites.

    For me, these places are much more addictive than porn, especially the one with the initials CS. Everyone's profile is festooned with pornographic images of themselves and others, and the tantalising prospect of getting in contact with someone will keep me hooked for hours and hours, waiting to see if someone will reply to my message etc, and when I do start talking to someone it's very hard to cut that off, and if I do, I feel guilty about ghosting etc.

    It's become such a deeply ingrained pattern. I'll relapse, make profiles on these sites, spend maybe about 4 nights in a row where I hardly sleep at all, because I'm up all night talking about being becoming a slave to someone in a far off country, sometimes I get to the point of seriously considering going through with something, then it will all get too much- I'll delete the profile and ghost. Spend a few days off the site, then start again with a new profile.

    Please, does anyone have any advice at all? I'm constantly haggard from not sleeping and can't do anything my life, because the moment I get a little freetime, it gets entirely eaten up by cruising online for someone to abuse me or humiliate me.
     
  2. Ridley

    Ridley Fapstronaut

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    It sounds like whatever method you're trying to end this habit is ineffective. It looks like all you've been doing is "spending a few days off the site". I don't think that's going to be enough. Abstinence from an addictive behavior isn't enough to eliminate the behavior, as odd as that sounds.
    1. You need to figure out why you're relapsing. Look for a pattern. Is there a regular event that triggers it during the week? For example, when I was relapsing really frequently, I was visiting my family once a week. Usually, as I was driving home, I would start to feel urges to watch porn and masturbate. Identifying that as a trigger for my addiction was enormously helpful in preventing relapses in the future. I didn't have to stop seeing my family or anything like that, I just knew that I had to brace myself and prepare myself mentally for the urges that would come afterwards. Try keeping a relapse journal every time you relapse. Write down how you were feeling before the relapse occurred. Write down what you did the day the relapse occurred before you went back to the site. Write down anything you think might be relevant to discovering a pattern in your behavior.
    2. Abstain from using the site. Although I said that abstinence isn't going to be enough, it is important to mention it nonetheless. Every time you go back to that site, you're feeding your addiction and making it stronger. This might seem obvious, but it's a prelude to step #3...
    3. Replace the site usage with healthier activities. Here are a few I like: cook a nice meal for yourself, exercise, practice a musical instrument, work on a personal project, clean your living space, meditate or pray, write in a journal, post on this forum, call a friend or family member, go for a walk outside. Only when you replace your addictive behavior with healthy behavior will you start to heal.
    4. Practice self-love. You keep going back to this site because there is something going on in your life that you're unhappy with. It might be loneliness, it might be insecurity, it might be the way you look, it might be frustration, it might be boredom. Whatever the reason, you need to find out what it is and start the healing process, and you will only find out what it is by looking within. Once you have identified it, recognize that it is not who you are. I can't stress how important this is. You have to recognize that the thoughts you have about yourself or the emotions you experience are not who you are. You are something else entirely.
    That's all the advice I can offer for now. I hope this helps you in some way!
     
    Deleted Account and kropo82 like this.
  3. Really sorry for the impoliteness of such a late reply. I basically just gave up even trying for a while unfortunately and hadn't been back to the forums here. But I want to say thank you so much for your detailed and practical advice!

    I guess I'd been thinking about it too simplistically, just in terms of a battle between willpower on the one hand and addiction on the other. I'll start keeping a journal, and also trying to find new things to fill the space.... Actually when I'm able to get away from the internet it feels like I have so much free time.
     
  4. Ridley

    Ridley Fapstronaut

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    Don't worry about the late reply. We all have real lives to live, and I'm certainly not going to hold it against you :)

    Yeah, the feeling of loss of free time is a new problem for a new generation. These applications we use on the web (facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, etc) are designed to use up as much of your time as possible to maximize your exposure to advertisements. It's no wonder you feel free when you're disconnected from the internet.
     
  5. Thanks for that! :) Yes, even not considering porn, the internet in general can turn into a pretty vampiric reality substitute, if you're not careful. I'm 37 now, didn't have regular internet access until my early 20s and it's shocking how much I used to read in my teens, compared with now, and the damage to my attention span.

    I
     

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