First Try! (Hopefully)

Hello everyone.

So I'll just throw it out there immediately - I'm doing this due to porn induced ED. This has caused and will cause issues for me with partners. I feel as if I can say a lot about my experiences with that and so on, but for now I just want give a simple "hello!" to the rest of you.

I am male and currently 24 and have had issues since I lost my libido due to medication for anxiety and depression back when I was in my early teens. The loss of libido is the start of why I started watching so much porn to get an outlet. The porn has continued since then, however I decided to fix it a while ago. I set a specific date, which is 02/02/2020, because - well, I don't have to explain, do I? So as of writing this it's 3 days ago and I have barely begun the journey. I have gone longer without, however this is the first time I have deliberately set out to stop this addiction. To add onto that, I first watched porn at age 11 around when I hit puberty. Quite early, however the issues didn't pop up until the medication as mentioned earlier.

I have worked with myself and my issues, including anxiety and depression among many, many other things. I have experience in exercising my will to do what must be done for me to get better. I can not lie and say I don't have expectations of myself. I expect to not fail even once. I feel like I can already hear people tell me there is no shame in failing, as long as you do not give up. I agree with that, and often follow the thought that "you haven't failed until the moment you stop trying." I suppose it is simply my "style" at this point to feel this way - to have confidence in my will and my work towards my goals. So I hope you understand I mean no ill of people of relapse, nor do I believe it is weak or any of the sort. I just have these expectations for myself, and that is fine with me... hence the title. Anyway, I started rambling a bit.

A big part of this will be to avoid porn at all, being on the Internet and especially in communities who are very open with sharing images. I have done what I can, so I'm interested to see just how well I can avoid it.

Anyway, it's nice to join this community and I hope you all succeed in your own goals, whatever they may be.

 

I am not currently using medication, it has been quite a few years since I stopped (with the agreement of my doctor.) The next 3-6 months after my libido came back slowly but surely, however the rest wasn't working as it should.

I'm going for a streak of 1 year minimum. Around February next year I'll look at my situation and judge if I need to go longer or not.

I've found what works for me is once I've grasped the situation, which I have by researching the subject before starting, it's best for me to not look at too much advice. I currently have something I know that'll work for me. However if I should feel as if I may relapse, I will jump onto the forum and look for advice or ask for it. I am well aware it's no easy feat, and that's why I'm taking it so seriously and setting very clear goals for myself, to avoid falling on my face further down the line. I don't believe I'd be able to overcome this if I don't try my best.