Hi, I'm new. I guess I'm a recreational rebooter?

Hi, I'm Lance!

I've looked at porn off and on for about the past 21 years. Sometimes I watch it, sometimes I don't, but I typically masturbate anywhere from a few times a day, to a few times a week.

My motivation for joining is probably a bit different than most. I haven't really experienced any particular impacts to watching porn, personally, but I know it can become problematic for a lot of people. I worked in a porn shop for a couple years, and I've definitely seen people struggle with sexual compulsion.

I'm pretty dang happy with my life so far, but recently I started thinking about how long I could go without masturbating, and the idea of forcing myself to abstain longer and longer against the building tension really excited me. I'm about to hit my 1 week mark, and this is the longest I've gone in more than 20 years!

Do other people reboot for similar reasons?

I'm abstaining from porn, masturbation, and orgasms and I'd really like to see how far I can push myself! Three months would be awesome, but if I make it that far, I might just keep going. I'm planing on rewarding myself at milestones buy buying stuff for myself, taking road trips, etc.

Backstory: I quit masturbating when I was 16 (I had been trying to quit since I was 12), and didn't do it again until I was 24. I'm sure that sounds insane, but I was deeply religiously devoted back then.

I'd appreciate any feedback! Also, how do I get a t-shirt?

 

I'm 45 y/o btw. I failed to meantion that.

 

Hi Ethan!

Back when I was a teenager, I definitely felt guilty for masturbating. The internet wasn't really around back then, so I never saw porn till I was 24, when I started masturbating again.

At the time, I was still pretty vctorian, so I still felt guilty about it for a few years, , till I understood that masturbation was just a normal thing most guys do.

As far as loosing time with porn, I mean it's not like I really spent a lot of time watching it. Maybe ten- thirty min every few days or every couple weeks, and by the time I was 28, I no longer felt guilty for it. I masturbate without porn as often if not more than I do with it.

 

I should clarify that I'm rebooting solely because I find forcing myself to build up more and more sexual tension by pushing myself to see how long I can abstain for to be (VERY) sexually exciting right now! Not because I felt bad about masturbating or looking at porn or that either we're creating problems in my life.

 

Hey Ethan, yeah, I'm familiar with dopamine kicks, and masturbating definitely gives me a dopamine kick. But, it's not like I use masturbation to replace the dopamine rush I get from rollerblading, or swimming, or singing with my choir. Nor do I find myself turning to PMO rather than going out with my friends, or spending time with my mom, or working on my photography, or yard projects.

My definition of an addict is someone who uses PMO as a replacement for the enjoyment and satisfaction you get from other relationships or pursuites. You might have a different definition of what an addict is than mine, and I might fit into your definition of an addict, and that's totally fine.

I will say, though, that I'm getting ONE HELL of a dopamine rush from forcing myself to abstain! lol It's been like a week long edging session! XD

 

I think that's probably an individual call.