Hey, as is costume I will just tell you a bit about myself and where i am coming from. I am 22 years old and studding Computer Science at University and I have been masturbating to porn over 10 years by now. In that time I tried a few times to stop or at least getting to a frequency where I would be comfortable (like once per weak), needless to say that I failed all of them. I think PMO became my realm to escape to (next to Video Games and YouTube), where I could get (sexual) pleasure without going the hard way of social interactions and all that is accompanied by that. The downward spiral I got myself into is the escape from reality and social live, realizing that reality is even more lonely and miserable than last time I checked (since I did not do anything against that and missed my responsibility's) and deeper descend into PMO and other virtual reality's. The last straw and the reason I am now here is my failure of an important test at university which I failed, not because I did not understand the topics but rather because I tried to escape from the stress and pressure (in consequence I did not learn or attendant the test) ... and probably because it is already costume for me to run away rather than confronting what needs to be confronted. Okay, so now I am going to confront my inadequacies and I will do so for my own personal growth. I am going to be as honest as I possible can with myself and in the journal I will start tomorrow. My plan is to do a 90 Day Reboot with the following parameters: - No PMO - No Video Games - No YouTube for escapism (I will still use it for educational purposes) Through my own experiences and what I have read in other threads, I gathered a few tactics to help me on my long journey: - to avoid boredom from all the time I will get, I will focus on my mind, body and soul (meaning I will spend at least 30 min on my education, my fitness and an artistic outlet, witch will be drawing). - I will give myself a clearly defined frame for the day (standing up and going to bed at the same time every day). - I already uninstalled all my games and deleted my porno collection. - I split the 90 days into 5 Milestones with a reward at the end of each one. - deleted my YouTube history and canceled subscriptions which seem counterproductive. - Got myself Kaspersky for pc and android (the thought here is to make porn as inaccessible as possible. The longer it takes to find a loophole, the more time I have to get a grip on myself). So yea, going to start tomorrow. While writing this I came to the realization that it is a bigger part of me than I first thought and that makes it even more scary. The best of luck to all of us, we sure can use it.
Welcome friend! You're in the right place. I know this from my personal experiences in this community and when I set structured goals. It is when I start slacking on my participation on the boards that I start slacking in other ways in my life. I'm a chronic relapser but understand my pattern. Fortunately, this community welcomes me back each and every time with open arms. In addition, this is the only place where I can truly express the pain and frustrations I experience as a result of my demons. I have also felt the joys and gifts in life through taking the suggestions of my peers in the NoFap community. It's a beautiful place and I'm grateful it's here for me. I would suggest creating a journal on here if you already haven't. Actively updating kept my mind in tune with the goals I set as well as held me accountable for my actions. Please keep us updated and stay connected. Welcome home my friend.
I have found it helpful to add a small health goal on top of my reboot challenge, just so I had something to both practice willpower with and indulge in if I was stressed. Caffeinated drinks is what I chose....and I have failed at that for a good chunk of last week, but all good for PMO. It's a small thing, but it has been helpful. Sounds like a good plan. Looking forward to your success.
Hey, thanks for the advice. I did commit my self to regular updates in the journal I will start today. I actually set myself a health goal, doing a cold shower in the morning. I already did this a few years back, but I did lose that habit so I thought this would be an excellent time to bring it back.
