James 5:16

Hi Super,
There is a lot of good advice on this site. Take notes and study how others have succeeded. I will pray for you.

 

Welcome. I think you will find support and encouragement here as you take the steps that lead to life.

One thing to consider: It might be time to give up MO, too. I think P will always lead us to MO and MO will always lead us to P. It's a vicious cycle. I have found for myself that I can only remain free if I give up both.

Keep reaching out. I will be following your story with interest. I am praying for you and cheering you on to a new kind of life.

 

Like Tao said, you have to give up masturbation too. You feel no change because you've been masturbating.. which is the route of the problem. If you give up m, what use is p? If you give up p, you still find a way to m. This is a very important connection to make. It's best to cut out all visual material that invokes a desire to m. Social media, instagram especially is a big one. Check out this video as well regarding this matter. You can do this man, I also started around 11 and I'm 26 now. It can be done, but we have to stop procrastinating, thinking we'll get a hold of it eventually. It's now or never.

 

Quitting this addiction has to remain at the forefront of your mind. A lot of the time we have a relapse, and suddenly we get inspired again to quit, after realizing the damage it causes. But then a week goes by, 2 weeks go by, and we forget the source of that inspiration. Because we’re trying to wing it. Like taking a high level physics exam without studying.. just hoping we can figure it out. I’d advise you to write on paper all the reasons you have to quit, and go over it daily. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

Also regarding being hungry and tired... these are 2 things that are actually a trigger for pmo. When we’re tired, often times instead of getting our body what it needs (sleep), we end up seeking some kind of stimulation to keep us awake. Listen to your body and try to give it what it needs. Take naps if you can or go to sleep early when tired. Same goes for hunger, instead of giving our body the food it needs, we instead stimulate ourselves in order to create a high which suppresses the hunger. Pay attention to these sensations in your body and try to give it what it needs. Good luck man.. keep at it. The rewards for maintaining this discipline are like nothing else in this world. God bless.

 

There is only one way we get through this: One day at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow. Just focus on Christ TODAY!

 

Welcome!

 

You are most welcome here. Each of us has made attempts to break this addictive cycle several times before realizing greater success. You are not alone. Your commitment to keep up the fight and to come closer to Our Precious Lord will ultimately bring success. Keep praying, keep striving and success will come to you.

 

It's good you recognise this is wrong, but note that it's not just that it won't naturally taper off - it's worse - left to its own devices it will ALWAYS demand more. The way addiction works is that one session is never as good as the last unless you up the dosage - whether that's drugs, alcohol, sex or ANYTHING that floods our brains with dopamine. Our brain adjusts to what we have seen in such a way that the same dopamine hit doesn't hit the mark, and the only way to do so is to get excited about something new - to seek bigger and better thrills.

Consider what you were into when you started versus the most shocking this you have looked at. Were you into that shocking thing when you started? I doubt it. I'm into stuff now that I was never into when I had my first orgasm. Stuff I once found disgusting became necessary for that 'bigger and better thrill'.

You also commented that you've been teetering between what counts as P and what doesn't, but in my view it's all P. Any time you look at or even think about a woman with lustful intent is P. P is just a word. Lust is the true enemy, not P.

It's great though that you recognise the need for a change of heart, and I will pray that God will grant you this. Fighting, discipline, rules, routines etc. to help us stop are great, but it's so much better to never need them in the first place. We can only teach that point by allowing God to change our hearts, and I pray for you and everyone here that he will do just that.

Good luck and God bless you!

 

Praying for you, brother! Please pray for me as well. I'm with you

 

I have broken so many streaks - even recently. You are not alone.

What do you do? Keep doing as you are doing, but also keep praying as David prayed in Psalm 51:

"10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

Despite my recent relapse, I'm in a better place than I was overall - over the past year or so PMO has been significanly less frequent because I simply don't want to PMO. But getting to this point takes time, patience and the humility to trust it all to God. For me, asking Him to change my heart has been a significant part of that.

A single relapse doesn't destroy progress, in my opinion. We have good days and bad days. If the heart is changing for the good over time then you are making progress and no online counter is going to measure that. Yes, counters are good, as is filtering software, and certainly accountability partners and many other disciplines. But change is ultimately deeper.

Remember also that you have come so much further than people who flat out deny they have a problem and refuse to seek help.

I will remember you in my prayers, brother. Keep on keeping on

 

Your words were exactly my words a little over a year ago. I have been exactly where you are in the struggle and with all of the added guilt of being a highly respected person at work and hopefully within my family. Eventually, I looked at my failures following a reasonable streak of self control and I found two consistent mistakes and two frequent contributing factors. (1) As my days of success built, I became complacent about my commitment to frequent (at least daily) heartfelt, fervent prayer. (2) I relaxed my commitment not to stare at alluring images (no matter how innocent) and/or alluring persons. (3) I realised my decisions to sin were almost always impulsive ones, made when I was alone or the only one awake in the house. During such hours and during my weakest stages, I failed to move my laptop to an inconvenient place, so I couldn't grab it on an impulse and commit sin. (4) I frequently allowed myself some self-pity over a minor matter like excessive workload or some issue which hadn't gone the way I wanted it to. I then comforted myself (and/or procrastinated from work) with this sin.

About this time, I returned to NoFap after years of absence and I came in contact with several helpful and inspiring persons. One such person, pointed me to a technique that really facilitated my early success. Specifically, he advised to make a small promise to God to refrain from this sin. To begin with, perhaps a 10 minute promise and then gradually build to hours, perhaps days. Along with the promise, pray intently for the grace to fulfill your promise. As he said, do not stop praying until the temptation passes. You wouldn't stop resisting someone who was trying to hurt you or your family after only 20seconds, so don't use this paltry amount of time to avert the devil's temptations.

 

Repentance is more than just turning around and stopping the sin. It is replacement. You have to be doing proactive things to build your relationship with Christ. Spending time with him in the morning, and remembering his presence continually. Getting involved in a church, worshiping, small group, prayer and service. If you are not pursuing Christ and continually surrendering your will then these are the things to start doing.

Also, see the 8 steps to recovery at the top of the main page.

 

Great stuff! You are most welcome here. If you, or any of us, fall again, let it simply be a stumble we learn from and not a failure causing us to give up. Bishop Sheen said that the devil makes sin look attractive and innocent, but after we succumb to his temptations, he brings shame and guilt as tools to separate us from God. Over the many decades I committed this sin, I clung to my shame with the idea it would cause me to stop sinning. Clearly, that did not work.

Dear Lord, help us all to see your ways are love and mercy not self-loathing and guilt. When we fall, give us the inspiration to run to You and seek your inspiration to resist temptation. Let us never be far from You.

 

Prayed for you today. We can stay clean today with God's help