My history again?

Unfortunately they don't have any non-English speaking calls and no ETA on when they might add one. Sorry, I tried

Good luck today.

 

It stands for Estimated Time of Arrival.

 

Certainly, I have regrets about my sinful past but I thank God for His bountiful forgiveness. This forum is group therapy for me. Each day, it renews my resolve to visit here and read inspiring and insightful posts and to offer inspiration to others.

I have been a Catholic my entire life and I love our church. I knew from the first time I started committing this sin that it was wrong. As the years of sinfulness went on, the shame built inside me. When I went to confession and resolved to sin no more, some priests told me that I must must fully accept that God had forgiven me without reservation, just as the father forgave the prodigal son (Luke 15:11). They told me I must also forgive myself. However, I could not let go of my shame and forgive myself. I felt that being ashamed of myself was an important deterrent to sinning again. Ultimately, I realized that my shame had done nothing to stop me from sinning. However, it demoralized me and made me despair of ever breaking free. Finally, through fervent prayer I found some success and as I saw that as per Romans 6:4, I put to death the old sinful me and I have become a new man. A fresh new man who need not carry around my burden of shame over this sin any longer. It is a wonderful release.

 

It is like drug addiction, and dopamine is the drug. We have wired our brains to crave dopamine. When our dopamine levels are low, our minds says to us "Where is my dopamine?" At that point, at the craving, we become depressed. At that point, we are in withdrawal. When we give in to the desire we reinforce the wiring, and we unwittingly make it stronger. If we resist we begin to rewire our brains. That is why a psychologist may recommend doing exercise, like running, bicycling and jumping. (Going for a walk will work just as well). Exercising releases dopamine and it has another benefit, it rewires our brains by doing something else. Just try this. Have the urge - then go for a walk. Just keep doing that. Commit to it for 3 weeks. You can do that. Right now don't look for other answers. Feel ashamed - forget about it! Don't. We are in a battle. It's going to take time. Urge - walk. Urge - Walk.

 

... From an article by Luke Gilkerson, " Is Porn Addiction Real or Myth? The debate Continues"
Neuroscientist Dr. Donald Hilton calls pornography “a powerful, $100 billion per year brain drug that is changing human sexuality.” His vivid description is not new; the porn-is-a-brain-drug language has been around for a long time. A decade ago, a U.S. Senate subcommittee brought in a panel of experts to have a hearing on “the brain science behind pornography addiction” (you can read the lengthy transcript if you are interested). The panelists made some bold claims, saying that modern science shows us that “the underlying nature of an addiction to pornography is chemically nearly identical to a heroin addiction.”

... In addition, Dr. William Struthers says research shows that masturbating to pornography actually weakens the cingulate cortex of the brain—the region that is responsible for moral and ethical decision-making and willpower—a process that is seen in every addiction. This phenomenon is known as hypofrontality. In The Porn Circuit, Sam Black explains: “Compulsiveness is a good descriptor of hypofrontality. Many porn users feel focused on getting to porn and masturbating even when a big part of them is saying, ‘Don’t do this.’ Even when negative consequences seem imminent, impulse control is too weak to battle the cravings.”

My humble take: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

 

I think you’re obsessing over whether something is or is not an addiction, which isn’t helping you.

Clearly, you have a problem with M, so let’s just focus on turning to Christ to get healing with that instead of getting all caught up in the weeds in regards to labels.

 

I have come to realize that left on my own, I am fickle and untrustworthy. My willpower is inconsistent and a portion of me consistently wants to sin. Recognizing that I simply cannot trust myself, my prayer when tempted is that the Holy Spirit will fight this temptation for me. I need more than God's help, I need Him to take it over completely. Let me hide behind you God while you take on the enemy for me. Dear God, I want this and I want it more than the thing which is tempting me. I choose You, My Precious Lord, I no longer want to worship the false idols of human flesh. There is nothing lasting there and so much of what is tempting is simply artificial. Fictitious scenarios acted out by fictitious people. I no longer want to give myself to these vulgar, superficial, earthly snares of the devil. I want You Father. I want You. Hide me Your wounds my Savior, while you fight the evil one for me.