26M, college grad, fully-employed, volunteer in my community. On average I have my PMO down to once or twice a week, but up to now I haven't been able to quit cold turkey. I am deeply religious, and have been trying to eradicate porn basically since the first peek at around 14. Long story short, I fessed up to my parents at the time, Mom read me the riot act, and call it repressive if you like, but it actually kept porn at bay through high school. Once I was living on my own, the habit crept back. Since then, my longest streak without PMO is probably about two months (and that was living in a foreign country with a roommate.) As the title of this post suggests, I have never and will never give up this fight; I joined here to fight more effectively. I routinely aim for a week and more or less make it, but events seem to conspire to relapse there. I think of myself as a pretty docile and easygoing person, but the truth is a lot of that is the effect of constant low-level sedation by PMO that I self-inflict. I suspect that beyond that I've actually got a very virile constitution. I've always had a high number of wet dreams, even occasionally while PMO'ing routinely. A week without PMO basically guarantees one - and I generally experience what people on here seem to be referring to as a "chaser" - elevated libido afterward, which makes it much more likely to relapse, typically within 24 hours. I also become a markedly more aggressive driver after a week without PMO. Likely the real answer is that I need to find dietary changes and exercise that provide a healthy counterbalance to the inevitable rebound in testosterone. (edit: reading more on NoFap I see that this is a recognized and temporary effect of rebooting called "the Surge." Good to know.) On that note I definitely eat way too many sugary foods, combined with a sedentary job it must be wreaking havoc with my dopamine circuits. By a miracle of genetics I have a high metabolism and look perfectly fit, if a bit lacking in muscle tone, but the reality under the hood is much less flattering. By secular standards I am a virgin. I have been in a distance relationship with a woman a few years my senior for about 4 months. We skype/email twice a week, and have met in person on three weekends. For religious/ethical reasons we are both committed to saving sex for marriage. Physically, we are both very affectionate and seem very compatible in the ways we like to express that affection. We have not yet discussed my PMO habit, and although that will need to happen sooner rather than later, I wanted to have some concrete progress in the bank first. As today is her birthday, I figured the best present I could give her was a more authentic and masculine me, so here I am. (NB: I also bought a "real" present - I'm not a total cheapskate!) I'm hoping that the combination of support and accountability here will be the difference maker that puts me over the top for good. Also, I'd like to hear any suggestions for diet or exercise that others have found to be effective.
@Redominion welcome to nofap. You seem pretty intelligent and self aware and those qualities should help you make progress. People say replacing works better than repressing i,e finding a hobby or occupying your mind with an activity may be much more beneficial. I cut down on my TV watching and I browse internet without images which helped me a lot. I encourage you to visit this site on a regular basis and chronicle your journey and in no time you will be more authentic and virile version of yourself. I wish you good luck.
Thanks, @LakeMichigan. I would agree that replacing is a crucial component in recovery - and certainly in high school I did have things like Track/XC that filled that time. I have started a reboot journal at This time it's different if you want to follow. I'll be doing my best to post daily.
