Prisoner of Our Own Hands

[Contentful T]

I was struggling with the title of this thread. I wanted it to be as accurate as possible, however I did not want to overwhelm anyone nor cross into territory we need not to in order to gain the greatest benefit possible in here.

I think we can consider ourselves prisoners of habit if we continually fail to escape the vicious cycle of PMO. Often times, and I can certainly attest, we go round and round and round to the nth degree until it gets so bad something must give that has never given before in order for us to break the cycle. I can also say the cycle does not seem to remain the same length of time however one often finds themselves back in the prison of their own hands after having tasted freedom for a good length of time.

This thread is a quote thread mostly however music and book recommendations are permitted for discussion.

What quotes are encouraged? Quotes describing the experiences of actual slaves and prisoners. People in history whom were savagely detained and exploited in various ways. I can say being a prisoner of fapping is downright savage and life corroding. Such a comparison is not exaggerated in my eyes even if others may beg to disagree. While I do not aim for us to minimize the devastation others have faced whom were literally enslaved and imprisoned under brutal conditions, I do want us to acknowledge suffering greater than what we may have experienced/are experiencing so as to get a better grip on our own situation and not blow things out of proportion which can lead to an even tighter bondage by our own palms.

 

[Contentful T]

I suppose I will start by offering several quotes listed with the books they are from. Also a song or two to set the mood for now.

Please treat this thread as your own and share as you will. Discuss as you please. Also, perhaps we did not imprison ourselves in the manner we currently find ourselves? I mean would we have been savagely imprisoned by our own hands had internet pornography not infected the planet back in 1993?

Time for a prison break?

“My sufferings I can compare to nothing else than the burning agonies of hell!”
― Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave

“The prisoner, having reached the depth of his depression, gradually reawakens to the life around him. He licks himself and his wounded pride, opens his eyes, and finds that far away on the horizon there is still a ray of sunlight left.”
― P. H. Newman

“They dream of the happiness of stretching out one's legs and of the relief one feels after going to the toilet. In Orotukan the earth thaws only in the summer and only to the depth of three feet—and only then can they bury the bones of those who died during the winter. And you have the right to arrange your own life under the blue sky and the hot sun, to get a drink of water, to stretch, to travel wherever you like without a convoy [escort]. So what's this about unwiped feet? And what's this about a mother-in-law? What about the main thing in life, all its riddles? If you want, I'll spell it out for you right now. Do not pursue what is illusory—property and position: all that is gained at the expense of your nerves decade after decade, and is confiscated in one fell night. Live with a steady superiority over life—don't be afraid of misfortune, and do not yearn after happiness; it is, after all, all the same: the bitter doesn't last forever, and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing. It is enough if you don't freeze in the cold and if thirst and hunger don't claw at your insides. If your back isn't broken, if your feet can walk, if both arms can bend, if both eyes see, if both ears hear, then whom should you envy? And why? Our envy of others devours us most of all. Rub your eyes and purify your heart—and prize above all else in the world those who love you and who wish you well. Do not hurt them or scold them, and never part from any of them in anger; after all, you simply do not know: it may be your last act before your arrest, and that will be how you are imprinted in their memory!”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Books I-II

 

[Contentful T]

This thread was influenced by the gravity of my past few relapses. Madness. Utterly life destroying.

Some might feel offended by the magnitude I am weighing this with. Not sure if that sentence even makes sense. Fapping is a prison like no other in my eyes however. I think one could actually find peace in some literal prisons (material ones that are constructed by the legal system for example on our planet) if they were not fapping. Not saying it would be paradise by any means.

I will not draw a comparison to victims of the Holocaust however. But knowing their suffering can help you adjust better to your own in my experience.

I do not feel imprisoned any longer but I am aware it exists and I can enter into it at any moment of my choosing. The question to ask is why the literal hell on Earth would I decide to do that? Blind passion is a grave foe indeed. The magnitude of vice as I know it is simply horrific.

I feel I have escaped the metaphysical prison but I know that does not ensure anything at all. Nothing is guaranteed as far as I am concerned.

“Mood has to be controlled.
Otherwise, it's your master.”
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

“The chains that break you, are the chains that make you. And the chains that make you, are the chains you break.”
― Anthony Liccione

 

[Coolyorky]

It’s not too late till two then it’s too late