It's all in your brains, for many cause lies in subconscious early age traumas. You're fighting against your primal reptile part of brains. Our compulsive addictive behavior is engraved in neuropathways. It really doesn't matter what your addiction is. What matters the most is for how long and how often did you engage in addictive behavior. Not impossible to break, but very, very difficult. Long term PMO users have build neuro highway in our early years which can't be demolished in our adulthood because of reduced brain neuroplasticity. We can only learn to abandon "addiction highway" and create small detour "gravel roads" instead. But PMO highway will stay with us for life. The only thing we can do is not to use it ever again or we'll fall right back into vicious PMO circle. There is no cure, just avoidance, if you're over 25, basically. Based on my own subjective experience with my addictions, her theory sounds very plausible to me. Do you think dr. Breuning is right? Worth watching (especially from 26 min: 35 s and 35:40):
thats what im trying to tell people .. there is just no living with it if you do it you will get addicted to it sooner or later its just a fact that i have seen in all of my friends .. i strongly agree .. you just need to stop once and forever till you get into a real meaningful relationship .. good luck bro
i have a Q though since my best streak was 14 days and now your at 31 days .. does it get easier and by it i mean fighting urges and the headaches ??
I longest "hard mode" streak was 180 days. It gets easier over time. Withdrawal symptoms vanished after three months. I was in flat line most of the time, so I can't say anything about urges. I relapsed because I stopped with regular exercise and anxiety plus some scary groin pain took better of me. Once I relapsed I was constantly hooked like past six moths didn't happen. My compulsive behavior even worsened. She says it takes cca 45 days for brains to build new neuropathway so behavior starts feeling more natural. Not so big as the highway but easier followed then before.
It was reading this book that made me try to quit again! I'm through 17 days and aiming for 45 (at least)!
Take 45 days with grain of salt. She was not a junkie after all I did 90 days of hard mode twice, 180 days once and I'm back to day 1. To be honest, my compulsive behavior got even worse. I think our only option is to go cold turkey for life. "PMO neuro highway" will stay with us as long as we're alive. Our only option is not to use it ever again.
I'm not so sure, although I know it is early days for me. Look at your positives, two 90 day runs AND an 180 day run! I would focus less on returning to day 1, and be happy with your self control and discipline during the long runs and the hard days when you wanted PMO and didn't break! Will I fap again? For sure. Will I watch P again? Probably. But we are in control of our own actions, and we should definitely take some pride in any positive steps towards self control.
