The Holy Trinity - Sleeping, Eating and Exercising

For many years I have suffered with a porn addiction and even before that I would regularly masturbate (since I did not have the internet at the time). It was a form of relief that I relied upon, resorting to masturbation when I was tired, stressed or just bored. Fortunately I started to acknowledge my problem(took some time before i acted upon it though) and realised that this was causing more harm than good, preventing myself from having a normal and productive lifestyle.

After various attempts at becoming PMO free I felt like I wasn't making much progress. My day was screwed up, waking up at 2pm and would barely eat anything until the evening. Not only that but I was feeling so lethargic that all I wanted to do was sit around watching films and tv shows. So, by the time it got round to going to bed it was no surprise that I couldn't sleep because I had done nothing all day! Clearly this is not conducive for anything productive and only instills a negative mindset (which normally would mean I'd resort to PMO).Therefore the only thing I could do was restart and focus on the basics. The Holy Trinity.

The Holy Trinity

Being in this dire situation is unfortunate but you can get out of it.

When trying to break the pattern, it is important to focus on the basics and these are eating, sleeping and exercise. Sounds painfully obvious but it's ridiculous how much of an impact they have on you.

Eating
Snacking is a nasty habit and when you feel stressed and quite tired you tend to go for sugary snacks. Unfortunately this only gives you quick bursts of energy and doesn't keep you going for a large chunk of the day. This is very similar to PMO where is does not keep you fully satisfied and hence why you go back for more. However snacks are okay if you're eating three proper meals a day. Remember that breakfast is the most important meal as it gives you a kick start and allows you to stay on track for the rest of the day.

We all know that eating from the right food groups is important, but it is incredibly easy to go back to salty and sugary snacks so try to keep it in mind. By eating healthily you will notice significant positive changes in yourself.

Exercise
Many positive chemicals are released while doing some form of exercise and they act as a fantastic and necessary substitute for those you'd normally get from PMO. Even though you might find the later much more enjoyable the effects last longer with exercise and so keep you more stable throughout the day and stability is what all of us aim for. By regularly doing some form of physical exercise you become more relaxed, the mind is clearer and concentration span goes (way) up.


Sleeping
It is imperative to get decent and enough amount of sleep. It allows you to mentally and physically recover and this is what addicts desperately need. It is as important as the other two parts of the trinity but also is very much reliant on them as well. Eating and Exercising properly means that the body is tired at specific times and allows us to get to sleep. Not only this, but we are able to enforce some kind of routine upon ourselves which is important.


Even though the basics are obvious, for many of us these things are not second nature. We need to constantly remind ourselves that they are important and are necessary for our recovery. By tending to these issues my life has improved massively and I have become more positive, focused and have the willpower to accomplish goals that previously would have seemed impossible. Of course there are other things which can help you recover. But, by fixing your issues with eating, exercise and sleeping you will provide yourself with the foundations for a positive and healthy life.

I hope this post has been helpful and good luck to everyone