Trying to stop for good after 13 years (half my life)

Hello everyone,

I'm 25, been masturbating since I was 12. I first started looking at porn around that age too, although for a while it was mostly images and/or softcore videos (nude clips from movies and the like). I eventually started watching hardcore videos, but interestingly I never felt the need to look at extreme porn. I just got bored from the typical videos, and would stop for a few weeks, then start again. And when I would watch videos, 99% of the time I would only watch a few minutes at a time, mostly the intros and then skip through the rest, then switch videos. Not that any of that excuses my behavior. I just found it peculiar. Although we use web filtering software at my house I always ended up finding a way to bypass it when I really wanted to watch something.

Anyways, I've decided I want to stop for good, both masturbation and porn, especially after reading all the benefits of stopping, from many different sites. I have actually been struggling with depression and shame and I'm convinced that masturbating and fantasizing is part of it. It's also difficult to get 'fully' aroused without having visual stimulation and that worries me. I want to become the best person possible and it begins with kicking bad habits. I've never had any drug or alcohol problems, but I've always struggled with this, so here I am to put an end to it.

I'm waiting until marriage to have sex, so I guess that puts me in 'hard mode', but I'm convinced it'll be worth the wait. I don't have a girlfriend at this time. Right now is the time to focus on myself to become a better person.

Thanks, feels good to join a community!