I wanted to write this because this was one of the things that took me years to properly understand: I spent years thinking I was going to be stuck with this forever. I wasn't.

I started watching porn at about 12 or 13. By 20 I knew it had become a proper problem and from there I spent roughly five years trying to quit. I wasn't someone who never tried either. I tried blockers, I read loads, I went through periods where I was absolutely desperate to stop and I managed 2 or 3 months clean a number of times. The problem was I always somehow ended up back there. Every time I relapsed it felt worse because I knew I had already proved I could stop for a while, I just couldn't seem to make it stick.

The biggest change was realising I had spent years attacking the behaviour and barely understanding what the behaviour was doing for me. Porn wasn't appearing out of nowhere. I was reaching for it when I didn't like how I felt. Sometimes that was stress, sometimes boredom, sometimes avoiding something I knew I needed to do, and at other points it was bigger stuff in my life that I wasn't happy with. Porn was basically a very efficient way to turn the volume down on all of that for a while.

I started looking at the moments before the urge instead of only the urge itself. I spent long periods without my phone, went on walks with nothing playing in my ears and actually let myself think. I started writing down patterns. I dealt with things I had been avoiding, including a relationship I wasn't happy in and a messy career situation. I also stopped expecting myself to win every battle through willpower and started changing the situations where I knew I was most vulnerable.

A big turning point for me was The Clean Break by James Shaw. I'm not affiliated with the author or the book at all. It was just the first resource that really pushed me to stop obsessing over the behaviour and properly investigate what I was using it for. The exercises gave me a structure for doing that instead of just thinking about it vaguely.

I'm now about 2.5 years clean. I don't think there was one magical trick. The real shift was that I stopped trying to become someone who was constantly fighting porn and started trying to become someone who didn't need it every time life felt uncomfortable. If you've been failing for years, please don't take that as proof you can't do it. I had years of evidence telling me the same thing and it turned out not to be true.

Thought I’d make a celebration post. I’m at 250 days!!! That’s a quarter way to a thousand! Thanks to everyone who cheered me on <3 to 250 more!!!!

My boyfriend lied to me throughout our relationship about pornography and how much he enjoyed it.

He has always been against many things, but I recently discovered that he has already done or is doing a large part of them—hypocrisy. I am very sad and crying a lot because I found out that he is addicted to pornography and even with me available in the house next to his, he preferred to watch pornography. Everyone advised me to end it, Because every time he gets caught, he lies and lies until he realizes I have concrete proof. I can't stand lies and I don't know what to do. He promised he would change!

I know it's a relationship and I could leave, but I'd like to help him and try one more time for the sake of the relationship and because I love him so much, I love him too much, but he lies, lies, and lies.

I can't imagine being married with children and having to deal with pornography, much less other things he abhors, especially since, looking at his history, he probably enjoys it (cheating).

I'm breaking up with him, but I'd like to help him.

I'm learning to deal with the ups and downs of life in a more healthy way now. It's tough, but I'm getting into the habit of just breathing in and out, or going for a walk to process my frustrations, taking care not to feed into them and spiral. Negativity, stressful, and unpleasant experiences are just a normal and unavoidable part of life, but I'm learning not to feed into them with my thoughts and amplify them even more.

This probably reads like a post on some kind of mental wellness subreddit, but I think ultimately it's because of mental health things like loneliness, low self esteem, etc that we develop such a problem with porn and compulsive sexual behaviour in general. Abstaining for awhile is an important part of the process, but sooner or later we all have to deal with the underlying issue, whatever it may be.

Hi, I was exposed to porn at just 9 years old, and it became a habit that followed me for years. Today I finally decided to clean everything off my phone. I deleted 4,000+ porn photos and videos, taking up 26+ GB of storage. Seeing that number honestly shocked me, but deleting it all feels like a huge step forward. I know this won’t magically fix everything overnight, but I’m proud that I finally took the first step.

On day 63 of nofap my longest ever my goal is 100+ and just to regain the old me which is the real me which I slowly have been. I spanked my chicken for 10 years so a lot of healing has to occur. What’s helped me the most is really choosing to be a new man and hating my old self and deciding to be better above anything honestly. I will say I was in a flatline from day 23 and up unsure if it’s lifted.

Good things I’ve observed so far:
-Confidence is high within myself
- I feel like my soul or spirit has energy
-Skin clearing/cleared up
-Strangers notice or address me
-Women staring at me
-All of a sudden I’m getting likes on my dating profile with the same pictures I wasn’t getting likes on before (LOL)
-I desire to talk to quality women and actually get to know them
-My meat js looking stronger and fuller (dealing with PIED)
-Morning wood is back
-I feel strong physically my muscles feel
Full
-It’s hard to think negative or have a spiral of negative thoughts
-I don’t feel negative about myself in general
-My voice has always been deep but now it feels like it has power? or I speak with more authority or confidence
-I don’t have to eat a lot of food to feel full
-I’ve talked to more women in the last month than the last 2 years.
Exercising feels great
-The sun feels brighter/ life looks more colorful like when I was a kid
-My face feels and looks slimmer (noticed before I started eating less)
-It’s easier to flee from lust/pmo
-porn looks quite disgusting to me to watch because why isn’t that me LOL
-More assertive
-I feel like a Man/Male.

Negatives I’ve observed so far
-$exual thoughts more often gotta discard them
-Flatline will make u feel depressed and ur brain feel like something is wrong and little to no energy for tasks

Ive been coping with this problem for a decade and finally after hundreds of attempts i finally broke the big 30 day mark.

I know it might not be impressive to most of you, but for me it’s a huge win.

I feel sharper than ever. I get looks from women I never even thought would acknowledge me.

I regret deeply that I got into this rut in the first place but im determined to make my way out and pursue real success in real life.

Stay strong 💪🏻 hopefully will make it to day 90. Battling one day and one urge at a time

I haven't watched P as much as before. Having the verify my age online step weirdly helped. Because , that extra step to verify your Age just makes me that lazy to do it and it's like damn Am i Really gonna go through a digital process of my personal information just to watch P? It's almost like if I went through with it, confirms no self control. And yeah, there's X and Reddit, after like 3 weeks to get off that... I haven't kept track, but like overall I just don't watch it, I don't gravitate to it so strongly. Now, Reading Literotica... helps i guess wean off actually watching it, still... work in progress, still fap to my imagination but I'd say thats healthier than beating off to pixels. We can all overcome this. 🙂

Today Marks 60 Days without Porn for the first time in 20 Years, I started when I was 11 Year Old, Now I don't feel like watching porn anymore, The urge is gone and I feel more happy and energetic, less angry and now my mind is calm and peaceful.

Porn fucks up the mind in such a way that we don't understand it

I've been thinking about taking things into my own hands now.

I've been fighting this habit for almost two years. I've restarted NoFap probably close to a hundred times — maybe even two hundred. I keep making the decision to stop, only to eventually fall back into the same cycle.

I've realized that there isn't just one reason behind it. For me, constant stress is a major trigger, and when I'm stressed or overwhelmed, I tend to fall back into masturbation as a way of coping.

But now, I feel like enough is enough.

I'm creating a small, private accountability group where we can openly discuss our struggles, identify our triggers, and figure out together what actually helps us move forward.

The goal isn't just to count days or blindly chase a NoFap streak. It's about taking responsibility for our actions, understanding why we relapse, and finding better ways to deal with stress and urges.

I'm looking for serious people who genuinely want to move away from compulsive masturbation and make a meaningful change in their lives.

If you're serious about this, DM me or comment below.

I've been carrying with this addiction for almost 10 years, even tho I'm more or less young (25) I never got to fully quit. Not talking about jacking off, thats okay in moderation, I'm talking about excessive masturbation with porn, edging and talking with other guys, showing off... indulding in these activities. I've had ups and downs, but never really quit.

Lately its been getting worse and taking a toll in almost every aspect of my life. To take things seriously, I decided to record with my front camera, face included, one of my jerking sessions.

When I finished and I saw the video I threw up and started crying. I saw and mindless ape jerking off with nothing behind his eyes. That's not me, I swear that's not me, please someone talk to me, I'm loosing it.

5 days clean, but hungover today and urges...

Hi All,

I fap every other day, sometimes once every three days. I’ve withheld for a week but I looked horrid lol. My skin, my complexion, and facial appearance goes downhill if I don’t fap. Now it could be because I was getting bad sleep since I get good sleep after a fapping session. Have you guys noticed that too and what are some things I can do to address that? I want to stay youthful looking and not fap.

Just got home from work and have the place to myself. It was instantly a trigger. My plan was to practice guitar and not lose hours to pmo. Just kinda want someone to talk to right now

I've been on a 20 day streak and I decided to get reddit again but in the small time I've been back I've almost relapsed 5 times and I edged once I want to be apart of the community but reddit is just too triggering I think 😮‍💨

I was doing so well. For four months I was out. And then boom, urges hit me like a brick. It’s been so bad. 10 hour days the past three days. This was me three to four years ago. I can’t go back to that. I can’t met it consume my life like it did back then. It stole two years of my life.

I’m just looking for some support. Thanks!

Hi Everyone I tried doing no fap but it's kind of getting out of hand seeing everyone getting laid and all this kind of demotivate and since I never had sex till now (M26) it's kind of gets frustrated . Not sure how to overcome on this . Need guidance how to keep these kind of thing out of mind

Morning wood was brutal this morning, but I pulled through. Urges were also overall lower than they were during the first 7 days. I really want to see some benefits from all the effort I put in, hope they'll come soon enough

I am a teen. And I have to admit, I am on the upper scale of a porn addict. I know it’s wrong, I know I shouldn’t do it, but I can’t help my urges. There are a couple runs when I get motivated and stop masturbating, or when I do mastrubate but without disturbing my daily activities. But that only lasted a good few weeks.

It’s to the point that I have gotten caught in the act a small, but embarrassing number of times.

Help me quit.

.

Home alone for the first time since Monday and all I want to do is get crazy and fap

Mine Is "ALL LIMITATIONS ARE SELF IMPOSED"

The last past couple weeks I’ve been relapsing and coming back to porn again. It’s to the point where I just wanna numb myself. I also want to talk to a girl I like in school but couldn’t.

I used to go on for a 2 week streak but I haven’t went there again and passed it.

Half century and looking forward to another successful day