r/pornfree

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask if—and if so, how long after quitting porn—you were able to go back to masturbating using only your mind (imagination or physical sensations). Or, if you started masturbating directly with porn, how long did it take you to be able to do it with your imagination for the very first time?

Also, could you let me know how long you used porn for? I'd like to see if there is a correlation between the duration of porn use and the time it took to recover.

i started watching porn at 11 up until 15. i didn’t watch any porn at all at 16. at 17 i fell back into the habit. i just turned 18 and haven’t watched porn in a few months.

so i watched it 11-15, nothing at 16, 17, nothing at 18. 6 years total.

my kinks have gotten extreme, and i’m ashamed. i would NEVER crave these in real life, the thought of it in real life disgusts me.

but i’m scared it’ll never go away. i’m scared i did a lot of damage during my adolescence and important brain development.

can extreme kinks/fetishes that develop over time go away?

Ok first ever post here, I need to just get this out. I have known for a long time that porn is not good for me, I've been using it for a long time, around 30 years and I'm 47 now.

Recently I've been feeling really drained after using it, energetically wiped out and unable to concentrate or motivate myself, I feel like it steals my life force and isolates me, I haven't had a real intimate relationship for a very long time. Been doing some meditation practices recently so I've been becoming more aware of the effects that porn has on me that my attachment to it didn't want me to see, how it affects my attention and focus.

I have not used it for around a fortnight now but kept a load of stuff I'd downloaded on a 1TB hard drive 'just in case'. But why keep it if I don't intend to use it?

Anyway, today I deleted everything, and deleted all tube accounts, search history and removed other triggers. So today marks the start of my commitment to removing it from my life completely because deep down I know it isn't right or healthy for me.

The thing is, I've been here before, where I've deleted everything, and I've ended up going back to it. This time I want to seek support from others, even if it's just knowing someone on Reddit has seen my post. To be honest, something within me is second -guessing my decision.

I've had problems with alcohol addiction too which I've successfully overcome. I am in touch with the local recovery community, where I used to live in a recovery house. But the sad thing is, sexual addictions aren't taken seriously there, there is a culture of sexualised, laddish banter there and whenever the subject of porn or sex addiction or S fellowships came up, people made crude jokes and laughed about it. So I don't feel I can really trust them or be open with them, so I would really appreciate any sources of online support.

Thanks very much for reading.

Can anyone else agree how insane it is how much our brains think about porn once you stop?. Its 9:28AM and I swear I've thougt about it 15 times already. However its only when I work from home which is most of the time. On weekends I never think about it, and same with evenings. Its only when im infront of a computer during the day long. If I say am on vacation or somthing I wont look at all or think about it i mean granted im with wife and kids etc so that would be bizzaro. However it all hit a head in pun intended when recentlly when my wife and I are having sex it took me like 6 tries to maintain a erection and was so depressing. We ended up watching porn together and then I was semi fine with her help and then everyting was good. However That is why i decided to stop. Its not fair to her or myself.

-rant over

Currently around 3 weeks porn-free and around 8 days of being open and honest with my wife.

I have a therapy appointment for the first time in years on Thursday, and will be going to my first SAA meeting tonight. Also seeking psychiatric help for what I think is OCD.

The past couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. Not just admitting all the lies to my wife, but admitting all the lies to myself.

It’s so hard admitting I can’t do this alone and that I’m struggling. I’ve finally accepted it and taking the first steps. I’m proud, scared, angry, sad, and so much more all at once.

Not sure why I’m posting this, guess I just need it out of my brain and into the abyss. Thanks to anyone who reads.