"Feelin' Good, Livin' Betta" - 24y/o - Back after a long hiatus!

Re: "Feelin' Good, Livin' Betta" - 23y/o - Back after a long hiatus!

Thanks friend! Good to see you!

Hey 40! Most definitely. These things are already very damaging; get exposed to it at age 12, and it will be even more damaging. I'm making progress though, which is all I need.

I actually started regularly working out long before my reboot started. I kept up with the working out after I quit porn, but I also amped up my diet and tried to eat a lot cleaner. Working out is great for anxiety - particularly running and cardio. That'll take the anxiety right out of your body!

 

Re: "Feelin' Good, Livin' Betta" - 23y/o - Back after a long hiatus!

Honestly? I still don't have regular morning wood. My libido is in and out, but, on the whole, it's on an upward slope.

My best advice dude is to try your best not to worry and just go out and live your life. I know it's easier said than done, but don't deliberate over trivial rebooting questions too much because sometimes there may not be answer out there. We've wasted a lot of time in life watching porn - do some stuff and don't waste anymore!

Again, I know this is easier said than done, but it's really, truly, positively, complete the best advice I can give to anyone who is worried about their long term situation. I honestly was obsessed with every detail of my rebooting experience for the first 9 months. I wish I hadn't been in retrospect because it didn't serve to help me. I could have easily gone and done stuff, even with my PIED condition.

I definitely think everyone can completely and totally recover from PIED - we just have to lengthen our time frames on recovery. I had been addicted to hardcore pornography since I was approximately 11 years old, and I had seen pornography before that. This shit is ingrained in my brain! Pornography use and masturbation were fundamentally pieces of my childhood. I wish it wasn't so...but it is.

The good news is that brains are plastic, and everyone can change with hard work and time. Here's a really good example on how everyone can change: A nueropsychologist, Dr. Dan Seigle, talked about brain plasticity and changing the brain in his books and speeches. In one specific book, he mentioned that he has a 90 year old man come in to therapy with emotional closeness and anger issues that have stemmed from his childhood. A 90 year old man! After a year of working on his issues for a year, the 90 year old man totally transformed and resolved many of his longterm emotional issues. His wife even said something along the lines of him being "a completely new man". This man is 90 years old - and his brain is still malleable, plastic, and changing. We are young, and even though porn is an extremely powerful stimulus, we are completely capable rewiring and altering our brain...it may just take longer than the 8 - 12 weeks many of us thought when we first started.

Don't be daunted by years of rebooting. It may take awhile, but you pick up rewards on the way.

Don't ever give up 8)

 

The most challenging part of the reboot for me was definitely my anxiety. My anxiety was really powerful, and coping with it (and ultimately defeating it) was the most challenging and rewarding part of my reboot.

The thing that really propelled me to live without porn was the realization that I couldn't have the things I wanted in life without quitting. A girlfriend, a wife, having kids...none of these things were ever compatible with my pornography addiction. I couldn't even get an erection back then! This idea was so powerful, and I wanted these goals so bad, that it was enough to make me cry. I never wanted something so bad in my life as to quit pornography after I realized the extent of my porn addiction. Quitting was everything. During the first 30 days, I had a few nights where I sat on my hands because I didn't trust myself to touch my computer. It was what it took to stay clean.

I know I said it on your journal Bruce, but it really does seem like your head is in the right place. There's just some sort of indescribable feeling of commitment that locks in at some point, and you know when it does, going back to porn is not an option.

 

Re: "Feelin' Good, Livin' Betta" - 23y/o - Back after a long hiatus!

Yeah. My erection quality isn't back all completely yet, but I know that when it is, the morning wood should more present.

 

Thanks Invictus Hope all is well with you! Thanks for writing

Goldy, there are some great posts a little ways back that accurately detail my experiences with anxiety and depression. I'll give you the TL;DR: Had anxiety and depression hardcore for about a year, improved substantially after that. I struggle with low amounts of it now. Brain fog and concentration stuff has improved, but I do notice it from time to time. That is also improving.

 

I hope everyone is doing well! As for me, still on my grind. Living life.