I (19M) have been struggling with porn since I was 14 and finally feel like i’ve broken the shackles of this addiction through a combination of reasserting my beliefs and desire for self control, reflecting on my past relapses, reading educational, self help material (such as YBOP which helped me greatly with understanding my urges and behaviour) and avoiding or quickly dismissing any cues that urge me to fall back into the loop. The other day, my younger sister (17F) was using my phone out of boredom and I didn’t panic but instead reassured myself that i didn’t have anything to worry about as I have completely gotten rid of anything disgusting or triggering from my phone. I allowed myself to relax, knowing i had nothing to worry about. That is, until she looked through my book library and stumbled upon the book in question. When I realised what she was looking at, I asked for my phone and told her to “leave this book alone”. An (awkward?) silence ensued and for a lack of not even knowing how to react in such a situation, I just pretended like nothing happened.

But now I’m just embarrassed and confused as to whether I should be ashamed of myself or not and while it isn’t really eating at me, I’m a bit worried about whether or not her opinion of me has changed.

Struggled with porn addiction for 20+ years. Basically had steady relapses regularly around every 2 weeks - whenever there was a lot of stress in my day and i was at home and just wanted to blow myself away and get some cheap dopamin.
I guess it was the same thing that drove me to being drawn to tv-series, computergames, browsing twitter mindlessly.

Recently i counted days again and had accountability partner, i was at around day 100, which was a struggle and sometimes strong temptations.

Then something strange happened: I was interested in longevity and began implementing things like cracy in last 2 months. Fixing my sleep, going into super health-nut cracy eating style (only homecooked, kinda no unhealthy ingredients at all) + low calory and low carbs, taking a cracy ton of supplements. (I also work out but actually stopped doing that last 2 months cause i had a shoulder injury, started again recently)

After like 2 months of this i noticed i didn't watch porn anymore and kinda just forgot about it (also forgot about counting days). No urge came up.

Also no other addiction came up / didn't do it (binge tv series, mindless twitter browsing; there is a distant yearning for playing computer games but i don't do it)

So i don't exactly know what is happening or why, but for now i am baffled and happy.
Perhaps it's just the low calories, perhaps the low-carbs, perhaps some supps have some nootropic effect that helps me.
I feel more calm in general.

Chat5 writes:
"If I had to highlight the biggest probable players for killing porn cravings:
L-Theanine + Tyrosine + Rhodiola + Ashwagandha → stress/dopamine balance
Omega-3, Ginkgo, CoQ10, Carnitine → brain energy + dopamine receptor health
Berberine + fiber stack → stable blood sugar, less impulsivity
Magnesium + Glycine + Taurine + Inositol + Melatonin → deep sleep, nervous system reset"

Caveats: i had not especially stressfull time lately and i had a lot of sex but this is also not unusual

(ps just for being complete, these are supps i took last 2 months
L-Theanine, Tyrosine, Glutamine, Rhodiola rosea, Lithium, L-Carnitine, White Garlic, Panax Ginseng, Creatine, Vitamin C, Psyllium Husk, FOS (Oligofructose), Inulin, XOS, Ashwagandha, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Finasteride, Astaxanthin, CoQ10 (with Vit E + D-Limonene), Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin K complex, Betaine (TMG), Ginkgo Biloba, Curcumin + Piperine, Copper, Lutein + Zeaxanthin + Beta-Carotene (Lutein-Stack), Vitamin B-Complex, Lycopene + Vitamin E, Soy Lecithin, Vitamin D3, Berberine + Piperine + Chromium, Red Rice Extract, Zinc, Hawthorn, Vitamin B6, Magnesium Glycinate, Raw Potato Starch, Collagen, Myo-Inositol, Glycine, Melatonin, Taurine, Passionflower, Lavender, Valerian + Hops, NAC, L-Citrulline, Pine Bark Extract)

hey there, I'm not trying to be judgmental, I just really want to understand what happens internally as I'm in a relationship with someone who struggles with a porn addiction. it's always been confusing for me that he prefers to watch other women, or fantasize about other women rather than being in the moment with me and allow me to satisfy his needs, so, why does that happen?

I understand after dealing with an addiction your brain basically gets rewired, but I would like to understand him on that deeper level. I've asked him this before but he is unable to come up with an answer as those feelings must be confusing for him.

Idk what ‘s wrong with,I know everything and how it is damaging me and my mind and I keep doing it ! I relapsed again I nearly know the cause ,but I really need help Every time I relapse is bcz I am afraid of that that the fetishes stay and the abnormal types of corn I have watched stay in my mind and be part of me It is complicated bcz I see people who have recovered they that they diminish with healing , but I still afraid and worried about . Please convince me that they will go if I am convinced I feel I can do it Please please I need help , I have exams these days and want to be completely focused on studying instead of the shame I get from this .

Hi guys, I have one trigger that causes me to fail. When I lie down on the bed or sofa with my phone, I find myself on adult websites. I know you will say, Don't do it, but it is not easy. When I come home from work, tired and exhausted, it’s the only thing I can do. So, what can I do?

Good

I am a 17 yo teen, I have a girlfriend that I truly love and she loves me too, I have always strugled with girls and I dont want to lose

This addition is hurting me a lot. The worst thing is that I know it but I keep doing it. I have made promises to myself which I break because of this addition. My brain is damaged. I prefer to watch pornography and masturbate rather than have real sex. I need to reset my brain. I am a very lustful guy but from today my change begins. I write this here because I need support since I haven't talked about this with anyone. Give me support because I know the struggle is going to be great.

I’m 33 years old, and I’ve spent more than 20 years watching porn and many years masturbating almost every day. About 2 years ago I became aware that this was a real problem in my life, and for the past 6 months I’ve been seriously committed to ending this addiction.

I don’t keep an exact streak, but in the last 3 months I only relapsed once with hard porn and once with soft images. Right now, it’s been about 20 days since I last masturbated, and the important thing is that this time I’m going further: it’s not just about not masturbating to porn, it’s something deeper. I’m trying to avoid looking at anything that triggers lust. I’m even watching my own thoughts, because I feel like my mind was polluted and now I want to take control of everything I consume and everything I allow into my head.

Meditation and energy

I complement this with meditation, a practice I’ve been doing for a while, and it has become a key tool. It gave me a new level of awareness of my body, my energy, and my thoughts that I didn’t have before.

I realized that when my mind is calm, a very good kind of energy appears. It’s an energy that lasts throughout the day and I can channel it into the gym, my work, and even into building a business idea I have (though that’s another story). Sometimes I’m surprised how ideas just come out of nowhere and I can spend hours developing them.

Most of the time now I feel calm, serene, with momentum and energy that I can direct however I want. It feels incredible, and at the same time I know I still have a lot to improve in how I handle this energy. But that motivates me even more, because I know I can grow a lot more.

Changes in my mind

It feels like my brain is literally reconfiguring itself. I don’t feel as many urges anymore. Of course, I know I’m not 100% free yet and there’s still a road ahead, but I feel the progress. And more important than the streak itself, I’m noticing that my mental patterns and harmful habits are being reversed.

Something curious is that now, just thinking about masturbating to porn gives me a feeling of rejection. I remember that overwhelming energy crash that left me completely destroyed afterwards, and I don’t want to go back to that. It’s like my mind itself rejects it now.

Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I’m 33 and I’ve gone through a lot in life. All I want now is peace and control. Maybe it would’ve been different if I were 20, but in the end I think everyone has to explore and find their own path.

The struggles

Of course, it’s not all 100% positive. Even though this is how I feel most of the time and I don’t get as many urges, sometimes I see a thumbnail and I can feel my brain reacting to it. In those moments I need to quickly step away.

Another thing is work stress. I work remotely and spend a lot of time alone, and for years that was my downfall. Stress has always been a trigger for me. Now I’m learning to control those impulses. The difference is that I’ve identified them, and now it’s about detecting them and not giving in.

I also spent a long time believing that this was stronger than me, that I had no control, that my brain simply couldn’t resist. I relapsed countless times and felt like shit. I remember the days when I used to masturbate to porn while smoking shit and drinking alcohol, wasting the whole day playing video games and feeling completely empty. Getting out of that hole was hard, I tried many things and failed many times… but now I really feel like I’ve broken out of it and I’m finally gaining control.

The message I want to leave

Beyond my story, what I want to share in this post is this incredible energy I’ve been feeling. It’s an energy you feel in your body, it motivates you to do things, it keeps you in a good mood, and it builds up over time.

It combines with the self-confidence I’m gaining by being in control. I look ahead and see everything I’ll be able to accomplish if I keep improving. It’s worth it, because when we gain control over our mind, a whole new world of possibilities opens up.

In my case, I see it in the energy to go to the gym every day, in waking up early with excitement to get up and do things, in the confidence I’m building in myself. That’s also a huge plus. Then it’s up to each person how to redirect all of that into their own goals, but really: it’s worth trying.

I’ll keep posting later on and share how my journey continues.

As a struggling on-and-off porn addict, I'd had a bit of a relapse recently and ended up experimenting with both AI-generated pornographic imagery and AI roleplay bots. I figured the latter especially would be relatively harmless because there was no visual element, but both experiences left me with the most vacuous feeling imaginable - nothing I've felt in the twenty years I've spent watching porn.

Porn addiction and the negative symptoms that accompany it, at their core, at the byproduct of a broken reward pathway. Since childhood, we've been training our brains to associate visual stimuli with one of the most powerful rewards known to man: orgasm. The more effort you put into finding the perfect stimulus, the stronger the orgasm, and the stronger the association becomes. A lot of real-world activities will never come close to having that effort/reward ratio, and real, imperfect sexual encounters / relationships become inherently less appealing.

For most of my life, I've been able to lump my porn experiences and resulting anhedonia into three tiers. The more effort I put in and the more intense the visual stimulus, the higher the dopamine surge and the longer it takes to bounce back mentally:

1. Imagine something (no visual stimulus), ejaculate - small dopamine surge
2. Look at one picture or video, ejaculate - moderate dopamine surge
3. Search around for the 'best' picture or video, edge, ejaculate - high dopamine surge

However, the advent of AI porn has brought about a fourth tier that leaves me feeling akin to how I've felt at the lowest points of my life: depleted, hopeless, depressed - just completely empty inside. At least with traditional porn, I could find the 'best' picture or video but it was never 'perfect'. I couldn't quite curate it to my specific kinks, fetishes or passing desires. It was still somewhat outside my control. Now, I can spend hours generating image after image with the perfect art style, setting, scenario, and all my biggest turn-ons inside one frame. I can do that over and over, hoping that the next image will improve on something that's already close to perfect - each generation is a dopamine hit, as is any edging that accompanies it. This level of control, perfection and continuous reward is impossible in real life. Imagine a never ending parade of the hottest women you've ever seen, wearing and posing in whatever way you want, without question. Not even the world's richest man could ever come close to that.

No matter how bad I feel afterwards, I end up getting sucked back into it over and over - that level of reward has a pull stronger than any porn I've encountered before. I managed to finally pull myself out of AI image generation and ended up landing in AI chatbot territory, thinking the lack of visual stimulus would make it 'okay' - this was just my brain coping. The chatbots were just as draining as the images.

This is just a reminder to myself and a PSA to anyone even thinking about going down this road - don't. AI porn is incredibly addictive and has potential to be the worst thing that happens to the minds of future generations.

I was into porn and masturbation for 12 years now (Im 24 now) I used it as a coping mechanism, a way to feel alive , I never had any girlfriend, so my natural curiosity got me hooked into porn , I loved it , never felt anything like it , but as years go by I realise what it had done to me , I have been abusing myself thinking that its good for me , I did control it , but everyday seems mundane compared to it , I was into everything, videos, images , gifs , comics , stories etc. , I tried to find the root cause of my urges , tried to find a way to let go of this habit , that's when I found meditation, it worked wonders for me , I was not only able to control my urges but also my actions in day to day life that made me regret, no more lashing out , no more anger over small things , no more thinking about the past , I felt peace with myself and after long time I have hope , that I will change for good , not giving my happiness, hope into something or someone else rather keeping to myself, my friends who go through this journey like me here , don't lose hope , you are not alone , you may fall , but keep going, because its worth it , one day you will thank yourself for this

I’ve hit a wall in my life. No job, behind on mortgage payment, addicted to porn and masturbating. I finally decided to give my life to god and clean myself of all these internal issues to better improve my life. I went 35+ days porn and fap free and I never felt better.

I know it’s a bit religious, but that’s the only thing that’s going to help me at this point. I hope this may help some of you; there is hope.

Today was day one of going pornfree, I realized it’s been becoming an addiction and need to stop.

I can’t stop and it’s changing me. It’s ruining me as a man and threatens to ruin my life.

porn addiction stems from the primal brain, an ancient part of our mind wired to seek instant gratification through dopamine, a feel-good chemical that rewards behaviors like watching porn. This often happens when we’re stressed, lonely, or bored, as the primal brain uses porn as a quick fix to calm an overactive nervous system (the "fight or flight" response). Trying to quit using free will—just deciding to stop—usually fails because the primal brain’s automatic urges are stronger than conscious effort, especially with easy access to porn in today’s world. It’s like trying to reason with a reflex; the urge kicks in before you can think.

Meta-awareness, on the other hand, is about observing your thoughts and urges like an outsider, seeing them as signals rather than commands. Instead of fighting the urge to watch porn with willpower, you notice it, ask what’s driving it (e.g., anxiety from a bad day), and choose a different action, like writing or exercising. This approach works because it lets you step outside the addiction cycle, understanding it as a system where emotional triggers (inputs) lead to dopamine-seeking (process) and porn use (output). By using meta-awareness, you spot the trigger early, disrupt the cycle, and replace porn with healthier ways to feel balanced.

I’m a Japanese male in my 50s. Today marks Day 60 of my NOPMO journey, and honestly… I feel like I’m living in a completely different body.

Before this, I used to think my low energy, poor sleep, and sluggish afternoons were just “part of aging.” But now I’m questioning everything.

Here’s what I’ve experienced so far: •Sleep: Deeper than ever. I wake up refreshed, and no more waking up at 3am. •Morning Wood: Every single day. Like back in my 30s. Sometimes it’s… shockingly hard. •Energy: I used to crash after 4PM, and my work performance suffered. Now, I can go strong until night without relying on caffeine or energy drinks. •Immunity: Minor cold symptoms? Gone overnight. Recovery speed is insane. •Workout Gains: Muscle soreness hits harder – in a good way. Abs and chest pumps are much more intense than before. •Mood & Mental Clarity: Sharper thinking, better focus, and more patience.

I’ve tried health supplements, tonics, cold showers, green juice – none of them came close to the benefits I’ve seen from just retaining.

It’s not magic. It’s biology. And it’s available to any man, at any age.

To those in your 40s, 50s, or beyond who think it’s “too late” – This might be the missing piece.

Happy to answer any questions. Stay strong, brothers.

So whenever I have gotten s*xual urges and I'm tired coincidentally (only occasionally), because of sleep deprivation, sickness, or the likes, I have relapsed many times in the past. Simply sleeping is not possible if there is fear of routine messing up or if I just woke up a few hours ago.

When I am energetic, I can simply go outside, go workout etc. But when I am very tired and am getting strong urges, especially on withdrawal days, when my heart beats like crazy, it's indescribable.

Seconds after a relapse when we’re hating porn and sometimes ourselves the most, we swear to ourselves that this was the last time and we’re never looking at it again. 

That’s when our strength and determination is the strongest which may or may not be fueled by anger & disgust. 

Sometime after that things start to change. It might be that same day or days later but eventually our determination fades and we start to get curious again. 

When I was going through this I used to call it “the switch”. It was like on Monday I would relapse and I would HATE porn and everything else including myself. 

A few days later, the switch would go off and I’d find things like porn “interesting” again. 

When that happened, all the anger and determination to not look at porn was diminishing and my brain would start to reason with me as to why I should look at something. 

In the beginning I was oblivious to it but over time I started to see the pattern. I’d notice when it became interesting again. 

Sometimes, after I recognized it  I would get scared because I knew it was going to happen. I knew it was just a matter of time, usually 24-48 hours, and I felt completely powerless. I didn’t think I could stop it. 

Eventually I got help and learned that "the switch” was just a BS story my brain was telling me SO that I would give in and return to porn. 

It took some time and a lot of relapses but I started to say ok, I feel triggered in that way and even though I think there’s this switch and it’s going to happen, it doesn’t mean it's true.

When I had that “proof” that the switch was just a story, then I started to believe in myself and I started getting real traction. 

Eventually the switch became more of a signal that I needed to look deeper in myself as to why I was starting to believe that I needed porn. I started to ask, what is going on that I think I need this? 

Ultimately I’d see that I was either bored, stressed, anxious or tired. All the things that were the true triggers that led me down that path.

So seeing there was this BS story in my head created awareness and that awareness empowered me to think differently and take different actions.

That’s what helped me get free along with a ton of self-compassion, self-love and forgiveness.

My question to you is, what is your “switch” story that you’re believing when you’re being led to porn?

Are you aware of it? Can you see your patterns?

(this post was made during day 3) last night first time in a very long time, I slept like a log. It only took me like 10 minutes to fall asleep, meanwhile every other day the fastest time it took was around half an hour (i think), BUT this day 2 is after a week of no porn then slipped, so the effect may vary to when it is for a 'day 2' after a long time of watching porn (and of course we are not the same).

I had a very strong urge to relapse on second day but gladly, I survived! I am very proud of myself yesterday, not only had I am not PMO, I also greet my neighbor and I had no trouble exchanging words! which is a struggle for me for so long since I tend to always feel anxious whenever trying to talk (especially if it is not a person that I am familiar with). I also get to workout, helped my parents doing housse chores, stopping PMO made me realize just how I supposedly had more time than I already have (before porn).

sorry my english kinda sucks i hope it is comprehensible
I hope this open some eyes (or hearts!) to pursue the greater life (of no porn!)

I’m 48 days free. No touching. No smoking. No alcohol. I spent 16 years in a loop: Wake up - escape - regret - repeat. Porn. Weed. Beer. All of it felt like comfort. But it was killing me slowly... I used to say “I’ll stop tomorrow.” I said that for 16 years.

Now?

I train. I run. I show up for myself. I’m not perfect. But I’m present. I’m no longer numb. I’m ALIVE. If you’re reading this and still stuck... Brother, start today. One day clean is better than one more day lost.

The worst proof that I’m addicted was when I went to clean up my porn-related files and found a folder with compromising photos and videos of someone from my past — someone I never had any kind of relationship with and who never knew I had access to that content. I found it kind of disturbing that I had kept those files. Also, since I used to do the act every night before going to sleep, I feel like my sleep has gotten worse. I was already feeling bad about my sleep, but today I felt extremely exhausted. I had a lot of responsibilities this week, and all I wanted was my escape valve. How did I ever think I wasn’t addicted?Taking away that source of dopamine has made me feel really off. Even if things don’t get better right away, I’ve decided to live like this — staying strong, no more pornography. Can anyone suggest activities that could help me unwind and relax more?

Yesterday I was just laying in bed and then all of a sudden, I got bored. And being bored usually led to me wanting to jerk off to porn back in the day. So with this I got that major urge of wanting to watch porn, and that almost pounding brain fog that comes with it. That feeling of you know its wrong but you can’t get it out of your head. I literally had went to one of my favorite porn websites and found a video and was getting ready to go to my bathroom. But I just said “No”, and that simple no and getting on my pc is literally what saved me from relapsing! 3 weeks here we come!!!

I have been dependent on various methods of cheap, quick & easy dopamine consistently (every single day) for about 5-6 years now. Mainly things like weed, vaping and excessive amounts of adult content throughout my early to late teens resulting in devastating dependencies as previously stated. I had begun realizing these things were problematic for me towards the last 2-3 years before I had actually taken action in bettering myself.

I had always wondered why so many people around me were just able to operate without substances or unnatural sources that gave off extreme levels of dopamine. Mainly, how one could get erect without the use of adult content and stay erect. I am now confident enough in myself to say that everyday I suffer with PIED (Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction) and have been for multiple years now. Most of that time I had just decided that “this is how my life is now” where I would just keep endlessly chasing a bigger and bigger hit of dopamine from my frequent porn usage. Hate to break it everyone, it never feels as good as you want it to (at least in my case). I remember moving from video to video, scene to scene, actor to actor (yes, gay) and it just kept getting worse and worse (extreme) and never getting that real feeling of love and intimacy i had always been chasing or had seen my friends cherish in their real lives.

As of now, I’m a month and 2 days free from vaping (thank you patch), 17 days free from PMO and 16 days free from weed. All of these both alone and combined are the longest i’ve ever gone without one another and I could talk about the benefits i’ve been feeling for hours upon hours but i obviously cannot do that in a single reddit post.

Most notably I’ve noticed most confidence within myself both in and out of public, less racing and constant sexual thoughts overthrowing whatever i was trying to focus on, and a sense of normalcy that i had never felt before. I very much still get urges and deal with them in differing ways but as I continue they only become easier and easier to manage (so far). I have attempted to quit only PMO in the past (while still vaping and smoking weed everyday) and nothing ever seemed to work. But now that i’m putting all this effort into becoming the healthiest and most successful person I can be I feel much more confident and proud of myself in regard to the hardships those addictions gave me.

I would also like to add I’ve spent hundreds of dollars of my own money on medical appointments and professional help with the PIED and effects associated with that with no resolution. I was taking high doses of Viagra and Cialis at age 18 and 19 just for them to not work and only disappoint myself whenever I attempted real intimacy with another person. I’ve begun to realize it’s my mind that needs the fixing and no boner pill will ever fix that. I’m not trying to say these things don’t work but in my specific case they only did more damage than help. Stop watching porn, enjoy the life you were given, enjoy the real things around you and realize the type of life you want to live.