has anyone never recovered?

You raise a good point @numpty and you have my empathy. It is frustrating when you feel like this after applying yourself with what seems to be little benefit. There is a mythology on these forums which is widely regarded as fact. And it is key to this frustration. It is what I would call the 90-day myth! That might surprise you but, unfortunately, it's true.

The truth is that very few reboot @ 90 days!​

It isn't important how and why this myth got traction. It is much more important to understand what is really happening and why. If I may, I will take the examples you have given in your opening post. You can trace your 'hard core' behaviours back to the age of twelve (not unusual). It is vital to recognise that throughout the teenage years, that changes take place in the still-forming brain. This is a major reason why it is much harder for people exposed to this stuff when they were adolescents that for others. For example, I never saw any porn until my early 40s. Consequently, my reboot occurred within 90 days. But how many people have you come across on this site that did not watch pornography as a teenager? A relative 'handful', I would suggest. So, my journey and yours was always going to be very different. That sucks for you - right?



In that video, Gary Wilson - the scientist that runs http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/ - explains that the recovery time needed for guys that were not exposed to high-speed internet porn as adolescents is significantly less: maybe months. However, the vast majority of teenagers are consuming high-speed internet porn and may need a year or two to reboot.

YMMV: "Your Mileage May Vary. Good words to remember, because no two reboots are exactly alike." [see Glossary ^]. I feel it is good to reiterate this sage advice. No one can predict when your reboot will be complete @numpty. But all the indications are that it would not be around 90 days. It could take multiples of 90 days, so try and get your focus off the counter. The idiom comes to mind: "a watched kettle never boils". Remember, succeeding at this challenge isn't just a matter of not doing something i.e. PMO. It is a matter of doing something i.e. living your life. Seize the day my friend!

P.S. You may have fluctuations, but you are clearly still in the flatline. That is good! That is the best indication that your brain is healing and recalibrating itself. I realise it can leave you with a shitty mood, but that is why you have to get out there and get a new grip on life. More effort? Yes, but look at the amazing benefits when you complete your journey!

 

sad but true post

 

It's great that you made it that far, very inspiring. Keep it up and get better!
Nom

 

Excellent post man

 

Two years?! That's insane. Can I just avoid fap and porn and still be able to have sex with my girlfriend using erection meds?

 

The medical journals say 3-6 months of complete abstinence from any kind of sexual pleasure, especially orgasm. The length of recovery is directly related to the length of time and frequency of masturbation.

I had pied and it took about 16 weeks before I was confident that I was healed.

PIED will come and go as you heal. Just because you are getting morning wood again does not mean your healed.

Don't test it! Just trust that your brain is healing.

 

My fellow Owl friend is right.. its not about the time or the challenges.. its about being present for your life and doing something. When we get more centered in life, we start to realize one's fulfillment doesn't necessarily solely reside inside a active sex life. Sure it can enhance one's life and it is indeed a great thing. But it is not an end of itself. Us porn addicts led lives consumed with watching sex so much that no wonder we think anything that might inhibit our own sexual experience is more threatening than anything else...

Never give up man! I've fallen so much. But I dont give up. Life is too full and beautiful for that! I believe you will be restored bro

 

This.

 

And no doubt some re-boot well before 90 days.

I feel 're-booted' after 60 days. Delusional? Who's to say I am? Time will tell.

I think a big factor in the reboot was aiming high. I refused to believe that I'd have to live with the 'inner addict' monkey on my back. I forgot all physiology, and focused instead on psychology, philosophy and aesthetics.

As we think, so we are. esse est percipi

 

I seem to be the only one here that sees "reboot" as different from anyone else's opinion. I see "reboot" as an ongoing process. Like the recovering alcoholic sees the "spiritual awakening." For some, it is an event. And for others, it is a gradual shift in consciousness. Either way, it signals that this is the beginning of a journey. Not an overnight fix. I have successfully managed to abstain from PMO for a considerable time. But I do regress from time to time. I don't struggle with PMO. But I experience what I could call growing pains. I firmly believe that this is a spiritual, emotional, and mental issue. When I consider myself "rebooted," I feel like this is unrealistic thinking.

 

Reset is when you set your counter back to 0.

 

You reset whenever you relapse, generally. Lol Only you can answer that. I have edged in the past and not reset because I didnt really plan on doing it. I have relapsed since then. I have since surrendered to this and no longer think in terms of "streaks." And I haven't edged since that time. I would consider it a relapse now. Just my personal take, though.

 

I read somewhere that Maxwell Maltz, the person who wrote psycho cybernetics treated people for such an affliction and said the average time to fully recover was 18 months.

Remember this folks, after 15 years of abusing yourself with thousands of orgasms and thousands of hours viewing porn, any surprise that you don't necessarily recover in 90 days? Can you really recover in such a short time after abusing yourself for such along time? We still live in a world of instant gratification sadly.

 

Good point.

I consider myself very lucky that internet didn't exist in my early teens. I'm feeling good and reap a lot of benefits from rebooting right now, but @Phibz is right. Its a never ending process. The term reboot, obviously a computer-related term, indicates a "reset" where when you push the button, the computers restarts and is good to go again.
There is no such thing, because like an alcoholic that doesn't drink, relapse is always possible if he puts himself in a "situation".

The porn addiction is definitely getting known better. Hopefully, it will become part of sex-ed class material.

 

Clean your system and make it stick.

True. Reboot only means you have gained your mind and sensations back. You are "clean". Why corrupt a system that takes you a long time to clean?