This is just a quick something I want to share with you peoples about abstaining from PMO. I've, more or less, abstained from PMO since mid February till now. I hope to write about my story much more thoroughly in the future as I've been PMO'ing for 15 plus years (since the age of 11- I'm now 27). But again, just a reminder for those who are struggling right now with PMO, know this: it becomes infinitely easier. I mean it. Best, Charlie
This is very true. Just like with any addiction, the farther you get from it the easier it becomes to continue. The momentum you gain from building a streak is motivating but getting rid of the habit and the thoughts of PMO only go away with time. For me, it got much easier after the 3-6 month mark. I'm sure this is different for everyone. In my career I am involved with helping people quit smoking and the patients and clinical trials show the same kind of thing. Once you get to the 6 month mark, your chances of long term abstinence go up significantly. They continue to go up the longer you maintain sobriety. I hope this can be motivating for the guys in the early weeks/months of recovery when the struggle is much more difficult. If you can make it to the 3-6 month mark, it does get easier. Keep fighting
Hey redcoat7, I think the point at which it starts to get easier is the point at which you stop using PMO to distract yourself from that which is causing you suffering. Another way to say this is, is that life is filled with a lot of pain, and perhaps the only pain we can avoid is the pain we create to avoid the pain. Lastly, and yet another way to say this is, the cave you are afraid to enter holds the treasure you seek. This has been my experience so far. Viktor Frankl, R.D. Laing, and Joseph Campbell, all of whom I paraphrased above, seem to think so too. Charlie