On this special day, I would like to celebrate 7 full weeks of being clean from Porn and masturbation.

I have not reached this milestone in  recent memory.

L'Chaim!

Nice, happy for you bro! Time to reveal your trick!

Sapy wrote on 12 Apr 2022 14:27:

If only there was a trick that could work.

Maybe at 90 days I'll detail what I believe helps me.

At 66 days. Feeling really good, also really busy and so wasting lots of time. I think I might do a week dopamine fast. It might do me some good.

Hatzlacha everyone

What's the meaning of 75 days?

It means I didn't sabatoge myself for yet another wonderful day of my life.

As I move further down the road from porn (I hope it continues) I find myself more attracted to real people.

In other words, while it's always been a struggle trying to get a second look at a lady jogging down the street, I find with the virtual women out of my life, it seems like I am naturally craving real people more. I'll take that as a good sign. I also have to remember that this is a lifetime issue I have to deal with, it may take on different forms, but I can never fall asleep at the wheel.

Hatzlacha everyone 

Hakolhevel wrote on 11 May 2022 13:55:

I remember that. Sadly I'm not doing great, but yes, that stage is one I recall well. 

bego wrote on 11 May 2022 14:24:

Thanks for the validation, hope you get back to this stage sometime soon

I'm pretty sick today. And for some reason it makes me want to watch porn more than usual, even though I have no energy.

Maybe im just seeking an escape from feefeeling sick.

Are you bored? Lonely? Call a friend…

Hakolhevel wrote on 18 May 2022 01:52:

I know the feeling… to want to feel better for just a few minutes. And then end up feeling worse then before… 
Something I’ve seen brought in the name of sifrei mussar which has helped me: judge any action by its outcome. How one feels after tells you how to look at the action itself.
hope that helps 
Hatzlacha!

Hakolhevel wrote on 18 May 2022 01:52:

That happens, it stinks. I get in when I am fasting also. 

I don't have any good ideas, hang in there.

Vehkam wrote on 18 May 2022 02:14:

All of the above

How are you feeling today. I am always up for a phone call….

Refuah shleima. Sick days are massive triggers. they usually are accompanied by low energy/low mood and a general feeling of guilt for being unproductive. Sick thoughts start entering the mind - "obviously Hashem does not "hold of me", because if He did, He wouldn't make me sick when i can't get anything done". 

A respected psychologist once commented that it appears the adult brain has a slightly negative default setting (which may have been acquired through life's experiences), and it takes koach to be positive. He said statistics show that when people are tired, and absurd number of people report imaging the levaya of themselves or that of a close relative or friend.

Regarding fasting, there are rabbanim that permit eating on the lower category fast days for guys seriously working on getting clean. It seems that fasting is a major trigger for many typical people, and it is recognized that the cycle of trigger/falling/yi'ush/restarting is taxing to the mental health of most guys.