I was a lurker here for quite some time when I first started. I read stories about the successes, the early hopes, and sometimes the sad relapses we all experience. Thats why I am here. I just experienced my first relapse after 344 days of being PMO free. And I would like to share several things.
The first thing is if you are serious about this you need to start the fortify program at https://fortifyprogram.org/. I was never able to succeed in this tool until this entered my life. I thank whoever this was that first posted that link to this subreddit the first time.
When first starting please realize you will fail. And you will fail time again. I had a 21 day streak that broke, went on and off for a couple weeks, then didn’t fail for 344 days. Then I failed. I probably will fail again in the future, but that is ok. The important thing to realize is you can fall forward rather than backwards.
With my latest relapse, I realized while I was in it and afterwards that I thought there would be more happiness from it. The feeling was fleeting and wasn’t really enjoyable, not really at all. There are many better things to life than porn and masterbation.
Things that have changed within me over this past year
- -Improved energy, mental focus, and less anger/irritation.
- -Completely quit nicotine products outright.
- -Went from a binge drinker to a social drinker
- -Doubled my salary
- -Went from having no friends to hang with to juggling my time between multiple people
- -Picked up body building; dropped 15 pounds of fat & added 10 pounds of muscle.
- – Started eating better
- -Slept better
Things that I did not experience
-Increased female attention. I go to an engineering school, so thats kindove reasonable. Yet I do not believe you should do this for the specific point of someone else. Its about you. Never forget that.
If you have any questions or want to talk to me about anything please reach out. I will be happy to discuss.
*Edit – I should also probably say that this was a Hard mode streak too.
[Improvements in] Skin and hair – Yes, but I believe that has to do with the increased physical activity and eating clean.
Sex – short answer is no. The closest I ever got to that was two different girls asking me out at different point. That is a small fear though that when I do finally have it, 3 seconds seems like an accurate amount of time i last. Hard to say since this was completely hard mode.
-Testosterone was definitely higher so that helps with muscles gains and overall strength. It also helps when someone shows you a good workout split and how to lift properly.
Currently a student in a STEM field. Last summer despite my efforts I couldn’t land any internships despite applying to 30 different companies and having great grades. I was the only one of my friends who didn’t have one. Ended up working as a barista all summer. This past fall and winter I worked my butt off to network properly and actually received multiple offers from different companies, which is where the doubled salary comes from.
I doubt I have to worry about sex anytime soon based on my work and school situation and there really isnt a rush either (21 yrs old). A relationship just wont fit into there at this point.
LINK - 344 day streak story
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