My name is Brian and I was addicted to porn from the age of 14 to 27. That’s 13 years and a whole lot of porn watching. Because of my porn habit, at various times in my life I experienced terrible porn-induced ED and sexual anxiety.
In my mid-twenties, my ED was a huge stress point in my long-term relationship. My girlfriend would go out of the country for a few months for her job, and I would inevitably end up watching hours of porn daily, with ten or more tabs open and constantly searching for something new that would get me off. When she came back, I had trouble getting erections for months during sex – with a real girlfriend that I actually found incredibly sexy.
After we broke up, I had a few short relationships that I was never comfortable in because of my sexual issues. Deep down, I knew it was probably the reason that a lot of those relationships failed — even though I usually ended it.
It sounds obvious in hindsight that my porn use was to blame for my ED, but keep in mind that this was 7 or 8 years ago, before this kind of information was common knowledge. (side note: thanks to Gary his work towards making it common knowledge!) I even went to see a sex therapist (who actually suggested that my girlfriend and I could try watching porn together to ‘spice it up’) and a hypnotist, but it wasn’t until I read about porn-induced ED that I realized the real cause of my problem.
Time to Reboot
My reboot from porn wasn’t successful overnight. It was actually one of the most — if not, the most — difficult thing I’ve done. That’s how bad I was addicted. But after a few attempts at quitting cold turkey, I came across some strategies and mindsets that helped (replacing the habit; having an accountability partner; journaling…) and eventually was able to quit porn for good.
It was about 4 months into my reboot (after a few relapses) that I finally could say I was fully “cured” of my ED.
If you’re reading this site, you probably know what you need to do. It’s simple, but it isn’t easy.
I’m guessing there’s lots of guys out there trying to rewire years of ‘edging’ and genre escalation like I had. You can overcome it. The important thing is to accept that it will take time and fully commit to the process.
It’s now been almost 3 years since I’ve watched porn, and my life is infinitely better for it. I have so much more time to spend with people I care about; much more focus and willpower; and of course, my sex life is a thousand times better than it used to be. Pixels just don’t compare to real women.
I wanted to share the tools and strategies that helped me be successful in my reboot, so I started a website, where I write about quitting porn, overcoming PIED, and sexual anxiety: www.rebootblueprint.com
Free Motivational mp3: Listen To This When Tempted
Recently, I commissioned a professionally recorded mp3 to help guys who have cravings for PMO. It’s called “The Craving Crusher”. Yeah, cheesy. I know. 🙂
You can find it at the top of the resources section of my website for free:
http://rebootblueprint.com/resources/
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Good luck on your reboot and I’ll be back here soon!
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