I’ll be honest, I’ve really struggled these last couple of years. I used to be on the top of my game, did plenty of these wars (under an old account) where I’d not even think about PMO. But in the last couple of years, I’ve backslid to the point where I’ve not been able to get past 3 weeks.
I’m reaching the 3 week point, but this time it’s different. I’ve managed to convince myself that PMO holds zero benefits. I noticed the other day that my mind idly thought “I’ll PMO later to relieve this stressful day” before catching myself and genuinely believing my challenge of “that won’t relieve anything, you’re just feeling a craving.”
This is the most free I’ve ever felt since I first realised I was addicted, back in like, 2012. I’ve never truly believed that PMO is the cause of any misery, even when I’ve had multi-year streaks going. I’m not currently using willpower to resist anything because there’s nothing to resist. PMO isn’t an option on the table and I believe that now. I don’t want to speak too soon but I do believe my subconscious believes it too.
I guess my point is, try and figure out how you can truly convince yourself that PMO holds no benefit, and that it is the cause of a lot of problems you may be facing. And not the objective sort of “yeah of course it’s bad for me, why would I be here?” But that lower level “how can it be that bad, it’s only once, I’ll quit next time” thought process.
Remember, why would you quit and then spend the rest of your life wishing you hadn’t.
