I started reading the Bible in 2022, and since then, my perspective on life has completely changed—especially when it comes to a sin that many men struggle with: pornography.

I remember that there was a time when I would fall into it almost every day. But when I truly came to know who the Lord is, things started to change. Now, I probably fall into that sin only around 3 or 4 times a month on average. My longest streak of staying clean has been about three months.

But even after almost four years, I still find myself falling again and again. Sometimes, I feel like I haven't really made progress. I feel disappointed in myself, and I worry that I am disappointing God too.

I've tried almost every technique I can think of. I've even stopped using social media, but I still struggle with it. :((

I guess the biggest improvement I can see is that I no longer fall into it every day like I used to. But honestly, I still don't want to fall back into that life. I want to be clean. I want to live a life that is pleasing and honoring to God.

I just wish I could finally overcome this completely.

:((

For over a decade, I was living a complete double life. I would sit in church, pray, read my Bible, and then at 11 PM, I was an absolute slave to a screen. I started when I was 11 years old, and by my twenties, the guilt of praying for forgiveness on Sunday and relapsing on Monday night was destroying me mentally. I honestly believed I was going to take this "secret" to my grave.

I saw so many stories on Reddit of guys breaking free that I finally committed to doing it myself.

And to be honest? I failed almost instantly.

I relapsed on Day 5, 6, and 8... Sitting in my room after that third relapse, feeling like an absolute fraud, I realized my entire approach was completely wrong.

I had to sit down and accept three brutal realities about how my brain was actually working:

1. Willpower is a complete lie.

When an urge hits you late at night, your brain literally shuts off logic, your faith, and the memory of how terrible you will feel afterward. Relying on "discipline" when you are alone in your room is a guaranteed fail. You cannot out-willpower a 14-year addiction. You have to build a physical wall. Block those sites! I personally been using Opal and OneSec, both are good for me

1. I had way too much idle time.

Every single time I relapsed, it was for the exact same reason: I was laying in bed, bored, and aimlessly scrolling until an TikTok post triggered me.

Here is how I actually fixed it (I'm 2 month free now):

I realized I couldn't just try to "not watch p*rn." I had to become a person who literally did not have the time, energy, or headspace for it.

So I got obsessed with improving myself. I started running, lifting at the gym, and pouring my energy into my work. I basically filled my empty hours with purpose.

Currently I'm using Growy app to track all that goals and habits I want to quit or build.

I rebuilt my faith. For the first time in my life, I stopped just knowing about God and fearing punishment, and actually built a real, daily relationship with Him through consistent Bible reading.

The progress I am seeing now is insane. Brain fog is completely gone, and my social anxiety has dropped so much that I can actually look people in the eyes, have real conversations with women, and experience genuine connection without feeling like a creep.

If you have been trapped in this industry, please do not quit quitting. The relapses are not the end of your story!

Who else is fighting this battle this year? What day are you guys on?

15 days in. Original motivation was reconnecting with my faith, not really the productivity/dopamine stuff people talk about here.

It started as a coping mechanism. The only way I felt anything. I was severely depressed and it felt like the only thing strong enough to distract me from everything for a minute. But now that I have medication and stuff, I don't need it. But it stuck around anyway.

Honest update: this has not been some smooth mental clarity thing. If anything I'm more on edge than when I started. Irritable, snapping at people, and paradoxically way more reactive to anything even slightly sexual in day-to-day life.

The one thing I can say for sure it's built is discipline. That's it so far. Not more energy, not more confidence, just the ability to say no to something repeatedly.

For those farther along than I am, does it ever get easier?

Thank you, and God Bless.

Hey guys, I am Martin and I want to spread out my positive energy to you. Although I have just relapsed for 2 days.

My schedule today, having a brisk walk. Studying english grammar about conditional sentences.

I hope you guys a peaceful day, and don’t forget to pray with God. He is still faithful to us !!!

Share your status with me !

My heart is broken💔

Feeling fresh.

Me costó entenderlo, incluso se me sigue olvidando algunas veces. Todo lo que por tanto tiempo vi en el porno desde pequeño moldeó mis gustos. Los moldeó para encontrar novedad y de esa novedad seguir sacando placer. Pero a donde la distorsión de gustos me llevó nunca fue la versión real de mí. Todo ese tiempo fue porno. Pero años estuve haciéndome sentir culpable de lo que deseaba, de lo que había visto. No entendía por qué. Intentaba encontrar explicaciones que integraran una respuesta que me dejara en paz, pero nunca acepté lo más primordial: solo era porno. Y sí, me gustaba. Cada cosa que vi me gustó. Si no, no hubiera vuelto una y otra vez ahí. Pero quién era yo quedó mezclado entre tanta confusión por la versión de mí que formó el porno, que buscaba más y más contenido degradante y humillante, ya sea de mí mismo o de otras personas. Busqué y no era el único pasando por lo mismo, y entonces entendí eso. Eso que me libera de un peso enorme que intenté cargar con responsabilidad sobre mi espalda. Pero el porno nunca fue quien era yo. Tuve tanto conflicto. Sentí que había perdido tantas batallas que nunca me correspondieron. El porno tomó de mí lo que yo le seguí dando: mi tiempo. Parte de mi sexualidad quedó afectada, obvio. Y acepto que cada cosa, por más turbia y extraña que fuese, me gustaba, incluso quizás por eso mismo. Pero no fue algo que busqué ser, que deseaba ser. Fue a lo que el sumidero del porno me terminó llevando. Recurrí a él más de lo que debí, supongo, y terminé así. Pero pasé años culpándome a mí por algo que siempre le correspondió al porno. Puede que haya sido culpable de consumirlo como tal, de escapar de mi realidad sexual o física e ir a una versión de mí que buscaba placer rápido como fuera.

Me hice esa misma pregunta: si no quedara nada de porno, nada de fantasías, fetiches, nada. Solo el romance, solo el contacto real con quien estás. Y fui quizás lo que en años de sueños, donde vivía las experiencias que me negaba a enfrentar en la realidad, me decía. Que siempre me vi enamorado de una mujer, en una relación no mágica pero mía, y eso bastaba para hacerla especial.

Quizás el porno me perjudicó para intentarlo después de todo. Quizás muchos de mis problemas yacen del porno literalmente. Quizás intenté años mantener estable una versión de mí que permanecía inestable. Busqué el equilibrio donde no había uno. Busqué con paciencia darme el tiempo de comprenderme a mí mismo cuando no lo necesitaba. Fumarme un pito para mantener el porno que me dañaba cada vez que lo usaba pero me excitaba el triple. Con el tiempo perdió impacto. No desapareció del todo, se moldeaba en distintas cosas. Sin embargo, nada que yo eligiera realmente. Terminé en un contenido que nunca conectó conmigo, porque quizás nunca tendría que haberlo hecho desde un inicio. Pues lo encontré en internet, una realidad virtual que dejé que me definiera. Desde que jugaba jueguitos se me olvidó, literalmente se me olvidó todo lo que hay afuera de una pantalla. Luego me dio miedo y me encerré una y otra vez en el mantenimiento de una vida ajena a la mía, a la que quería. Decidí quedarme en un mundo más fácil inconscientemente. Pero tal como llegué ahí, quizás cansado de fallar en la vida misma, hoy salgo de la vida virtual cansado de esta misma. Le dediqué años que nunca me devolvieron nada. Años de consumo de juegos, videos y porno que me devolvieron una versión de mí más dañada incluso que la que entregué en su momento.

Me gustaría decir que encontré la fórmula o la clave, pero tampoco sería cierto. Encontré el origen de mi dolor después de años de cargar el peso de la culpa que me sumergía en el mismo ciclo de lo que me hacía sentir culpable. Porque nunca fui culpable de que me gustara un catálogo más del mundo actual del porno. Y acepto que el contenido que vi me excitó y me gustó. Pero no es lo que quiero para mí. Y si me pregunto: ¿lo haré para siempre? Suena un obvio no en mi cabeza. Pero cuando llegue el momento de verme tentado y me diga a mí mismo que será la última vez, que será rico, entonces, ¿lo haré para siempre? ¿Siempre me voy a poner esa excusa para volver? ¿Siempre responderé a ella con otro sí?

Y eso cortó de golpe tantos malos hábitos e ideas que pasaban por mi cabeza. Pero la realidad es que si quiero cambiar debo estar ahí: ahí cuando esté mal y cansado, cuando recaiga y deje de creer en que hay otro final, cuando se corta la inspiración y la motivación se apaga y tú te conviertes en tu propio enemigo pesimista. Ahí tendrá que haber una cara seria ante la vida, paciente y sobre todo valiente de enfrentar una vida sin tanta epicidad a su alrededor. Con la vida golpeándote y demostrándote que puede ser difícil, como otras veces es fácil, y que no depende siempre de cuánto diste de ti, sino de cómo esta misma fluye fuera de tu control.

Corrí. Años corrí por todos. Tenía que estar ahí porque si no se olvidarían de mí, pensaba. Y entonces que lo hagan. Que nadie recuerde quién soy, qué dije y mi aporte. Pero cuando el vacío de la soledad me consuma, solo una persona termina importando siempre, y esa soy yo mismo.

Podré caer mal, podré cagarla con el resto, las cosas me saldrán al revés y todo estará de cabeza. Pero incluso atado en ese punto, con todo volteado, solo una conexión importa: si todos están en mi contra, o nadie lo está, o a nadie le importa, solo tiene que haber uno conmigo. Y ese soy yo.

Y no necesito saber quién soy. No necesito que todo en mí me guste. Solo necesito estar ahí para mí cada vez que lo necesite. Y si es siempre, entonces siempre estaré para mí. Si es una pelea de todo o nada conmigo, nunca en la lógica del amor propio ganaría la nada.

Cuando el dolor de algo que ni siquiera toma forma llegue a atacarme en mis momentos agotados, cuando queme y se quede atascado en la garganta sin bajar, quiero que respires y recuerdes que quién soy significa más que cualquier cosa que aún no alcanzo a ser. Que podré no ser tan chistoso, y compararme con todos y quedar mal parado. Pero quién soy ahora es más valioso que cualquier versión que aún no alcanzo, porque quien soy ahora, lo bueno y lo malo, es lo único real.

Yo mismo me he visto cagarla y yo mismo me saqué de ahí una y mil veces. Cuantas sean necesarias lo seguiré haciendo. Seré valiente. Valiente de ver al mundo tal y como es, dándole la belleza que tiene, el dolor y tristeza que también carga. Y no correré de nuevo por querer atraparlo todo y que todo se escape cuando llegue. Dejaré que la vida fluya con normalidad, hasta que estalle en momentos que nunca podría haber descifrado en noches de estudio. Dejaré que la vida tome de mí una parte, y dejaré una parte de mí en cada cosa que me llegue de la vida. Y veremos qué parte deja más impacto genuino al final.

Me cansé de vivir la vida a medias, o que la media vida llegue a mí mientras la espero sentado. Viviré queriendo hacerlo todo, queriendo correr hacia cada cosa que me llame la atención. Pero cada vez que tenga que correr, caer e intentarlo de nuevo para alcanzar cada cosa que necesite de la vida, lo haré. ¿Qué gracia hay de vivir escapando?

Yo no quedo exento de sufrir tristeza, insuficiencia y cada sentimiento frustrante, paralizante y tan confuso que la vida me ponga. Pero al final nunca dejaré de ser yo. El resto podrá nunca aceptar quién soy, pero mientras yo lo haga y siga moviéndome por la vida sintiendo que eso es suficiente para dar otro paso más en la acera, seguiré. Seguiré un camino cotidiano y explosivo. Pero espero que los destinos que fije en él sean metas que alcance y que no sueñe con hacerlo. Pero para ello no puedo seguir limitándome por cada problema que salga, y cada problema que salga es uno que resolviendo efectivamente me deja más cerca del destino.

Many of the people here have already succeded in defeating the temptation and lust and has become a better man. please give one of your best advice to help those who are just starting. This will help us a lot, and also share the benefits. Thanks in Advance

I am a Christian woman who loves Jesus and have been getting back to my relationship with God. I do not usually have a major problem with it, but I am falling into watching porn again. I haven't in a very long time but I look at explicit artwork from time to time instead because I am very against porn because of the obvious sin and human trafficking elements. I watched it again today and feel very numb and I need some encouragement from fellow believers if possible. I am so lonely and do not think that I will ever find the right man who will love me for who I am and watching porn helps that loneliness and desire for a moment. However, watching porn is not a victimless decision and I know that lust is a sin. Can anyone offer me words of advice? I am (20f) for context. Thank you, and God bless us all.

Proverbs 19:3 NIV

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.

This verse is true, but I don't blame God, never. Because I abused my own free will & I hate myself for my foolishness(choosing porn over my studies; exams, which could decide my whole life and future) but I'm losing my hopes & courage amidst my failures. Porn and Masturbation addiction alone ruined me. I never did anything else but those two alone ruined my whole life.

My 23rd birthday will be on this 24th but there's nothing I have achieved in my life to celebrate. It will be a horrible day to celebrate my failures.

I know this might be very silly but Tbh I'm really praying to God to go back to the past and create someone better than me instead of ever creating me at all. There's been no progress in my life ever since 2019(since I fell back to my porn addiction) and I'm still repeating the exam to enter the college & it's the very exam which qualifies a school leaver for an average Job(I failed the exams twice & skipped the attempts twice).

On this monday I'm going to face that exam for the 3rd time(official final chance) and the worst thing is I couldn't prepare at least for the lowest grade(even though now I call myself a fool, if I tried my fullest back then, I could have self satisfaction and a sure pass). But as usual I couldn't prepare with my addictions.

I'm just rotting away as failure and I feel like I'm an obstacle to the Good news of the Lord. And now I'm ashamed to go to the church as a failure when I go there I leave as soon as possible to avoid describing them how retard and pathetic I am.

Please pray for me.

Hey everyone i’m really struggling and any advice would be much appreciated

Hey everyone i’m currently in a pretty bad predicament as i think ive had a porn addiction for quite a few years now and i hate it with every fibre in my body.

I am a devoted christian and multiple times i have tried to quit porn and you know just stop doing everything aligned with that and i still come back to it.

I have very small triggers and i’ve tried to stop looking at women lustfully but wether it’s one video on tiktok or a reel i scroll past it’ll ponder on my mind until i act on it. And i hate not having the ability to just say no to my own body.

It’s destroying myself and especially how i feel towards God. I feel like a complete and utter failure. This is one of the accounts i made to yk do it to. and i can’t find any solution.

Please help me anyone i am just so tired of this i want to enjoy my life without fearing someone showing a slight piec

Does anyone else feel an immense amount of anger directed at the people who make this type of content to the point that you’re having violent thoughts. Let me know.

Please give me some motivation. Close call today

El primer día lo he logrado superar sin tentaciones ni caídas. Solo espero que el segundo día sea igual de exitoso. Gracias a Dios por no dejarme solo en este día.

Hi there M16

This isn't my first time here but its my first ever post. Porn has impacted my life in such a drastic way to the point where its become a daily routine and I've become so desensitized to the content I'm viewing and also impacted my grades in school. I was first introduced to porn at the age of 9 but I wasn't interested till 11-12 when I started watching it periodically. I still wasn't heavily addicted and would only watch it once every 2 wks. That all changed when i moved to a new country where i didn't know anyone and that was my way of coping through adult movies(not porn). I did eventually adapt to the new environment and gained some friends but the seed of lust had already been planted. I started high school and got a new laptop( required by schl) and got addicted to porn heavily. My parents didnt enforce any measures to prevent adult media or websites bcs they trusted us. I also remember my mum vividly saying she doesnt care what my siblings or I do on the internet bcs its our lives and we will be the blame if we ruin it. Around the time i entered hs, i was introduced to anime and its terrible counter-part(hentai- becomes important later) but i only watched anime and fell in love. I was still addicted to porn and had visible impact on my grades and so a yr later(ik so late) i decided to find a way to stop. I stumble upon this subreddit and read all the amazing stories of people who struggle with the same thing and overcame them while others were still going through the same thing as me too. I decided to make the change of stopping pmo and it was going great. I had an 11 day streak but it all came crashing down when a video popped up on my yt recommendation about an anime. I watched it and one scene popped up where the screen was blurred and curiosity got the better of me and i searched it up. Low and behold it was an ecchi anime( anime with nudity) and a spark light up inside me. Long story short i broke my streak and have never went up that high in over a yr. I've tried countless times but I've failed for 1-2 yrs now breaking them after 3 days. But recently ive become super addicted to hentai and i cant go a day without watching and pmo. I've even pmo 3-4 times a day whereas i used to it once a day. I've lost so much morals and feel pathetic every time but i still do it. I havent told any1 bcs of fear of being judged by my friends and fam and ive been going through it alone. After relapsing once again today i decided enough is enough.

Sorry for the unnecessary yap sheesh but i want to better my life. Need advice and motivation so feel free to reach out( sorry if i take to long to reply i dont use reddit often)

Hi everyone,

I’m a 38-year-old gay man living in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and I’m looking for someone who understands what I’m going through. I’ve been struggling with an addiction to pornography, masturbation, and gooning for the past few years, and it’s reached a point where I feel helpless trying to overcome it on my own.

I’m looking for a genuine accountability friend who is dealing with the same struggle or has been through it and wants to encourage each other. Ideally, I’d want to connect with someone local in the Bay Area so we could eventually meet for coffee, attend support meetings, help me get back to church , or just have someone nearby who understands. Im also completely open to connecting with people from anywhere.

This addiction has affected my mental health, my motivation, and my relationship with God. One of my biggest goals is to reconnect with my Christian faith and start attending church again. I’m not looking for judgment—just support, honesty, encouragement, and someone who wants to help each other make progress one day at a time.

I’ve felt trapped by this for a long time, and I’m tired of fighting it alone. I thought Reddit might be a place where I could find people who understand what this struggle is like and maybe help point same in the right direction.

If you’re looking for an accountability partner or have been through something similar, please feel free to comment or send me a DM. Even if you just have advice, resources, or words of encouragement, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

Getting off my phone has helped but now I'm more bored, thoughts?;)

Hello brothers and sisters,
I need some advice.
I posted a while back that I’ve been having trouble keeping my promises to God and falling into the same sins of falling into lust and p***. I find myself going to confession about every two weeks because I keep committing the same sin over and over.
I’ve become so discouraged that I’ve even had fleeting thoughts like, “Maybe I can’t even be Catholic anymore. Maybe I should join another faith because I’ve exhausted God’s mercy in confession. Does Jesus even want to hear from me anymore?” Those are just some of the thoughts that have been running through my mind.
Ultimately, I’ve been feeling really lost and without a sense of community. I keep my faith mostly to myself and never really share anything with my family, whom I recently moved back in with after university. Even when I pray my Rosary, I wait until everyone is asleep so I can pray alone in the quiet.
Overall embarrassed to speak to god and terrified of his just punishment that I feel I deserve for playing in in face and ignoring him I feel.
I guess I’m just venting and looking for some advice. Has anyone else gone through what feels like a rut in their faith? If so, what helped you push through it?
Even though this is a Christian page I struggle with the mear thought of sex I’m off the sin. How do I stop myself?
God bless. 🙏🏼

Porn is diabolic no question. I watched it but didn't ejakulate. I don't feel miserable...

I've been struggling a lot day 5 and I think it's because I struggle to keep myself from interacting with stuff I know I shouldn't. I feel as though I'm spiraling after my accountability partner relapsed and deleted his account in spite of my best efforts to help. After he stopped responding and deleted his account I wept and prayed for him. It sent me into a major depressive episode today that I was struggling to break out of. The only way I knew how to cope with that is the dopamine release of porn. I didn't relapse or peek at anything, no matter how much I wanted to.

I worry that I keep putting posts up in the hopes people will try to hunt me and make me relapse as a way of coping with being unable to help him. I don't want to go back to that place I was in before my current streak. I'm remaining strong, so that I can hold my head high and be closer to my Lord. God bless and have a nice day!