Am I the only one who typically needs porn to masturbate on my own?

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I have noticed that I use porn to maturbate for years and find it hard to masturbate without it. I was in a dysfunctional marriage for years with minimal sex, hence using porn as an escape. Now that I am divorced and single again I am very aware of my porn use relating to escape and after having a bought of ED related to early dating anxiety.

I am working to cut back on porn use but am not able to masturbate as much which also concerns me. So here are some question:

  1. Has anyone cut out or significantly cut back porn and can share about their experience? Did you initially struggle but then see benefits?

  2. Does anyone else think porn use contributes to ED? I know the research says it does not (at least that is what I read) but I am still wondering if it does for me.

Any other helpful thoughts or suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

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Sometimes I can, most of time I use porn. Probably due to the fact that it is so easily accessible. I do think over use can be a contributing factor to my ED
On the plus side, my wife and I watch it together sometimes with positive results

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I unfortunately don’t use porn as much as I use real women to drive my fantasies to masturbate. By taking pictures of them while they dressed up and then going home to masturbate to them, that is my considered porn. My wife though is not amused at all.

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Yes your description and experiences are very similar to mine. Ive had porn since I was 16, and by 26 I started to have ED. At 40, I have a new
Girlfriend that understand and is helping me. I’ve been told by my sexual councellor to read erotic stories instead of use porn. The signals to my body are like ‘static’ on an old tv. So flexing my fantasies by reading stories from literotica is helping.
You’re not alone in this.

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I have had to reassess my relationship with porn. It was being overused in my case and I was diving deeper into more taboo/unconventional and explicit videos daily. Relying on it desensitized me to in-person experiences which made it harder to become aroused. Using the app helped me realize that I had to make a change and I thought the guided masturbation exercises were helpful to reconnect with my body. Allow yourself to still use it but set parameters for when you do.

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Thanks for the input. I’ll have to give the guided masturbation exercises another go.

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Thanks for the kind words about not being alone. Erotic stories instead of porn… sounds interesting. Any recommendations on what you have read or where you found them?

What do you mean by “static” on an old tv?

Glad to hear the reading fantasies is helping. I already feel my imagination is coming back some from cutting way back and mostly taking a break from porn.

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Static just means, like you’re trying to talk on the phone and you only hears bits and pieces, like they are going through a tunnel and you cant hear the whole message. Like the signals that my brain gives my sexual organs are Loud and Clear with porn. But not so much with fantasy, or reading, or with a real partner. The messages may not be very clear. So we “work out” or “flex” that signal by reading instead of looking at pictures or watching porn. Again, this is just what my councellor is telling me, cause my doctors checked all the “plumbing” and everything is fine.

For stories, I like literotica. It’s amateur written so it’s hit or miss. Just have to poke around and read a bit and see what you like! I am going to the top stories and checking genres I like. Cheers!