I think I’ve used porn way too much in my life ever since I was a kid. This has definitely fundamentally destroyed how I feel about the size of my penis despite being above average. I am a straight man but compare my penis to other men’s penises constantly throughout the day and I feel dumb doing it. I have also been lead to believe that women will just list after black men and that simply is not the case but makes me have negative thoughts about women and myself.
I want to stop watching it as stress coping mechanism
Anything in excess can be unhealthy. The same goes for porn. The ease of access and availability of porn is what makes it so easy for me to get hooked. It was a habit that I formed young and it was difficult to stop, that’s when I knew I had to curb my porn use. I realized I neglected many parts of my life and things I’d rather be doing. I still look at visuals here and there, some softer stuff but nothing too hardcore, so I’ve drawn boundaries for myself and what to watch when I get the urge to watch again and practice being aware of my habit. I’d much rather do something else than just look at porn. Although it is fun to watch, that’s exactly the reason why I hold myself back. I don’t condone porn use but without proper sex education a young person’s brain can presume this is what intimacy and sex looks like and when they realize this there’s a lot of unlearning and relearning involved, which is true in my case. And I’m enjoying this process of discovering myself.
I’ve never been much interested in porn. Always have preferred real over video.
In my case I don’t identify it as the issue.
I think it’s mostly not wanting to only use porn as my way to relive stress. I need to diversify my stress relief options and use porn not only for coping but for enjoyment as well.
Using other activities as stress relievers.
I’d like to stop using it compulsively. It’s never been an arousal thing for me it’s more of a release. I’ll be overthinking a bunch of things and have the sudden urge to just jack off. Almost like its more of a stress release than a sexual release.
I would like to not feel guilty afterwards as i think the guilt stems from using porn as a confidence booster intstead of addressing the real issues with my partner, i will try use this course to do more on focusing on the issues rather than using porn to test if “ive still got it”
The fantasy
If I do use porn, I don’t want to watch unrealistic scenarios with unrealistic girls doing unrealistic things. I want to watch ‘real’ porn if I ever do. But tbh, I don’t see much benefit in watching it as I really want to overcome my fear of not being able to get hard for the real thing. I want to be able to be turned on by a girl in person, not just by looking at a screen.
I want to limit my porn use to once every two weeks. I want to use it as only a release if I feel like I need to ejaculate to stay sane. This is if I don’t have a sexual partner at the time. I have abused porn before and feel much better overall when limiting it’s use.
I want to cut out porn completely. It’s the cause of my erection issues, whenever I cut out porn I normally have much better sex and I’m able to focus on my life a lot easier. Fuck porn.
The cycle of excitement and shame. I have complicated feelings about porn. Growing up in a sexually repressed environment I was made to believe that feeling aroused is sinful so it became a taboo thing which also raised the excitement factor. After orgasm then I would feel waves of shame and guilt and then swear I would never do it again. I brought that belief system into my marriage and, because we never honestly discussed sexual issues, carried that burden alone. I believe that talking honestly and openly about these things with my partner is key to being able to extract myself from this vicious cycle.
I guess I want to bring it back, I have put myself on a no porn no masturbation diet. I thought it was wrong, come to think of it my problems have risen during this time with nothing.
I would like to be more thoughtful about it as opposed to compulsory. I don’t think I have a hardcore addiction to it, but I could stand to be more mindful about when and how I use it.
I don’t want to watch anymore
I want to watch it less, and less in a habitual way (e.g. later in the evening). I hope that by reducing the amount, I’ll become more responsive to real life situations (as and when they happen) and be more in the moment.
Porn has, in a way, created what I would consider to be unhealthy standards and expectations – such as how long sex lasts, how hard a guy has to be throughout, and even what is “usual” during sex (positions, the order in which things are done, that penetration is always necessary). Also, I have found myself believing that a fit body, perfect dick and appearance are all necessary for good sex – which of course is not realistic at all.
I want to look into other ways to self sooth in times of high stress and not fall down that rabbit hole when I’m bored
I don’t like violent porn (forced sex or forced orel sex) so I like clean sex
I want to stop consumption all together.