Okay, okay, hold on a sec. I realize that a lot of people on here watch porn regularly, and I realize that this is probably not a popular view. I'm not trying to force this on anyone, or say that all porn is evil and masturbation is from the devil. Moderation is key, as with anything. But I do want to talk about my struggles with porn addiction. It is my hope that this might help some of you experiencing similar struggles.
I got into porn/masturbation three years ago. I'd managed to withstand the pressure up until that point (everyone was always in disbelief when I said I didn't masturbate or watch porn), but then I had a girlfriend who ultimately convinced me to try it. After that, it was game over. For a while, I was easily aroused and constantly taking care of my desires. Soon though, it got to the point where I just didn't get excited from pictures that would normally have me drooling. So I had to move onto other things. I was constantly looking for new porn to get me aroused. I never got into really disturbing porn, but some people do because nothing else does it for them after such long time exposure to porn.
It eventually got to the point where I couldn't get aroused by a girl without imagining some porn related scenario. That made me feel like shit every time I did it, because I didn't know these women and I was treating women like some sort of product to be consumed and discarded. It completely changed how I saw women in the worst way, and made me incredibly self conscious whenever I would speak to one.
My lack of success in talking with women, and in most areas of my life, ultimately led me to a deeper depression, something I've struggled with for most of my life. I never associated any of my problems with lethargy, depression, apathy, a desire to live away from society, or anything else to porn or masturbation. Everyone always said that masturbation helps prevent prostate cancer, and it has no drawbacks. Porn was just something you used for masturbation. Well, I was wrong. It wasn't the only problem in my life, but it was hurting me a lot more than I would have ever imagined.
After discovering The Great Porn Experiment speech by Gary Wilson and the Your Brain on Porn videos (a second time; I ignored them the first), I decided to do an experiment. I figured I had nothing to lose, so why not? I stopped masturabtion and porn completely. Let me tell you, it's damn hard. The first try, I went for 10 days without porn or masturbation and I was a raging mess of sexual energy. After that, I slowly started to slide back into my old habits. But I started up again after some motivational words I read online to someone else struggling with this. I'm currently on 8 days again.
But both times I've noticed changes:
-After the first 10 days, I felt energetic for the first time in years, and I actually felt happy for literally no reason (also went through some insane mood swings for a couple of days). For someone who has suffered from depression for most of their life, that's not something I'm at all used to. Hell, it actually helped me "get" life; I was thinking that if people felt like that regularly, I could actually understand why they would want to live. Anyway, I took that energy and I started to exercise regularly, because I'm pretty slim at 6'1" and 150 lbs. I've tried to start exercising many times before, but I haven't ever stuck with it. I have for over a month now, which was soon after I stopped porn/masturbation.
-The second time (which is continuing through now), I'm sitting at 8 days. I had a couple of streaks in between the first one and this one, but they didn't go quite as well (edging and fantasizing are killers when you're trying to quit). It really is hard to stop porn and masturbation cold turkey. During this latest streak, I've felt rather apathetic, and I've had no sexual drive at all. But my entire outlook is still very positive. I know that this is something that everyone who's tried this has gone through (every experience I've read from someone else has described it as a very nonlinear process, and they go through a period of "flatlining" where they just aren't aroused much at all), and I'm able to focus on all of the things I'm accomplishing just by virtue of trying to stop.
I don't think that porn is necessarily bad, nor is masturbation. If done in moderation, they can be very enjoyable experiences. But it's all too easy to want more and more, and it's a very dangerous addiction. Unlike a drug, where you have to actively seek it, porn is very easily accessed. One minute you could be on wikipedia, the next you can be on your favourite porn site, seeing as many sexy women as you damn well please. And you don't need to go buy anything to masturbate.
Ultimately, I can only speak from my own experiences. For me, my porn addiction was damaging in a lot of ways. Everything from the time I spent on it, changing how I saw women (in a negative way), and actual physical problems (ED; no arousal without porn, constant "haziness" in my mind, too much sleep, very lethargic) could all be traced back to this addiction. Stopping porn and masturbation hasn't solved all of my problems by any means. But now that I feel better, I am starting to turn my life around. It's more than that, though. I want to turn my life around. It's bizarre to feel happy, but I like it. Is it all in my head? Maybe. But even if that is the case, I can't deny that I can't remember ever feeling better than I do now. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and I hope you got something out of this.
tl;dr: Read the whole post, you lazy bastard. I put a lot of thought into this. 
