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tommy profile picture
NEW - Addiction Support Automated Taglist
by tommy
Last post
 July 11th
...See more Welcome to the NEW Addiction Support Taglist This thread is an auto-updating list. The list is regularly updated by forum leaders and can be found below. Having issues? Reply below and someone will help you! Why should I join the taglist? ✔ Never miss out on sub-community check-ins, discussions or events ✔ Get tagged and notified by community leaders whenever a new relevant thread has been posted ✔ Become a more active member of the community. What do I need to do? ✅ To add yourself to this taglist, press the Post to Thread button below and write the exact words Please add me. ❌ To remove yourself from this taglist, press the Post to Thread button below and write the exact words Please remove me. ------------------------- Current taglist as of Dec 2024 (updated by @tommy) @akshi2611 @BeautifulCurse @exuberantTalker9747 @freeman @Helentreat12 @Hobzz @HopefulMamaof4 @ivoryLime3964 @JasonneedsinTx @Jenna @joyfulUs2825 @kindShade3891 @matchamochi07 @Mhmdi @Oceansky93 @peachLime4859 @PFord79 @Property1094 @Rainboho @Ren1478 @Sahilwj @sensiblePine5487 @SerenelyClean @Snowy00 @tommy @tornwillow @xmoonsie16x0
northernlights101 profile picture
porn addiction recovery (log in)
by northernlights101
Last post
 3 hours ago
...See more to ones who haven't seen my previous post: hello, this is a log in post to track your porn abstinence. this isn't an official event or anything, I'm just another addict trying to bring like-minded people together to help hold each other accountable. if you wish to start new, you could just follow the instructions given below! and do introduce yourself at the other post used for discussions - porn addiction recovery (discussion) - Discussion | 7 Cups [https://www.7cups.com/forum/addiction/SexandPornAddictionSupport_723/pornaddictionrecoverydiscussion_353938/?post=3850627] for more clarity you could check out my original post - porn addiction recovery - Discussion | 7 Cups [https://www.7cups.com/forum/addiction/SexandPornAddictionSupport_723/pornaddictionrecovery_353678/] how does it work?  1. on your day one, you can reply to the post by simply mentioning 'day 1 - xx/xx/xx (the date)' and as the day's progress please continue responding to yourself to create a chain with your logs only. this doesn't have to be everyday, just whenever you have the time.  2. if you miss a day, as in, end up giving in to your urges simply say 'counter reset - xx/xx/xx' or something similar but short and sweet. and continue replying the next day to your own comments, do not start a new chain, please. (this is so there aren't too many reply pages and we don't lose count easily) 3. please do not reply to another person's comments. only reply to your own comments. (just so we don't disrubt another person's logs and make it messy)  thank you for joining us in this journey!! 
quickwittedNorth5568 profile picture
I need to stop
by quickwittedNorth5568
Last post
 October 21st
...See more Ever since I was little, let’s say about not in 10 or 10 years old, I had one addiction which then turned into a masturbation addiction. Fast forward to now: I am 17 and I still have this addiction. It never used to be bad. I used to be able to stop whenever I wanted, but then it got worse and worse and worse and over time it’s like the more I tried to push away, the harder it pulled me in it’s gotten so bad to the point where it’s ruined past relationships that I used to have. It ruined intimacy for me. and every time I relapse, I get this overwhelming feeling of dread and this high spark of motivation and I say I’m never gonna do this again, but then I end up failing the next day or the day after I don’t know what to do anymore. I have managed to stop for a month, but within that month. I had a very intimate partner and she always wanted to do things and it didn’t help that I wanted to stop, but she didn’t know about my addiction but it ended up ruining the intimacy we were having because all I kept thinking about was the stuff I would watch and then I would start having anxiety about my performance, which would then make things go bad. but I have tried to stop multiple times. Sometimes it works for a little bit and sometimes it doesn’t work at all. It’s gotten so bad to the point I lose sleep it could be nighttime and by the time I’m finished with my session, it’s broad daylight outside sometime around like 7 AM. This is getting out of control and I’m well aware of that, but it’s like for some reason I know I need to top, but I can’t I would ask for a therapist, but in order to do that, I have to get my mom’s approval and she’s gonna be asking questions on why I need one, but I don’t wanna tell her because if I tell her about what I’ve been going through, then I don’t want her to look at me funny, even though she’s always told me I can tell her anything. I feel like I can’t tell her about this one, and that’s what also hurts. I’m fighting this alone, and I don’t wanna fight it alone anymore. I need help, but I don’t know how to get it.
StomachInKnots profile picture
I need to tell someone this.
by StomachInKnots
Last post
 October 19th
...See more I am a 46 year old man who (I am pretty sure) has been dealing with an escalating sex addiction for the majority of his life. I remember having sexualised thoughts very early on in life (maybe from 5-6 years old?) and my first quasi-sexual experience was at around the age of 8 with someone of the same age. It was a bit doctors and nurses but a little further than I expect most of these things go. Throughout my childhood and into my teens I masturbated very regularly and when even though I got a girlfriend when I was 17, I actually lost my virginity to a prostitute before I had sex with my girlfriend. I have basically never been single since that girlfriend, and have always engaged in cheating with non sex-workers as well as sex workers for my entire adult life. I actually got into a relationship/affair with one of them which ended up costing me hundreds of thousands and nearly ending my marriage. 6 years on from that discovery and I have continued to use sex workers and my behaviours around that have become increasingly risky. I'd prefer not to go into detail around that but it is safe to say that this is becoming a serious problem. When the urge comes on it is absolutely compulsive. I need to deal with this without involving my wife or family because I simply could not live with the shame of putting them through all of that again. I don't know what else to say for now... I just hope I can get myself sorted out. 
GoldenRetriever21 profile picture
Time to quit Gooning
by GoldenRetriever21
Last post
 October 14th
...See more Hello, I have been addicted to *** / porn since I was 12. I am now 25. I used to do it to more vanilla stuff, but in recent years I became addicted to live cams, and spend several hours a week on those sites. On average, I *** maybe 5 times a week, but each session can be pretty long. I really want to quit for good. I've tried using website blockers, but I always find a workaround to these. Any help / conversation is appreciated!
softIceCream7788 profile picture
Offering Help to Those who Need it !
by softIceCream7788
Last post
 October 2nd
...See more I'm offering help through 7 cups online chatting with Sex Addiction. If you need help dealing with compulsive behaviour, watching porn, masturbating, can't control your compulsive behaviour, life unmanageable, please reach out to me, I will be glad to help.
greenHemlock1053 profile picture
Addicted to corn
by greenHemlock1053
Last post
 September 30th
...See more I'm a male, and i'm addicted to watching pornography. I feel the urge right now and to do what you already know. I thought writing this down would help me feel better and avoid it. Ive been struggling with this almost all my life. I started when i was like 7 or 8 yo. Now i'm 22. I guess you could understand how bad it is when reading that. I dont see people like people anymore. They are to me like some sort of sexual flesh. I cannot help having this thought on them. Im lonely because of that, its a decision of mine to not hurt anyone. But being alone makes my problem worse i think. I dont know what to do now, ive already tried all i could try.
ElectricSoul3646 profile picture
I need help!
by ElectricSoul3646
Last post
 September 23rd
...See more Hi, I am Ali. I am a 2nd year bachelor's student studying chemistry as major. I am creating this post as I think I have reached a point in my life where I don't have any potency to save my life from this lust full curse. This post is going to be lengthy as I am not hiding anything from the members of 7 cups and I will add details so that I could find the best solutions.  My Problem I am addicted to Porn and Masturbation. I think porn has ruined my life, my peace. Almost everything, there is not any aspect of life that has not been affected by pornography.  How it started Back then, when I was just 6 I found my first pornography on computer where I used to play video games. There were several clips, I can hardly remember them, but it's where it all started. I knew it was wrong but I like it at that time. My Sexual Abuse I remember there were a friend of mine and there were no good ppl. His elder brother often calls me as I was child I did not know anything at all, he was the first person who exposed me to genitals, he did wrong things with me, he abused me. At that time, as when someone is exposed to such things, they often exhibit some sort of unusual behaviours. For me I do remember, playing with me genitals in the school bathroom. I did not know what I was doing, but I was doing not knowing what was right and wrong.  Development of Addiction  As I begin to thrive, in the 5th grade I got my first ***, randomly touching my genitals. I knew at that time, like I had a wave of thought that I should stop it as soon as possible. But I did not, I keep doing it. I then coupled it with porn. I remember watching late night porn and ***.  Escalation  At that point, I realized that my porn patterns were becoming more and more aggressive. Like first I was watching normal porn, then it quickly escalated to Hardcore stuff. Now the hardcore is not making me feel happy anymore. Dopamine Destruction (lack of Happiness) I know what is Dopamine, porn ruined my happiness system. I have realized at this point , that after quitting porn my life would be different, it will be all happy. I have to struggle with mood swings all of my life, and I think the major reason is the Porn and Masturbation. As long as I keep doing these things my brain gives me packets of dopamine otherwise it did not do anything at all. Cortisol Alteration (Stress Addition) It's a normal thing for me that as I begin to quit these things, my adrenals above my kidneys rapidly producing cortisol. The stress hormone, and there is not dopamine to detox it. As my brain only gets dopamine from Porn and Masturbation or nudity.  The Big Depression  In the 11th Grade, the situation becomes extremely scary. It was the time I finally decided to ............ , I was about to eat 20 tablets of Escitalopram. But I did not. Nobody can understand my situation like the way I do. Because I was exposed to nudity at such a young age and my Brain was not processing that things at all. I begin to repress my feelings. I was confuses whether I'm addicted to sex or it is happening naturally to me. I remember all the days I was just motivating me to not to do sex, not to think about it, I was convincing my friends that sex is not good blah blah blah. I remember crying in the washroom after ***. I was like behaving like a mental patient. Just watch porn, *** and this cycle keeps going on. I shared it to my family I begin crying in front of my sister and told everything about it, she is like my mom. It did not really helped me.  My Physical Appearance (The main issue) I was not ugly at all, porn made me ugly. Masturbation did, not gonna lie. I know sharing these things is not appropriate and it's shame. But I will share,  * I'm skinny, masturbation did it. All of energy being wasted there.  * I am having hairfall issues, it's just masturbation.  * My mental health is not so good, just because of it.  * Emotionally, it made me feel that I don't care about me. If I really cared about me I have stopped doing these things a long long time ago. But I did not.  * Spiritually, it is breaking my connection with God Mechanism (My *** Pattern) Not hiding anything, right after ***, I feel deep shame, guilt, remorse, a wave of depression. After it, I begin planning that I will never *** again. But after a few days, like after a stimulus I begin doing that again. I have repeated this cycle thousands of times. If I ever go more days without doing it I feel really sad and like if my brain is recovering it from me. Synaptic Pruning yk. I want freedom from It. More ever, the most horrifying thing about my addiction Is not. After a few days of quiting porn, I begin spending more times in washrooms. IDK but it happens automatically, I begin touching my genitals, like looking at it, idk why I do this but this part this happens own it own. Like looking in the mirror that my *** is good, and then eventually it leads to relapse.  My Research on Porn All across the internet, I have watched a few documentaries regarding the harmful effect of porn on individuals, their love life and the world where we all are living. I have studies books about it. I have Fight the New Drug community, at first it was an eye opening discovery to me but my addiction is so strong that it is not leaving after all that things.  Longest Streak  16 days  My Hope  I think I can quit porn and I will one day. 
RyBoisse40 profile picture
Porn Detox
by RyBoisse40
Last post
 September 21st
...See more This is just an open diary to myself to get some feelings and thoughts out. So I'm about to go on a porn detox due to some ED issues that have been popping up.  I think the thought scares me because porn has always been my safe place.  It's always been there when times are tough since I was young. I don't see myself quitting 100%, and I've definitely been on stints where I've gone a few days without looking at it without thinking about it, but now just ACTIVELY thinking about not watching porn feels physically stressful.   However my wife and I are trying to have a kid, and I'm having trouble performing.  So I have to do what is best for me and my wife and my future family.   I've cut an alcohol addiction in the past, so I'm no stranger to quitting addictions.  Just gotta get through the first couple of days.  
redBeach431 profile picture
Need Advice: Porn and Masturbating Addiction
by redBeach431
Last post
 September 18th
...See more I don’t know what more to say here that hasn’t already been said before. However, this is my struggle with porn and *** addiction and a little insight as to how my mind works and relapses. Right now is a much harder point in my life because I recently graduated from college hoping to get a job out of college but the market for my current industry is down in the trenches. Due to this, I currently live at home with my parents and don’t leave the house as much because I live in a city where there isn’t much to do and the weather is awful making it not ideal to leave. I have conditioned my mind to watch porn and *** when I am bored because of my current circumstances. I wake up and it's the first thing on my mind and find myself on sex-related websites not even realizing that I immediately woke up and without even getting out of bed was immersed in sex-related websites for 2 + hours in bed. I finally get myself out of bed and do whatever small tasks I have for the day such as gym and running errands and then stay locked up in my room all day where then I start to get bored and then turn to porn and ***. I feel like it's an addiction because of multiple reasons. A its not healthy that the first thing I do when I wake up is spend 2 hours without getting up just immersed in thinking about sex and adult websites. Second I can go max 4-5 days without *** but when I fall. I fall hard. If I try to not indulge but then fall after 4-5 days my mindset is “Oh I relapsed today let me just indulge and get out it my system and try again next week” and then go on to *** 4 times a day or just every day until Monday comes and I can restart. I think it's an issue because I have no control. It sucks not having control over your mind. I want to be strong enough to overcome this but I find it immensely hard. I don't know what to do and I am so lost.
RobinVanDyck profile picture
Appointment
by RobinVanDyck
Last post
 September 18th
...See more Just made an appointment with a psychologist hope it helps
amiableRaspberries7039 profile picture
I’m trying to stop once and for all.
by amiableRaspberries7039
Last post
 September 10th
...See more First post here. I’ll try to make this relatively cohesive but no promises. I’m a 24 yr old male and I’m only now realising that I have a much deeper issue than I once thought. I’ve been addicted to porn since I was 11, didn’t even realise there was anything wrong with in until I was 15. Since then I’ve been trying to quit. 9 years… I thought it was simply a willpower problem but I’ve realised today it’s not that simple. I feel like every year my addiction becomes worse and around the time I turned 19 it became a sex addiction which I have found to be a lot more detrimental to my life. My self image, work, my general health (nothing serious), Relationships, etc all massively negatively affected. I’m religious and I believe it’s wrong to have sex before marriage, so every time I engage in this it wrecks my soul and self image. I hate myself more every single time, and I used to always have a very positive self image, so this is honestly something quite shocking for me. I’ve never been addicted to anything else but I imagine this is what drug addiction feels like, you don’t want to do it because you know it’ll ruin your life but you can’t shake your desires. I hate it. It feels like whenever I get the urge, all logical thinking goes out the window. It controls my life, makes me do decisions I would never do otherwise, and I hate it. I want to stop. I realised recently I had a real problem when I had sex a couple days ago, felt disgusting, vowed to never do it again, truly believed myself, then did it again 4 days later. Wtf is wrong with me honestly. I’ve always been a good kid, this is so uncharacteristic for me. This isn’t who i am. I remember when i was growing up porn was so normalised, kids would talk about it all the time and we didn’t even realise there was anything wrong with it. By the time I realised it was bad I was completely addicted.  I’ve tried to quit countless times, for the longest time I couldn’t even go a month without watching porn. I even purposely stayed home for uni rather than living at uni since I was worried about not being able to control my desires. Unfortunately this didn’t help.  I’m not sure if this is worth mentioning but before my sex addiction began my dad died after battling cancer, I’m not sure if some sort of trauma has led me to rely on an addiction such as this because honestly this is quite out of character for me, maybe I need to delve into that in order to work out my addiction problems I really don’t know, if anyone has any thoughts on that please let me know. I’m really ashamed of myself and have nobody I can talk to about this, so I’m sorry for the huge essay but I really hope someone will respond.  Beginning of Last year I shaved my head as a show of resolve to myself, planning to never watch porn again. I lasted 6 weeks before relapsing. That was one of the worst feelings ever. Since then I haven’t even gone 2 weeks without it. Anyways, today I’ve started a pivotal recovery course which cost £100 and I’m writing here to hopefully gain some support and have people hold me accountable. This is the first time I’ve considered that I might have a serious problem outside of just being weak or having not enough willpower, so I’m hoping seeking professional help will help me stop once and for all. I know I can be better than this. I don’t want to ruin my life following my sexual desires. I want to quit porn and casual sex once and for all, so please help and encourage me, I will try to be active on this daily. I can’t live like this anymore. I really hope this is the beginning of the end of my 13 year addiction.
rjoliet profile picture
What I've never said to anyone
by rjoliet
Last post
 August 30th
...See more At the beginning, I want to clarify that I am a woman and the youngest of my three brothers. When I was in primary school, I was polite, kind, and a good student. I had never been exposed to any explicit sexual content, and I even used to skip kissing or dancing scenes in movies because they made me uncomfortable. Later, when I was in preparatory school, a fake social media account sent me an explicit image. I immediately deleted it and blocked the account. Some time later, I accidentally found explicit videos on our family computer, which made me realize that one of my older brothers had probably been watching them. Out of curiosity, I watched some of them, although I felt uncomfortable and disgusted. After that experience, some of those images stayed in my mind and even appeared in my dreams. My feelings of guilt helped me stop, and I was able to avoid this type of content for almost three years throughout secondary school. After entering medical school, the increasing academic pressure and anxiety affected me. I started reading novels, then romantic stories, and eventually more sexually explicit fiction. Later, I found myself returning to explicit online content. My progress was inconsistent, with periods of improvement followed by relapse. Whenever I replaced this habit with other activities, such as watching TV series, learning programming, crocheting, or making handmade crafts, I was able to stop for a while. However, these activities also became a way of avoiding my studies. Then both of my parents passed away, and I started living alone. I graduated from medical school and began working, but the stress of work and studying continued. I still tend to postpone studying until one or two days before exams, and thankfully God has helped me succeed so far. Now, loneliness has become my biggest trigger. Whenever I am alone, I often return to viewing explicit online material and engaging in sexual self-stimulation. Sometimes I even do this simply because it helps me relax and fall asleep more quickly. I no longer feel that I am fully in control of this behavior, when any one say some thing nice about me I don't feel happy enough deeply I say I'm not that good person, how I can overcome it in a healthy way. I need help from anyone who passed through that before.

Addiction Support

Please note: bolded grey text is hyperlinked.

Welcome to Addiction Support! We are so pleased that you have stumbled across our little corner of the internet. Our community is here to support you through any recovery and/or pathway from substances to gambling, internet, self-harm, porn addiction, sex addiction, and more. All are welcome to participate whether you are a family member watching a loved one struggling or if you are struggling yourself. Feel free to discuss anything and everything related to addictions.


What are the different forum topics for Addiction Support?

Community Space: A place for you to introduce yourself and take part in our community check-ins.

Games and Icebreakers: A place for you to get to know other community members by participating in fun games!

General Addiction Support: Do you have a question or want to share more about your addiction? Do it here!

Journals: Want to share your story or involve us on your journey to recovery? Do it here!

Loving Those With Addictions: Got a loved one with an addiction? Share your story here!

Sex and Porn Addiction Support: Struggling with a sex and/or porn addiction? Discuss it here!


How can I help?

You can help us by simply responding to threads and sharing your story (if you're comfortable to). Alternatively, you may wish to join us as a Forum Leader. Check out this thread for more information.


Helpful Threads

Taglist: Do you want to stay up to date with our community? Then join our taglist to be notified every time a new discussion or update is posted!


Addiction Support FAQ

Are there any sub-community specific guidelines that we need to adhere to?

All sub-community specific guidelines can be found below and should be followed in addition to the general forum guidelines.


Help... I still have a question! 

You can ask your questions in this thread and someone will respond to you as soon as possible.

Community Guidelines

Remain professional, kind, and respectful towards one another. 
Even if you do not get along with an individual listener, it is up to you to act appropriately. If you must, step away and do not engage.

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Rumor: a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth.
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Aim to grow and learn as a Listener & person. 
In this light, learning to accept feedback thankfully.

Be aware of how to use the forum correctly and what may happen when you do not do so. 
See more detailed forum guidelines below.

Refrain from sharing personal contact information
including, but not limited to, social media accounts, home addresses, phone numbers, messaging apps/sites, or any other medium of contact off-site. Learn more about internet safety in this forum. If you use the scheduling tool YouCanBookMe, you are required to remove the email submission step. Learn how to do this here.

Maintain a confidential atmosphere. 
Between you and member/guests and between you and other listeners. All conversations between you and members are confidential. Do not share any chat details with any other listeners or members. Additionally, do not write or blog about any issues you are supporting people on.

Engage in healthy problem solving. 
This means problem solving with the goal to continue to make the community better. Engage in healthy debates and conversations which lend themselves to problem solving and working together. Read more on the topic of healthy problem solving in this forum.

Use proper conflict resolution skills with every person on the site 
Proper conflict resolution means dealing with conflict in a supportive manner that benefits both you and the other person involved. Read more on conflict resolution in this forum.

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This includes a total ban on stalking and harassment of any kind. 

Choose not to engage in sexting or flirting. 
We have a zero tolerance policy for these behaviors. Even if it is consensual, it is not allowed on 7 Cups. Read more about sexting and flirting in this forum.

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Protect your log-in information to all accounts on 7 Cups and not allow anyone else to use it besides the person whose name is in our system. 
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We ask each user to live by the guidelines outlined in this thread. Each behavior mentioned will be assigned a behavior point, once a certain number of points are accumulated within 6 months, consequences will be enacted.

Read the 7 Cups Guidelines