Is it easy to stop watching porn?

Sometimes when struggling with a porn addiction you can feel like shame and even like an idiot for continuing to relapse, despite trying to stop. I know I used to think to myself "Why can't I stop doing this?" and I would think "All I have to do is not do something. Why do I always go back to it?"

These kind of thoughts are common when struggling with addiction. Whilst I don't wish to validate junkie thoughts, I do believe that trying to stop a compulsive behaviour can be challenging. It isn't always easy. You can experience a lot of temporary discomfort, junkie thoughts, and unanswerable questions. You can suddenly experience strong desires out of nowhere. And few people really understand what you are going through. But, every moment is an opportunity for change. The discomfort, if you choose it in a rational way, is your experience of the neural pathways changing. Stopping porn isn't as easy as some people think. It isn't about "not" doing something. It is about actively dealing with the addicted part of the mind directly which requires training and repetition, just like any skill.

And fortunately, staying stopped long-term isn't as challenging as many people think either. Once you know how, you can stop, stay stopped correctly, and feel good about it for the rest of your life if you wish.