10 Effective Steps To Quitting Porn Addiction.

These 10 steps will help anyone quit the addicution of watching and participating in pornohrapgy and become a better version of themselves. It will also work for quiting any other addiction but for the purpose of this article let’s focus on pornohrapgy addiction. So get ready and dive in to each point and take it one after the other. Here are the steps below;

1. Determination

The first important action you need to acquire is a total determination and resolve to make a change to your life. Nothing is impossible when you make up your mind. This may be your start point to your journey of healing or maybe you tried before and failed, whatever it is, fuel your determination to go at it and start your first day to totally change your life and habit. Fuel your determination by reading or studying people who have overcome pornohrapgy and are living totally free.

2. Set Limits To Your Triggers

It’s important to find out that which triggers you and pulls you into relapse or into watching it. For some people it is the Internet, social media or hanging with some friends or seeing some video or movies or some activities. Know these triggers and write out the ways you can limit them or avoid them or maybe reduce their pull on you. If you’re struggling with porn the you have to put limits on your smart phone and social media and sites,  cos that’s where they get your attention.
Research apps that can help you block sites or  social media screen time or just block your triggers.

3. Create a Schedule

Now you are fully determined and you have blocked the habit triggers and set limits on your phones, Internet and all. Let’s begin, get a pen and paper or notepad and set your target schedule. What date do you want to start and when do you want to mark a week of freedom or a month and more. Write down the days and draw it up. Everyday on your schedule, you will mark that day as a day achieved till its a week and a month, and two months, three months, etc.

4. Meditation

As Christians, you have to fortify your self, your mind and spirit with God’s word. The bible instructs us to renew our mind with God’s word and we do this not by merely reading it but by meditating on the word. Meditation means to actively take out quiet time to speak the scripture to yourself over and over again till you are full of it. The Bible tells us to mediate on the word and renew our mind. By meditating, I don’t mean quoting those so called universal words or listening to their sounds and hoping it improves your mind, aura or luck. What I mean is taking God’s word or scripture that speaks to your situation, then repeat them to yourself over and over again and it will give you strength to make it in your journey to stopping the bad habit.

5. Pray

Don’t let society play down on the value of Prayer. Prayer strengthens us, praying in the Holy Spirit with scriptures in-line that you have studied in your heart, you become strengthened and fortified. Take for example you can take the scripture that says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, meditate on it over and over again and pray with it in the Holy Spirit and it will surely strengthen us.

6. Start new habits

Learning other positive and self improving habits go a long way to reposition your mind to make the shift you desire. Think of it this way, if you have been addicted to porn for many years, your brain has created pathways that are very strong to stray out of and your mind and body has been trained to have a dependency on your addiction, hence you get a strong connection to it. You need to create new connections, develop new brain pathways (I guess I’m watching to many sci-fi movies) and these new habits which ought to be something you really love and have interest in, will get your mind away from old habits. You can take up book reading daily, daily exercise, spend time at the gym, swimming, learn programming, painting, etc .. learn new habits.

7. Celebrate your weekly wins

This is simple, you may have beaten up yourself so much trying to overcome your addiction, or feel guilty most days and weeks for what you do or for not being able to get yourself out of it. But as you take it one day at a time following the steps above, you will get to a week of staying away from porn, a whole week , that is worth celebrating. Be happy about that,  pat yourself in the back and tell yourself you will beat the next week. Give yourself a treat because you did good. Now win the next week and celebrating again, go on and celebrate a month win and 2 months and keep going on.

8. Forgive yourself if you fall

Now we put this point at number 8 above the “celebrate your wins” because at this point you may have celebrated your win or relapsed and given in to your desire, emotion, lust because of the habit. But hey forgive yourself, those with success in quitting this habit had tried many time and they still put their effort to keep it. So go at it again, tell yourself,  this time I will beat it longer and will not give in. Take note of what made you relapsed and plan how to avoid it.  Forgive yourself and let’s do it again and win.

9. Get an Accountability Partner

Hey this one is for the tough minded, an Accountability partner can be your spouse, partner, family member, Pastor, mentor, someone who you can confide in 100 percent. Some who will pray with you and be there for you. If you have someone you can call to talk to when the urges rise up, that will totally be a game changer and quickly they will talk you off it or help get your mind elsewhere. Doing this trains your mind to think of or do other stuffs when the desires spring up.

10. Go for self improvement

Lastly, see the process as a healing for your mind  body and soul. Get materials and tools and resources to improve your mind and your relationships. Dont just focus on surviving one day free of the bad habit, make it worth the while for your self improvement by learning something new each week, get a course, a skill, join a book club, visit family members for some weeks, start a gym membership, enjoy good company. Plan to be a better you and go do it. Its your world.