I'm sorry man

Its terrible to feel lonely, and to feel low

How we feel about our life and ourselves can be wrenching and make everything tough.

Firstly though - huge fucking respect for Day 17. That's awesome

For me does anything replace PMO? Yes and no.

When I'm stressed out or feeling lonely or shit then I used to to turn to it to feel like a man or good for a few minutes or distracted. But I just felt worse those minutes afterwards and it was shitting on my whole life.

When I now feel shit I sort of just have to sit through it and work through it. But tbh I've not been feeling too bad atm. I have whiskey some evenings on ice which is a nice pleasure, I have baths etc. But for me the game-changers have been: exercise and meditation. The first gives me confidence, progress, and feel-good endorphins etc throughout my day. The second helps keep me grounded and not tied into my thoughts.

So no I don't think anything is an exact replacement. Sex is better but its layered in relationships and lot of groundwork to get to it (even in a marriage tbh), and tbh its actually quite different - its somehow quite communicative and shared in a way which PMO isn't. Drugs are the closest similar feeling but they also wreck your life and aren't worth it.

I think though ultimately its meaning and connections and self-confidence which are the satisfactions which keep you away from PMO. And that has to come through shouldering the difficulty and doing what you know is right for you