When I watch porn i go to the younger category and think to myself maybe im a pedophille, i am trying to stop but i feel like i like younger looking men but am scared that pedophillia is attached to it, like what if one day i want more or what if this is what i like? Does anyone else go through this?

You're welcome. Take your time. You're going to go through relapses. It's natural, so don't feel bad if you end up slipping through compulsions. You can use those as learning curves to get better and better. Just don't give up, you can do it! I believe in you.

How have u managed to do that?

@Anonymous It was not easy. I began my journey of quitting way back in April. I remember when I struggled to put down spicy Instagram posts and accounts that offered such because I used to check if I was attracted to women still which did nothing but make me worse in the end. What made me want to quit porn in the first place is how awful it made me feel watching it, getting off to it, and worst of all, how it escalated video wise. This stuff really fucked me up to be honest and I'm still recovering. It's far from over even after 4 months has passed. What I do is I use an app called I Am Sober. It keeps track of how many days I've been off of pornography and masturbation. When I see another day being added to the total tally, it gives me more courage and hope to keep going. There are definitely times where I feel urges are there and I relapsed a few days ago with masturbation, but I'm still continuing. I'm using my relapse as a learning curve not to do it again. You can do it too! You can quit pornography and you don't have to let it take control over your life. You deserve a loving connection that's more than just pixels on a screen

No, not necessarily. There are people that can bring themselves to watch illegal videos but would never act out the things they see on their screens. Escalation simply occurs when the user is bored of the usual content and needs something more shocking or next level to keep their flow going. Just like drugs, which porn in fact is in my opinion. I even remember reading an article that had a guy explain that normal porn was boring and the only way to truly get the next hit was by watching CP. Whether he were a pedophile is unkown but this can happen to pretty much anyone if they aren't careful, which many porn users just aren't aware of such things. We have to remember that pedophilia is the sole attraction to persons 13 and under while they may have secondary attractions to adults. These people are usually inclined to act on their attractions in the real world and don't see it as a problem. POCD sufferers like us get repulsed by such a thing, yet our OCD has us worrying so much about something in our heads.

Yeah, DEFINITELY stop using it then. You just admitted that it's not even mainly for arousal purposes, rather reassurance. It was the same thing for me. Porn began to be very compulsive for me and people suffering through OCD in my opinion shouldn't watch it. This may be the exact thing that's heightening your anxiety and you could be confusing anxiety with arousal, like many people do. Please, for your mental health, just drop it. It'll be good for you.

I left some advice from your first reply on the post. It's at the top

Actually, I have one extra piece of advice. Install porn blockers. Those can really help stop the urges. And if you get urges outside if your phone use or while in bed, try to get up and do something else that better focuses your energy. Meditation and mindfulness can help you too. And just think of all of the meaningful relationships and time you can spend with other people rather than watching videos that just exploit people. Freeing yourself from this will be good for you like it was for me!