How to Stop Masturbating Forever

To stop masturbating for good, cut off the fuel first. For most people that fuel is porn, so lock it off your phone and computer with a blocker you can't switch off, like QuitPorn. Then change the times and places where it happens, have a plan for urges, and fill the time with things that use your body and your mind. "Forever" is built one day at a time, and it gets much easier after the first few weeks.

Why It Is So Hard to Stop

• It is a habit loop. The same trigger (bed, shower, boredom, stress) leads to the same action, and your brain gets a reward every time.
• Porn makes it stronger. Porn damages your brain's reward system. Most compulsive masturbation is tied to porn, and porn keeps the urge high.
• It is always available. No cost, no effort, always private. Easy habits are the hardest to break.
• It numbs feelings. Stress, loneliness and boredom all get "fixed" for a few minutes, then come back.

If you are not sure how deep the habit goes, take our masturbation addiction quiz.

How to Stop Masturbating: 8 Steps

1. Remove porn completely

This is the biggest step. Without porn, urges are weaker and shorter. QuitPorn blocks porn in every browser and app on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and Mac, for 1 to 365 days, and nobody can end the lock early, including you and our support team. Add the social apps that lead you there to your block list too.

2. Know your triggers

Write down when it happens: the time, the place, how you felt. Most people find the same few: lying in bed with a phone, long showers, being home alone, stress, boredom, tiredness.

3. Change the places it happens

• Phone charges outside the bedroom. Get up as soon as you wake.
• Short showers.
• Work, study and browse in shared rooms, not in bed.

4. Plan for urges

Urges peak and pass, usually within 15 to 20 minutes. When one hits, move straight away: push-ups, a cold shower, a walk, a call to a friend. Don't lie there arguing with it. Our porn urge toolkit has 15 that work.

5. Use your energy

Many people notice more energy and drive after stopping. Put it somewhere: the gym, a sport, a project, a skill. Being physically tired at night makes evenings much easier.

6. Guard your eyes during the day

Suggestive posts and videos keep the urge simmering. Unfollow accounts that do it, and keep your feeds clean.

7. Count days, but don't worship the streak

Tracking days keeps you honest. But if you slip, don't throw the week away. Find the gap that led to it, close it, and start again the same day.

8. Get support

Tell someone you trust, join a group, or talk to a doctor or therapist if it feels out of control. For faith-based help, see NoFap for Christians and is masturbation a sin.

What to Expect

• Week 1: the strongest urges, often at night and in the morning.
• Weeks 2 to 4: urges come in waves, especially on bad days. Keep the plan.
• After a month: most people notice clearer thinking, more energy and more confidence. Urges get weaker and less frequent.
• Around 90 days: the habit loop is much weaker, and stopping feels normal rather than a fight.

Read more in semen retention vs porn abstinence and the recovery timeline.