So…

I think it’s worth noting that I (20M) am a gay Catholic. I don’t understand the difficulties of being a straight man, and rather being told NO to something (in this case, a relationship and marriage) is a lot easier than being told to WAIT for it. I can‘t imagine that struggle, and I feel for each and every one of you.

I started really struggling with porn and masturbation around my junior year of high school. i was a really late bloomer and just figuring out that I was gay and was utterly freaking out because I always assumed that I was going to end up with a wife someday. I had struggled with it for about three years before finally actually getting a solid handle on it three years later. so all things considered, I’ve been pretty well off with this fight compared to some other people I’ve seen on here (truly, your stories break my heart).

So many of the stories I’ve been reading on this forum are from minors. and that’s utterly heartbreaking. your parents (whether unknowingly or not) failed in protecting you from the internet and it is showing. talk to them. tell them what’s going on, and if they don’t support you kicking it or try to write it off as “healthy and normal” tell a friend. find someone to keep you accountable, through an app or somehow else. (also, give yourself some grace. your hormones are going to out of control, so if you slip and fall, it’s not the end of the world)

sexual sin is the easiest way Satan gets us. he wants us to give in and think we’re weaker than we are. but if the difference between going to Heaven and Hell comes down to that fifteen minute window when you’re alone in the house, choose God. go outside, do some push ups, make food, put your phone down and WALK away. if you’re Catholic, go to Mass and receive the Eucharist. journal, write, run, walk, do something besides sitting on your bed and feeling that sinking feeling set in right before you open up DuckDuckGo (that’s my personal experience at least).

sorry for the rant. please just know that I’m praying for you and I love you all so much (platonically ofc, I don’t want to make it weird lol). you can beat this, and I believe in you.