Is It Possible to Quit Porn and Masturbation?
- Jonathan Daugherty
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Learn How to Quit Porn and Masturbation -- and Other Unwanted Sexual Behaviors with these 5 tips.
Yes, you can quit porn and masturbation, even if you have struggled for years or feel completely stuck. Freedom does not come from willpower alone, but from understanding your patterns, building a plan, inviting others into your journey, and pursuing a deeper relationship with God.
This guide will walk you through 5 proven tips to help you stop porn and masturbation and begin living with integrity, peace, and purpose. These are not a "magic formula" that guarantees freedom, but they will greatly increase your probability of success.
1. Learn your triggers
Porn and masturbation are almost never random; they follow patterns rooted in triggers. A trigger is anything that nudges you toward acting out—something you see, feel, think, or experience that pulls you toward sexual escape.
Common trigger categories include:
Physical triggers: images, videos, certain environments, touch, or even specific times of day.
Emotional triggers: feeling sad, bored, lonely, stressed, anxious, ashamed, or rejected.
Mental triggers: fantasies, memories, curiosity, or replaying sexual experiences in your mind.
Ask yourself these questions every time you act out:
What was I thinking about right before I gave in?
What was I feeling?
What was happening around me (time, place, people, devices, privacy)?
Write your answers down so you can start seeing patterns instead of guessing. Over time, this self-awareness will help you anticipate temptation instead of being blindsided by it.
2. Create your escape plan before temptation hits
You cannot build a plan for purity in the middle of a craving; you need to build it when your mind is clear. Think of your porn and masturbation habit like a hole in your roof: you notice it on rainy days, but you fix it when the sun is out.
Design a simple, written escape plan that you will follow whenever your triggers show up:
Physically: What will you do with your body? (Take a walk, change rooms, get around people, exercise, turn off or remove devices.)
Spiritually: How will you turn your heart toward God in that moment? (Pray honestly, quote Scripture, journal, worship, meditate on truth such as Philippians 4:8.)
Relationally: Who will you reach out to? (Text or call a trusted friend, spouse, mentor, or accountability partner.)
Escaping temptation does not happen automatically; you must decide in advance what you will do and then practice doing it consistently. When you combine trigger-awareness with a clear escape plan, you dramatically increase your chances of resisting porn and masturbation.
Now it's time to exponentially increase your probability of freedom by sharing your triggers and your plan with someone else. No long-term freedom from porn and masturbation is possible without the help of others.
3. Share your triggers and plan with a trusted friend
Long-term freedom from porn and masturbation is not a solo project; isolation keeps you stuck, and community helps you heal. God designed you to grow in the context of relationships, not secrecy and shame.
Look for at least one (ideally two or three) trusted friends who:
Care about you and want your best.
Will keep your story confidential.
Are willing to ask you honest questions and encourage you when you struggle.
Share your triggers and your escape plan with them and ask them to:
Pray for you regularly in your battle with sexual temptation.
Check in with you about your triggers and what’s working (or not) in your plan.
Challenge you to keep growing, especially after setbacks.
Help you refine and strengthen your plan over time.
Quitting porn and masturbation is not only about stopping unhealthy behaviors; it is also about building strong, honest friendships and living with integrity in community. You will stumble at times, and when you do, you will need people who help you get back up instead of stay stuck in shame.
4. Confess and repent when you stumble
Freedom is possible, but it is rarely neat or linear; there will be ups, downs, victories, and stumbles along the way. A fall does not mean you are hopeless—it means you are human and still in process.
Instead of letting failure define you, treat each stumble as a chance to learn. Ask: What triggered me? Where did I ignore warning signs? How can I adjust my plan next time?
Two key responses will keep your heart soft and your progress moving forward:
Confession: Agree with the truth about what happened instead of hiding or minimizing it. Confess to God, to yourself, and (when appropriate) to your spouse and trusted friends.
Repentance: Change your mind about the “benefit” of the sin and realign your thinking with what is true, good, and life-giving. This includes refocusing on God’s design for sexuality and your identity as His beloved child (see Philippians 4:8).
Confession and repentance are rarely comfortable, but they are crucial if you want to break free from porn and masturbation and grow into the person of integrity God created you to be.
Finally, it's important that all this work on quitting porn and masturbation doesn't overshadow what the real goal of such work should be: to build an intimate, growing relationship with God.
5. Keep the real goal in view: intimacy with God
Your struggle with porn and masturbation is not disconnected from your relationship with God. Yes, you read that sentence correctly, even if it is not something you have ever thought of before.
Sin is not a random force; it is a distortion of good God-given desires for connection, intimacy, and pleasure.
When you turn to porn and masturbation, you are often trying to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. Real freedom comes when you allow God to meet those needs in healthy, holy ways and learn His design for sex, love, and intimacy.
Use these questions to reframe your journey around intimacy with God:
What do my triggers reveal about my deeper needs for connection, comfort, or security?
What good desires lie underneath my sexual temptations, and how might God want to fulfill them?
How does honest, loving community draw me closer to God and His design for my life?
What do I discover about God’s character and love when I confess and repent?
When you pursue God first, “quitting” porn and masturbation becomes less about white-knuckled avoidance and more about running toward a better, richer life. As you walk with God and grow in intimacy with Him and others, you will find yourself moving further and further away from sexual sin.
Yes, it is possible to quit porn and masturbation.
By pursuing intimacy with God and others...
If you would like more help to quit porn and masturbation, consider the following online courses: