Yeah it's what the title says. I got hooked on AI images basically since the start of D - Alle and Chat GPT and used them to recreate some of the specific wam fantasies I have. However over the past year I've changed my mind on AI and now I think it's very harmful and dangerous not only for people and artists (or WAM producers) but for the environment as well.

However, despite how much I hate ai I can't seem to stop using it to generate wam images. I waste so much time generating them but it's never enough I find myself needing to generate more and more to satisfy my urges. I've tried quitting cold turkey several times but I keep coming back after experiencing what feel like withdrawal symptoms.

How can I stop? I want so badly to stop. I'm afraid to seek help due to the stigma against WAM

DM'd you some resources. I also can't stress enough how helpful getting a good therapist can be, especially when you're already aware of the problem.

Putting aside everything else, the WAM aspects and the environmental aspects and the "it sucks for producers" aspect and "it is/isn't real art" and all of that:

The tools *are built to be addictive,* like similar and recent lawsuits in the US against Facebook and YouTube have recently demonstrated.

It's not a moral failing to get hooked, and there is nothing to be ashamed of if you're struggling and want help.

Hear freaking hear. As someone going on four years sober from alcohol, addiction is a symptom of something underlying. You might have chosen the first couple times you used something, but eventually it stops being a choice. Your brain gets literally rewired. The strongest choice you can ever make is to ask for help. Proud of you for doing so.

Hey man big ups and proud of you taking ownership and making that pivot.

I'm no therapist but might be good to explore what triggers you to seek it out. Porn and AI companies poured ungodly amounts of money to be as addictive as possible so cold turkey is a climb. If you get physical compulsion going for a walk is good. Unless you're in Antartica or downtown Philly lol

A good therapist is step one. It might take a few to find one you click with. Some are good, some not so good. It's abot being comfortable with them.

If it's only the addiction you're going through, ease into that, you don't need to give out the whole truth, kink life style etc on the first meeting, It does help, but you also need to be sure you can trust them.

Above all though you need to be honest. It's tough, as some times we tell ourselves we're the victim when it's not really the case. Seeing a therapist only works if we're as truthful as we can be This is also (hopefully) a non judgmental place. Everyone here is cheering you on hoping you can get the help you need. You have this brother/sister.

Well, I hate to admit it, even as an old school purest, but he is right.
You can visually see now what you are picturing in your mind, Lord help us, lol.

I just want to say thank you to everyone here for their support it really means the most and it's given me a lot more confidence to seek the help I need to break this addiction

Having a regular exercise program helps (to help get dopamine and endorphins from something NOT AI WAM)
but also avoiding triggers which likely would be here as well.
But therapy is good the step programs are good too, as is having a spiritual or religious higher power to fall back on.

A lot of people replace an addiction with another addiction. Have you tried watching any new sports?

Don't be afraid of stigmatism as finding a wonderful therapist is everything. You already did the first step. As someone who has had a therapist for a few years, it truly helps you adapt and do new things that you never thought you would. If you ever need anyone to talk to, please feel free to drop me a line. I wish you the best in your journey.

I am a therapist so with some bias , yes get a therapist. BUT make sure they are trained in sex matters. I suggest www.cosrt.org, it's who I trained with.

It's probably no help, but this isn't an addiction by medical/physiological standards, but a dopamine fix coupled with an OCSB (out of control sexual behaviour). Bad new; feels the same, good news; easier to kick as its 'only' dopamine your fighting against and not an additional drug like nicotine or alcohol.

There are many ways to kick this kind of thing and a therapist will work with you to find the way that works best for you.

Give me a message if you want any info or just a chat

"The classification of and diagnosis criteria for sex addiction are hotly debated. There are currently no DSM-5 criteria for "sex addiction" specifically. However, sexual addiction has been referred to as compulsive sexual disorder or hypersexuality. To meet this criteria, an individual would have to experience compulsive sexual fantasies, intense urges, and behaviors that interfere with daily life in the past six months. It may also be diagnosed in the DSM-5 as Unspecified Sexual Dysfunction (F52.9)."

https://bircheshealth.com/resources/sex-addiction-diagnosis

So it's way more than "only" dopamine your kicking. App creators have been using psychologists to make app games and social media etc addictive by visual, sounds, and "interaction" based layouts,
Video games and app based interactions target the same part of your brain as stimulants (coffe, tobacco, coke, meth) do, so there can be a crash which you psychically and mentally feel.

I've never used AI but even if they are not using psychologists to create lay out that is materially addictive, the highs and then lows of body chemicals are a real thing. If you have experienced difficulty sleeping, eating, and many other symptoms from withholding your body may not be physically addictived to an outside chemical but Def can be addicted to porn.

Don't let this "therapist" down play your concerns about it not being an addiction. There are online step programs if you need resources other than therapy, and if watching / making it has affected your life in a severe negative way OR trying to quit has also greatly affected you asking for help from a actual therapist or porn / sex anonymous link below is likely a good thing to research. I've never used this link I just googled it, but they may be able to answer your questions better

https://p-a.online/

I have been on the verge of this at times. The main things that prevented me from getting sucked in any deeper were: 1. having a very loving and wonderful partner who I end up spending almost all my free time with and so am not only very much into her but not on a screen in the first place, 2. focusing on athletics goals which provided a lot of earned endorphins and again got me away from screens, 3. using software to block or add time limits to sites and 4. gradually realising how generic, repetitive, compromised and limited what the AIs could generate was which removed the draw of hoping it could generate my exact fantasies.

I would say being an Ai image creator myself is that its more about the artistic need to create rather than the consuming of it, I would recommend gradually generating different themes of images that gradually reduce the Wam theme, I would also suggest when feeling the need to create challenge yourself to not to, it can actually be satisfying to catch yourself in a pattern and resist.

I feel many of us are in a similar boat. It's not the use, but rather the abuse.

My phone is filled with WaM pictures; I worry about someone somehow seeing or wanting to see my pictures. If I were to get in a relationship, I'd imagine I would need to clear it out.

Anyway, I didn't mean to hijack your thread; I only wanted to express there are plenty of people in a similar position (especially on here.)