You can reduce your usage progressively over time
Many people will tell you that you need to abstain completely from pornography. Nofap, easypeasymethod, etc all advocate for abstaining.
It is the best method. It should be the ultimate goal. Unfortunately, I have not been able to do it so far till now. But still, I have made a lot of progress.
I will tell what worked for me. I was able to go from watching video porn daily to only 3-4 times a month.
Anyway, I still think gradually reducing porn usage is possible. Whether it will lead to recovery or not is another issue. It doesn't mean it is easier than abstaining. It is also not advisable for everyone. You should try abstaining, if it didn't work perhaps try this.
I was able to go from watching video porn daily to only 3-4 times a month.
Medium matters
I highly think that you need to change the medium of porn you use. For example, watching porn videos even once a week can lead to escalation of addiction, seeking more novelty, more extreme things.
So, I propose you to use some other pornographic things. Examples include hentai, porn games(3D and 2D), porn comics(pornhwas), erotic novels, etc. In these erotic novels, erotica is the best since you use your imagination at least somewhat. And 3D rendered images may lead to other issues like not being interested in real life people.
Why do I suggest one bad thing over another?
There are mainly two reasons:
i) It does not involve real people directly. So, if you feel bad you can probably say the people were not real, etc. I genuinely feel less guilt or almost no guilt. Mostly the guilt is about wasting time, depending on masturbation, etc to handle my emotions.
ii) The commercialization of these is not as good as mainstream porn. So it is not very easy to get addicted to them like video porn. I think this maybe just an unexplored area by businesses. Seeing how anime industry is successful, it is possible for this industry too. Like virtual Waifu experience from popular IPs, etc. Like that A Day with your favorite Pornstar in VR thing. So, currently it is not yet made by big companies, etc. Hentai is becoming more mainstream.
Morality
This didn't work out at first I think. A few years back, I saw something like porn industry is not good, etc. I wasn't really curious that much. It didn't link anything either. Well, I don't think I would have accepted easier than either. Anyway the recent one I actually saw people in the industry speaking about it. So it actually worked. I learnt about how the industry works, etc. So I used this morality to hold me down pretty much. I didn't feel as bad as using video porn. I don't think it will work long. But still it does the job.
Reading antiporn content, feminism, etc motivated me a lot. Knowing that I am part of a minority by being against porn on the internet was not good for me. I have always been on the correct side. Funny how that works. Now I understood why we should always treat people with respect even if they are the other side of an issue. But of course just the basic human respect not anything more.
But when I do relapse I feel even more bad. But I progress is happening.
Porn addiction is not holding you back from success
Many people are successful even with using porn or being addicted to it. So please spare this excuse and make a self-fulfilling loop where you need to be not addicted in order to be successful and successful in order to be not addicted.
It is not only the medium but also the content that matters.
You also require a lot of self awareness. When you are reading, watching something, there are subtle show of power happening. You won't realize it easily. The truth is that only when someone tells you it is easier to realize. I never realized most of these things on my own.
*The actress giving head and not receiving. *The face of the actress shown prominently. *The face of the actor blurred. *The way lesbians are turned straight.(Popular genre) *The gay porn is banned or not shown in regular sites but lesbian is shown. *The way sometimes you get new fetishes, etc.
Realizing it gets easier to not be into video porn. Not always true. But it could happen. It did happen to me. After a while, almost every video looked the same. It was different actors. But mostly same set. Same positions, same makeup, same scripts. It gets boring too. It happens normally too.
Abstinence is better long term
These power plays even happen in other forms of porn. So this is the reason why abstaining is better in the long term. You may not even know how your biases change, you get new fetishes, etc.
Most popular genre of erotic story in lit erotica are incest. Most popular sex comics have rape. So, medium is not the only important factor.
After all this writing, I feel like I am just talking in circles without confronting the big monster.
Change the type of media you consume too
Separate masturbation and porn
This is very significant. Once you overcome this, your need for porn disappears very easily. But it is extremely hard. I am still trying too.
I think after this it will make it easier to quit porn. I recommend a 90 reboot thing.
Positive habits
Do meditation, exercise, cold showers(not as great as the other two)
You need to change as a person. Your mindset, your values, environment, etc. Not everything needs to change. But you should evaluate what can make you stay addicted to porn and at least remove or change them.
Conclusion
Ultimately when you work on yourself, reduce/replace the need for porn. Realize there is no ethical or moral porn. You may realize that you have so few things to see or read in porn. Less focus on not PMO ing. Be more kind to yourself.
More resources I have found to be very helpful:
Read yourbrainonporn Top 3 fatal mistakes
Do spreadsheets rather than counters
My links:
Your environment can help you Blockers