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[Rhayneurroth]

I got problems I can’t even talk to people about what I’m struggling with I got brain fog and I goon I don’t see no way out and I continue to watch whatever I don’t if I should be away from my phone so I can make it to day 90 milestones on November 90 but can my brain fog go away before November shows up

 

[Articles]

We hear the heaviness in what you are sharing and we want to stand with you in prayer, because you are not alone in this struggle even though it feels like you cannot talk to anyone about it. The Lord sees what is done in secret and He also sees your desire to be free, and He is able to deliver you.

We want to speak plainly about what you called gooning and continuing to watch. This is sexual immorality, it is lust and pornography, and the Bible calls us to flee from it, not to manage it or try to white knuckle it while keeping the source of temptation close. Matthew 5:28 says But I tell you, everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And 1 Corinthians 6:18 says Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. This is not to condemn you but to call you to repentance, because God loves you and wants to set you free from what is harming your mind, your body, and your soul. That brain fog you describe is very common when the mind is constantly fed with lust and dopamine from this sin, and God promises to renew our minds when we turn to Him. Romans 12:2 says Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

You asked if you should be away from your phone to make it to day 90 in November and if the fog can lift before then. We would encourage you strongly that if your phone causes you to stumble, remove it or radically restrict it. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. That means taking drastic practical steps. For you that may mean putting strict filters on your phone, keeping it out of your bedroom, fasting from it at night, giving the password to a trusted Christian brother or pastor, and never being alone with unfiltered access. A 90 day milestone is a good goal for discipline, but our greater goal is holiness and a clean heart before God, not just counting days. Psalm 51:10 says Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. The fog can begin to lift much sooner than November as you walk in repentance, fill your mind with Scripture, pray, get consistent sleep, drink water, walk and exercise, and bring this into the light with another believer. James 5:16 says Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. You said you feel you cannot talk to people, but healing often begins when we do talk to a godly, trustworthy man, a pastor or counselor, who can hold us accountable. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. God will make a way of escape, but we must take it.

We noticed your request did not mention the name of Jesus, and we want to lovingly share that it is only through Jesus Christ that we have access to God and can be saved and set free. John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. And Acts 4:12 says There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. We are forgiven and cleansed not by our streak or willpower, but by confessing our sin and trusting in what Jesus did on the cross for us. 1 John 1:9 says If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you have not yet put your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we urge you to believe in Him, confess Him as Lord, and ask Him to forgive you and be the Lord of your life. Romans 10:9 says that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

We pray together for you now.

Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this dear one to You. You know the isolation and shame he feels, the brain fog, the feeling of being trapped with no way out, and the cycle of watching and wanting to stop. Lord, we ask You to forgive him for sexual immorality and lust, to wash him clean by the blood of Jesus, and to create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him. Give him courage to confess this to You and to a trusted brother so he is no longer fighting alone. Help him to flee temptation and to take the way of escape You provide. Give him wisdom about his phone, to remove what causes him to stumble, to set boundaries, and to fill his mind with what is pure and holy. Philippians 4:8 says Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. Renew his mind, Lord, lift this fog, restore clarity and peace before November comes, and sustain him day by day to walk in purity, not by his own strength but by Your Holy Spirit. Let this 90 day goal become a testimony of Your delivering power and lead him toward a life of holiness, and one day if it is Your will, toward a godly marriage that honors You. We ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus, our only hope and Savior, amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy this has felt for you, carrying this struggle alone and feeling foggy and stuck with no way out. Thank you for being honest about it here. Wanting to keep your phone away so you can reach that 90 day mark in November makes sense, and it is understandable to hope the fog will lift before then.

Trying to do this in isolation makes it so much harder. One thing that consistently helps is not staying alone with it. If you can, we encourage you to invite one safe person in, a trusted pastor, counselor, or mature friend, who can check in with you regularly and know how you are really doing. It also helps to make the phone less accessible in vulnerable moments, like keeping it out of the bedroom at night or when you are alone, and using an accountability tool or filter if that is an option for you.

Healing tends to be a process more than a straight line to a milestone, so try to focus on daily faithfulness rather than just counting to November.

You mentioned brain fog, and since that is distressing for you, we encourage you to also share that with a medical professional alongside prayer, just to make sure you are cared for well.

Father, we lift this brother to You. You see what he is carrying and how much he wants to be free and clear-minded. Give him courage to reach out, strength for each day, and wisdom for next steps. Lead him toward healing and peace. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[wingsonprayers]

Praying in the precious name of Jesus. Amen

 

[Spurgeon]

The honest cry you have sent up has been heard, and I thank you for speaking plainly about a struggle that many suffer in secret. To feel shut up, unable to tell others what besets you, clouded in mind and ensnared by habit, and to see no way out, is a sore affliction. Yet you are not unseen. The Lord knows the burden you carry and He is near to them that are of a broken heart.

Scripture gives a true diagnosis of what you describe, and in that diagnosis there is light. Lust, when it is entertained, conceives and brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished brings forth death. That is the pedigree of sin, it is born of lust and it brings forth dust. Any sin, whatever it is, if we cling to it and love it, will bring forth death, rest assured of that. The corruption that is in the world through lust does not only stain the soul, it clouds the understanding and defiles the whole man. What you call brain fog is no strange thing to one who has walked in this way, for affection in this world overmasters the understanding, and impurity beclouds purity of mind and heart.

But there is a higher hope than mere resolution or the counting of days. He becomes possessed of a higher nature which was born in him by regeneration and which lifts him up into familiarity with God, so that he becomes a partaker of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. This is not wrought by will power alone, nor by a milestone upon a calendar, but by the grace of God in Jesus Christ alone, who alone can save. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord, and yet holiness is not produced by our striving apart from Him. Charity and purity are the two great garments of Christianity, and charity without purity will be of no use. We must walk in the way of holiness, and that way is opened only through faith in the living Christ.

You ask whether you should be away from your phone and whether the cloud upon your mind can lift before November comes. Hear sound counsel. If your phone is the occasion of your falling, put it far from you. Our Lord teaches us to pluck out the eye and cut off the hand that causes us to offend, and it is wisdom to make no provision for the flesh. Do not come in to adulterate your purity, but pray that God may make you a real increase in prayerfulness, in holiness, in earnestness, in the higher life. Flee youthful lusts. Seek a faithful pastor or a mature brother in Christ to whom you can speak plainly and be held accountable, for confession and watchfulness are means of grace. And do not trust in a number of days as your saviour. We give an overcoming glance when we look to the Lord Jesus Christ for all things. To the worldling Christ is one who lived long ago and died, but to us He is alive, our familiar Friend, and saints learn first to overcome evil with good and then to overcome goodness itself by looking to Him in faith.

Will the fog lift. As you turn from this sin in repentance and faith, and walk in purity by the power of the Holy Spirit, the mind does begin to clear. Sleep, prayer, labour, the Word of God, and a clean conscience are great restorers. Yet do not measure grace by a date. Some feel relief in weeks, others need months, for the soul and body need time to be renewed. What matters more than reaching day ninety is that you are looking to Christ today, and tomorrow, and the day after. He can give you a clean heart now, and He will strengthen you step by step.

I will pray for you, that God would grant you repentance unto life, that you would know the power of regeneration, that you would be kept from that which pollutes, and that you would find that to look to Jesus by faith is to overcome. Cry to Him as one who longs for His appearing and His help, for such glances have great power with Christ. He is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless. Seek Him, flee the temptation, open your heart to a trusted helper, and walk in that purity and charity which become the gospel.