Do we ever really get cured?

I’ve heard different takes on this topic. I’ve had a therapist once tell me that we never really get ‘cured’ of porn addiction, and that we remain addicts forever. He used to be a heavy drug addict (meth, heroin, you name it), sober for 15 or more years, and he tells me he still has to fight that battle everyday. The same sentiment was shared when I used to attend meetings at SAA. They would say porn is always just within reach and we can succumb to it if we aren’t careful, which is why it’s important to keep attending meetings.

For whatever reason, the thought of being an addict forever left me feeling hopeless, Like I was cursed with this addiction with no way back to being my normal self. I would have to keep fighting forever and that sounds exhausting. I’ve already been fighting. I had a period shortly after of intense depression and I ended up spiraling even deeper into my addiction. Like, why did my creator make me this way? For context, I’ve been using porn all my life and I’m pretty deep in my addiction, PMO about once to multiple times a day.

I’ve heard another therapist, and others I know who are fighting the same battle, tell me that you can go back to being normal, and that abstaining for a seriously long period of time can rewire your brain to where you can live a normal, regular life without being plagued with this addiction disease. Some even tell me that they have gone from being addicts to only doing it every other month or so without feeling guilty about it or experiencing bad cravings (which maybe reminds me of how a regular person would live their life). I haven’t been sober for more than a month so I wouldn’t know what I am really capable of, and I want to remain hopeful that I can in fact be ‘cured’ and not have to go through this anymore. It is exhausting, and you all know it. Adopting this mindset has been much better for my mental health, but I don’t know if I’m just being too naive.

For those of you who have been on the journey, what are your experiences like? Curious to hear about what you all think.