I am asking this out of curiosity: I do not have any fetishes that are problems. However, this can be an important topic for people with obessive, harmful or shame-inducing fetishes. Do not assume anyone here or on other websites is an expert, or that anything is medical advice!

I’ve seen a few conflicting answers on different websites when I searched this up. Many people baselessly claim that fetishes are just permanent and should be accepted and managed. Many others anecdotally claim that some fetishes, especially ones acquired later through exploration, dull or disappear within a year once they are no longer re-enforced. I’ve also seen someone claim understanding the appeal of their fetish and substituting it with a preferred analogue helped them.

(It’s worth noting many of these anecdotes are on porn-abstinence forums famous for pseudo-scientific approaches to the matter, but they’re probably authentic experiences even if the reasoning is conjecture)

I also wonder if a revolting or traumatic experience would destroy a fetish, like how many people have a story about a food or drink (esp. alcohol) they can no longer tolerate after having a bad experience or falling ill afterwards. Not that I would want anyone to attempt the Ludovico Technique…