At this stage in the game I try to surpress any paranoia I have, but every now and then I need a little reassurance as nothing is more important to me than my own mental health. But today I got hit with very strong urges out of nowhere. I fought them off inevitably but I did have some porn fantasies that my mind entertained for a while. I didn’t PMO but do these fantasies have any affect on the reboot? I know it’s nowhere near as bad as actually PMO’ing, but will this have any effect at all?
Fantasizing about porn isn't considered a relapse but it can release some dopamine (low level) into your brain which has potential to cause a relapse. Porn is very additive and I have experienced times when a sudden urge comes up, and i start fantasizing which I ended up relapsing. It's nice how you were able to fight off the urge and that is really good for your reboot process because it trains your brain to act strong when urges come up. Good luck!
I agree, I'd say it's only natural for a thought or fantasy to pop into your head, and you can't do much about it. What's important though is that you don't entertain those thoughts. If you ever realize you are beginning to fantasize or follow a train of thought that might lead to relapsing, don't beat yourself up about it, but definitely make a conscious choice to either think about or do something else.
Don't dwell on fantasies. They happen at times, but do your best to kick that those thoughts out of your head, and with practice it becomes far easier to just note and discard those thoughts. Lying in bed is the hardest for me, and for some others too. If I have to I'll get out of bed in the middle of night, disrobe, and take an extended cold shower.
If you dwell on fantasies, is it automatically a relapse or is it something more on the lines that leads to a relapse?
I’d say fantasies=urges=eventual relapse, but fantasies aren’t relapses in themselves, but that’s just my take on it.
From "brain on porn", it doesn't help it's like having a little porn studio in your head. It's normal to have thoughs but when you start fantasizing it will lead to relapse. You with start fantasizing more and more and you want be able to take it anymore and then you will take maybe a little peak here, a little peak there and before you know it your 3 hours in hard core porn and PMO'ed
Yup. That's pretty much it. You gotta get in the habit of killing that stuff in your head. As you'll hear others attest to; meditation is a colossal help in this, and allows you to realize when you're about to be triggered and then to avoid it or shut it down.
If one fantasizes once and touches their dick, is that a relapse or is that just more of playing with fire?
I’d say this is more playing with Fire. If it was only for a little then okay limit the stuff now. No more of that. I’ve been there no matter what it isn’t beneficial. It will always lead to relapse. These slip ups should only happen every once in a great while or not at all definitely shouldn’t become habit. Be careful this 99% lead to well I’ve come this far to fuck it keep going and before you know your addict brain takes the wheel and after you come to reality and you’re filled with regret. No matter where you are as long as you keep fighting you’re making progress from the day you started.
I think you should distinguish sexual thoughts and entertaining those sexual thoughts. Of course, none of them count as a relapse but the latter is capable of doing so. I am personally against the idea that any thoughts is detrimental because there is no way you can turn your brain off from producing sexual thoughts. After all, we are not properly trained monks living in the outside world. If you are a healthy young male, it is impossible to avoid sexual thoughts. However, entertaining any sexual thoughts and let them dwell inside your brain will eventually bloom into an urge and then escalate into a relapse. So, if you can simply delete the thought when it pops up like an ad, I think you are good.
Yes bro pron fantasies do affect on your reboot and body recovery in a REAL BAD way! Picturing porn stuff will arouse your penis and blood circulation(if you fantasize for a long time, your testicle(s) will suffer from pain and swelling) , and the prostate will be suffered and liquid of prostate will leak out(chronic prostatitis). The semen will be boiled any await you to release it(less good quality semen). Of course you can suppress the libido by your willpower by taking a cold-water-shower or a 100mile of jogging and you survived tonight but lets face it, the porn thoughts will hit your mind with a higher frequency the next day. I know this because this happened to me and eventually thoughts lead to porn watching lead to masturbation orgasm. I hate this evil circle! I’d say, porn fantasizing is not less harmful than masturbation.