Extinction training/Exposure Response Prevention Therapy??

This has come up before, it was an I interesting debate to say the least.

I can see the logic behind this, with any habit behaviour you have a cue and then a reward. Take the reward away enough times and eventually your brain will learn that it doesn't get a reward from the cue. Scientifically it's sound. It's emerging as a research area in treating conventional addictions like alcoholism (currently they favour abstinence as most of us do). There is some evidence that it works with substance addictions. I think we all do a degree of cue-extinction as we replace our cue stimulus with other behaviours (which is said to be the most effective way of doing it). I read a story of someone who every day would get up from her desk at work at 3PM and get a cookie. The cue was 3PM - she would do it every day without fail. She replaced that behaviour with getting up at 3PM, getting a glass of water and talking to a colleague. Doing that every time she replaced the behaviour of getting a cookie with the new healthier behaviour.

Coming back to the case in point, who knows if this works. None of this process is scientific. It's a very high risk strategy and requires enormous willpower.

This is a good article: http://gettingstronger.org/2010/04/overcoming-addictions/

 

I don't think it's necessary to watch porn because with the amount of p-subs that are forced on us daily without our consent (billboards, hot women in the streets, ads on the internet etc.) we already have enough to turn down and not go for the reward (PMO'ing)