How to abstain for more than a week?

Rodion Raskolnikov · Aug 8, 2018

I have been like 3 years "trying" to quit PMO. I put "trying" in quotation marks because I know that I haven't done my best during that time. I mean, I have tried hard to leave it at some periods and once I almost achieved a 30 days streak. But I also had deep periods of PMO binge. Even though I haven't given up, I am not progressing or leaving PMO.

In short: the first years I tried to stop PMO rebooting was a lot easier: I could usually abstain from PMO for 10 days or even more. But instead of making longer streaks, my relapses became more and more regular. Since March of this year, I failed to abstain for more than a week (until yesterday, when I finally got a 7-day-streak). On June, I almost had the same number of days abstaining and relapses. In other words, an average of 1 day of streak. However, on July I entered college where I have socialized a little more and have had a lot of work to do, so I have rebooted more easily.

Nevertheless, I still feel like if I had tried to climb up from inside a hole and finished below the point I started to climb. I know it's a stupid metaphor but I couldn't figure out a smarter one.

I was wondering what I could do to keep my streak in the next days or weeks, because I fear that this relatively better streak may only be a prelude to more binge PMO. If I have a 8 day streak and I have got a lot of urges to watch porn and masturbate, what do you recommend me to survive? And also I have a huge question: Is it true that the longer you reboot, the easier it gets to avoid PMO? How so?

Qazi · Aug 9, 2018

A week or so was (is) often a tripping point of mine as well. A piece of advice I've found helpful is to try and avoid focusing on the number of days, so that you don't get into the habit of thinking any number of days is "good enough" to stop for now or "bad enough" to just give in. You can track the days but treat every day as its own, for itself.

Also, build new habits or routines. You probably know what you do/feel when the urge to give in starts to get bad. Do what you can to put yourself in a better situation when that happens - block your phone, go for a walk, whatever works for you.

Good luck!

JJackson · Aug 9, 2018

https://www.nofap.com/forum/index.php?threads/seven-days-now-what.183685/#post-1566190

Deleted Account · Aug 9, 2018

You're probably using P for self-soothing. But of course it has the opposite effect afterwards.

What healthier ways of self-soothing could you do instead? You could look for inspiration in a bookshop if you like.

slink123456 · Aug 9, 2018

The only way to abstain for longer than a week is commitment, determination to stop as well as getting away from your computer screen.

Distract yourself whatever it takes to do so. Go for a run, or try learning something new. Time out in public where you ‘can’t’ relapse over your urges. As well as any time being alone recognising what your triggers are, and then looking away, or closing your laptop down before it’s too late.

Lots of things you can do to abstain. Switch your phone off at night and charge it in another room. Any time you would normally pmo, is when you should be extra vigilant.

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How to abstain for more than a week?

Rodion Raskolnikov Fapstronaut

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