So I'm feeling really strong right now. Other streaks I would get so far and I would get horny and just feel in the back of my mind that I was going to masturbate soon. I don't feel that at all. My short term goal is reach 14 days which will be my record... and then continue to 90 days and beyond. But, all I can think about are girls and I have on a number of occasions searched for pictures of fully clothed yet attractive females which does get me going. Thankfully, I have been doing really good with my "hands off" rule. I get minimal interaction with women in real life because I have really bad social anxiety and no job currently. Only time I get any interaction is when I go to a store. I don't know how I can go without seeing any girls when it's all I currently think about. I know I have to be more productive with my other interests outside of not fapping but I haven't had too much success yet. Some people might reset for looking at triggers on purpose...and I have before on other streaks but I'm not going to. I feel it's in my best interest to keep this one going and consider it another step to get over because I know if I reset I will relapse. Any suggestions are appreciated.
In my opinion, that's not a relapse. But you need to consciously make an effort not to search for these things. My problem is that when going on social media etc, you realise how sexualised it all is. The amount of sexual pictures of celebrities gives me fresh urges and doesn't help my cause. It's all about recognising what helps and what contributes to the problem; i.e. I've limited my time on social media.
Hey Nemedy. Congratulations on 10 days, man! That's really good. I've had exactly the same problem. I was advised by a fellow journaler in the over-40s group to really set my boundaries for what I will allow myself to look at a very long way from porn. It's been a great help and I think it's true - it's a slippery slope. His was of looking at it was that he wouldn't look at any page that he wouldn't be happy to look at with his wife looking over his shoulder - substitute mother/priest/sister/other trusted/loved figure for wife if that doesn't apply to you, I guess. It's helped me. I've found that installing ad blocker - just as an add-on to Firefox - has helped cut out a lot of problematic and potentially triggering images that were coming from commercial sources. I'd agree with ChefBoyxo too, I've massively cut down my social media time - using LeechBlocker (sorry to be plugging all these add-ons! No commercial thing going on, but they've helped me, I'm sure there are other ones available that are just as good!), and that has helped too. In the end though it will come down to self-discipline. Personally, I think you're right not to reset. I wouldn't, but I did set up a separate counter for images "that I shouldn't be looking at", which is basically the sort of stuff you're talking about. To be honest, if I relapse on that it's pretty likely that I'll have a full relapse not long afterwards. The best thing for me has been to set my boundaries FAR FAR FAR away from porn. And, as this guy explained, to TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY! Good luck, man. Sorry about your social anxiety - it's a battle I've had on and off over the years and I'm hoping this will help. Meditation has been good for me too - meditation and exercise, you could rename this site that I think! I'm sure you'll get a job soon. Take care and good luck.
Thanks for the replies, chefboyxo and DonB. Good advice. Yeah, I haven't made much of an effort to stay clear of these images. I will work on that. Also, the over the shoulder thing is a good idea to try. I do have adblocker installed so that kind of stuff isn't much of an issue. Meditation and exercise: I need to get better at this. I have used meditation, although my own form, incorporating music, to combat depression in the past. I do want to start again but haven't been able to get myself to do it. I also have an on again off again relationship with exercise, more specifically lifting at the gym. I did just go to the gym a few days ago after a couple month hiatus so I need to keep going on that. Thanks again for the encouragement and giving me a few things to try.
