Is watching sexy pics considered as relapsing?

Its just your primitive brain constantly wanting you to be stimulated. You're sort of making compromises with yourself. What is optimal is full removal from all stimuli. Next time you get urges, channel it another way than sitting in front of a computer wasting time. Put an ice pack on your balls, do 10 pushups, take a walk. Anything. Don't be dipping your toes in shark invested waters

Mateo

 

Watching alone can slow your progress. First, it's a temptation that can drive you back to masturbation. That is stressful in that it feels familiar. Next, it depends on what you are doing while you are watching. Chances are that you are aroused. Watching for any length of time while aroused is still affirming the connection between physical sex and images you are seeing. If you are feeding that associating, then you are keeping that connection alive. Finally, if you are doing this anywhere near the time you are having intercourse with a partner, you are letting those associations distract you from your feeling with your partner.

Think of it this way, (while I don't think porn is cheating), to your brain, you just broke up from a very sexy GF. Staring at pictures of her, sitting around thinking about her, spending time with people that look like her, won't help you move on with your life (or focus on your (wife, current GF, partner, whatever))

(So, no the feeling of guilt is not what slows your progress, it's the actual watching).

Once you complete a reboot, then you should better understand yourself as to what is good or bad effect on your life. Maybe watching Troy wouldn't be so strong of an influence, because you feel fulfilled by your partner. Maybe after you reboot, you find that any imagery like that is just distracting, so you choose not to.

 

It is important to remember that 'sex is good'. 'Sex is healthy', 'sex is fun'. Many of us started using porn because we have higher libido's. There is nothing wrong with that, or in having your needs met. Its just that often, porn drives us into a false cycle of libido, where we end up seeking pleasure more than is natural for our bodies, and drive ourselves to depletion or exhaustion. It's then we need to stop for a bit and recover.

To that point, you can continue having intercourse with your partner, as long as you realize you are doing so while healing, and might need to lower your expectations while you are with them, and just engage in feeling good without trying to push for 'explosive orgasm'. Masturbation you might need to pause for a bit. (This is because your masturbation style to porn might have become rough, and you need time to let your manhood heal). After you've done a reboot exercise, you might find that you can safely masturbate in order to address your needs. You might find that the imagery you used to look at has lost it power over you. Or if you do feel stimulated, you feel confident you can find fulfillment in the arms of your partner. (Unfortunately, once you identify porn/masterbation/orgasm as a issue in your life, it's likely you can never safely return to using porn and masturbation together without feeling impacts to your partner sex or falling back into unhealthy patterns of life).

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that watching and being aroused is one step from where you were with full PMO. Being so close to that state, your progress will be slower and possibly cravings more challenging.

 

I don't consider looking at non-pornagraphic pics a relapse. But I have found that it doesn't work for me. I stay away from any behavior that is a trigger. That includes non-porn pictures. For me it's like the alcoholic who used to drink whiskey, but wants to try wine. It won't work. Eventually it leads me to a relapse.
That's been my experience. Good luck!

 

If you're trying to go cold turkey, and not mess around with the grey area feeling of just looking at "hot" images instead of "sexual" images (I tried to toe this line for months but kept relapsing - the death spiral of what was okay always led back to porn). Then, I would say get a filter like "Pluckeye" or some COMPLETE image blocker. You have to allow images on your computer. It has kept me from just googling to get around a porn blocker. You can set it to where you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can look at images on ANY site except your specifically allowed ones. With your example, images are not allowed on google for me. I may reeval at 90 days.

I'll be rooting for you!
Prov

 

That image blocker sounds like something I need. Thanks for sharing!

 

Yeah I would say that it is

 

Yes. Because you will relapse as a result of it.