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Methods of Coping With Urges I Have Tried

Discussion in 'Porn Addiction' started by SavageSauce, Sep 24, 2018.

  1. SavageSauce

    SavageSauce Fapstronaut

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    Hello everyone. I feel like I'm getting to a point where none of my strategies for resisting urges are ultimately working. Here is a list of some things I have tried:
    1. Cold showers: they work for a little bit, and then the urges keep coming back. What am I supposed to do, keep taking cold showers all day? I wake up in the morning with strong urges to PMO, and I find it exceedingly difficult to force myself out of bed to take a cold shower. Is this something that just needs time to become a habit? Should I take them during vulnerable times?
    2. Wim Hof breathing method: This seems to give a sort of "alternative high" to PMO that raises my mood, but I guess sometimes I don't feel like doing it, because PMO is just easier.
    3. Reviewing the pros and cons: I have a list of pros and cons for PMO. All of the pros are few and short-term, and the cons are numerous and long-term, and yet I think "fuck it", and I PMO anyway.
    4. Exercise: I've gone running for 20 minutes once, and as soon as I got back home I relapsed.
    5. Seeking social support: I go online and browse the forums, and go to recovery-related chat rooms. This seems to help a little bit, but it isn't always convenient to do this. If I wake up in the middle of the night with urges, I find it very difficult to get the motivation to open up my laptop and go to a recovery site. Again, it's much easier to PMO.
    6. Listening to music: It's often difficult to pick a song or album I want to listen to that lifts my mood. Music doesn't have the same "pull" that PMO does.
    7. Reading a recovery book: It's hard for a book to keep my attention for a long time.
    8. Meditation: my mind tends to get caught on the urge to PMO, and on porn fantasies, and I have a hard time being mindful. This eventually leads to a relapse.
    It seems like relying on a single strategy to cope with urges often isn't enough. Maybe it's better to just to focus on holistic lifestyle improvement? I'm very confused right now and trying to find my way of this addiction. I'd like to know what others are doing for coping with urges that works for them consistently.
     

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