No warning signs! Learning how to identify your triggers...

I think it's normal and I did not observe any warning signs. The unexpected urges - they hit me a few days ago the same way, coming out of nowhere. The good thing is: they also dissapear if we stay strong. Can we learn anything out of it? I think so. We always have to be alert. The monster of urge may try to take over us in the next minute.

 

Urges can hit strongly when addicts return to places where they used to use. Perhaps returning home from being away was the trigger? Perhaps being alone again was the trigger? There is almost always a cause or a root to urges and you can learn to trace the urge back to the root with a little practice.

 

I used to do that too. So i deleted my inatagram account

 

I have just started but for now I see my biggest trigger is my lack of confidence, and the fear of uncertainty. I feel that my life isn't going to get any better so lets PMO, but I stop myself knowing that a few moments of pleasure can change my mind, and I know all too well how this habit has warped my sense of self...I am determined to change this for the better...I am tired of looking at my life and being miserable!

Uncertainty and the unknown of a difficult path will always be better than the certainty that if I don't shake this addiction it will be a slow burn to my eventual demise. The unknown can be reshaped, I need to be tough and work hard, the more effort I put in the more I'll get out of it. Knowing where this addiction leads and understanding how unproductive it is, how self-destructive it is keeps me going. I would rather suffer than simply jerking my life away...that much is true to me.

 

yeah, i understand. part of my problem is exercising. i swim 30 laps and get on the eleptical for 30 min. when i return home, the urge is very strong. i got healthy reading materials, if i choose to use them. the urge is so strong. is there anyway to block nofap on an android phone (free that is).

 

Those out-of-nowhere urges are often what get me too. But there are a few things that can help (they've helped me, at least). A lot of this stuff is pretty obvious and available in just about every NoFap guide out there, but it's still worth remembering.

For me, it's all about mindfulness. Being as self-aware as you can be, taking conscious stock of your own feelings (emotional, intellectual, and physical). There are a few ways to do this. Keeping a journal helps. Just a few quick notes at the end of the day about how you felt, what you did throughout the day, any urges you felt, etc. Along with a journal, I keep a daily ranking, one through ten, of my overall energy level, mood, and strength of urges. And when I relapse (or even just feel a strong urge to relapse), I stop what I'm doing and really examine the impulse. What was I doing when I noticed the urge? What kind of day was I having until that point? Am I dealing with any emotional stress? Am I hungry, lonely, tired, angry, etc.? This is where the journal is pretty helpful. I might feel like the urge came out of nowhere, but then when I go back and read my journal, I can see a few days of worsening mood or a source of stress that's been bugging me. After doing this long enough, I've realized that a lot of urges that I thought came out of nowhere actually had pretty clear signs. And the more self-aware I've become over the six months I've been trying to quit porn, the better I've gotten at identifying the beginning of the urges before they become unbearable and doing something about it.

The other thing I would recommend is meditation. Personally, I'm not religious or spiritual. For me, meditation is nothing more than a chance to sit down, try to relax somewhat, and really take stock of my mental and emotional state. The more I've practiced this, the more easily I've been able to identify the tiny seeds of urges in my mind and work through them without relapsing. It's really been a huge help. Just don't make the same mistake I did when I first started NoFap. I read about meditation in all the guides, and so I'd meditate on day 1-5 or so, and I'd feel pretty great (because the urges hadn't built up yet). But I noticed that when I meditated, I had all sorts of porn flashbacks and images and what not in my head, and I figured meditation was doing me more harm than good. But what I didn't realize then was that these images were always in the back of my mind, bouncing around my head. I just didn't notice them during the day because I wasn't taking stock of my own mental state (I wasn't journaling back then). But once I really committed to meditating every day (I do 20 minutes, twice a day), I really started getting a handle on my own thoughts and urges. And that's really what it boils down to. The more you know about your own mind and thoughts, the less able these urges are to sneak up on you. I practically don't get "random" urges anymore. I still get urges. But I usually see them coming, and I know where they're coming from. And that makes them so much easier to deal with.

Best of luck!