Background Over the course of the last year, I have been visiting prisons as a volunteer. The project I have been involved with aims to teach inmates how to debate. Frequently, our students go on to debate against top teams and emerge victorious. It also gives prisoners a voice and is an incredibly fun and interesting project to be involved with. As you might imagine, however, one of the principal difficulties we run into is how to teach an inmate, with staunch views on a particular issue, how to argue against a motion which he/she personally disagrees with - one of the key skills which any debater has to learn. To help the prisoners learn how to approach a problem from a different angle - or from the same angle, but more comprehensively - we use a particular methodology called PSO: Problem; Solution; Outcome. In essence, we give the inmates the debate motion. An example motion might be: "This House Believes that nuclear weapons make the world a safer place". We then ask the prisoners to start by considering what 'problem' the motion is seeking to address. Here, the problem is threats to international peace and security. Next, what 'outcome' is the author of the motion seeking to achieve? Clearly, here, they are seeking to ensure peace and stability on the international stage. Finally, we ask what 'solution' is proposed? Here, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is posited as a solution to counteract threats to international peace and security. The next stage, which is critical, is to ask the inmates to ponder whether the solution is an effective means of addressing the problem and achieving the desired outcome and to list the arguments for and against it. This allows those arguing both for and against the motion to heavily refine their arguments and ultimately to become better debaters. Crucially, it also allows them to anticipate future problems with their own initial solutions and to take preventative measures to insulate their arguments. In my view, the PSO methodology can be applied to help us in our fight against addiction to pornography. Application to NoFap I recently posted the following quote from Fyodor Dostoyevsky on a Reddit forum: "Through error you come to the truth! I am a man because I err!" I couldn't agree more with the sentiment. However, error alone will not help you beat your addiction. Nor will it help you achieve your goals. The key to success is learning from your mistakes. In my view, one of the key mistakes which we have a tendency to make when striving for NoFap success is to forego any detailed and personal analysis of the problems we are, individually, seeking to tackle and how we intend to go about pursuing the end result we each hope to achieve. It is worth remembering that we all lead different lives and many of us relapse for entirely different reasons. It is therefore important not just to seek out generic advice from people online, but also to sit down and consider your own situation in detail before moving forward. While the PSO methodology is fairly simplistic, I have found that using it is an excellent way to learn from one's mistakes. My last relapse was 6 days ago. It drove me to consider a fresh approach. That approach was PSO. I decided to grab a pen and paper, switch my favourite music on and spend 10-20 minutes deep in thought. I first pondered the cause of my relapse (i.e., the 'problem(s)') (spending too much time indoors; having my laptop on throughout the day despite not doing any work; watching too much YouTube and not reading enough; doing no exercise; eating junk food etc...). I then considered what I wanted to achieve from NoFap (i.e., 'outcomes') (a clearer head; less social anxiety; better performance during exercise; a healthier lifestyle etc...) I then concluded by setting out tangible and realisable solutions - with my eventual outcomes firmly in mind - to the above problems (I created a 90 day calendar to put on my door; reset my counter on Reddit; planned a week of exercise to stick to; got an early night; started reading 50 pages a day like I used to; switched my laptop off immediately and decided to pre-download podcasts to listen to rather than having the internet open so frequently). The process helped me create bespoke and refined solutions to the problems I was personally experiencing. Since 6 days ago, I have carried out each of my tasks with relish. I have had almost no urges whatsoever (despite the first few days usually being so difficult!) thanks to the preventative measures I have taken. I have also found it extremely helpful to have the 'outcomes' I hope to achieve - and realistic steps toward their achievement - set out on paper. Conclusion While it is still early days, this is the best I have ever felt about NoFap. I not only feel like I have aims, but that those aims are readily achievable and well within my grasp. In my view, analysing why you relapsed recently, or, indeed, why you have a problem with porn in the first place, through the lens of the PSO methodology is an excellent way to start your individual NoFap journey and I recommend that you give it a shot if you are still struggling to think clearly about why you are doing this in the first place, what you want to achieve and how to go about doing it. I hope this framework helps in some small way. Good luck!
