Some misconceptions about what is an isn't a relapse for the porn addict.

I have seen this over the years here and there, but enough to want to write about it. Some people seem to think that porn is ok to view as long as they don't masturbate or masturbate but don't orgasm. Although, orgasm itself does release a lot of dopamine, it is not the cause of your problems. If you are watching porn, or anything that turns you on, you are furthering your problem. It isn't the fact that you will eventually relapse, odds are you will if viewing porn, the problem is that you are releasing tons of dopamine while viewing porn. The reason you dick is hard, is because your brain is releasing dopamine. Porn causes the brain to release large amounts of dopamine that the brain was never wired to do. If you see a pretty woman out and about and get hard, that is different and the dopamine released by that would be a normal amount. Same with sex with someone. So orgasm isn't necessarily the source of you porn addiction, it is the porn itself. So, if you have a streak going to be porn free and you haven't orgasmed but have watched porn, you might as well reset your clock. Gary Wilson wrote an article years ago about edging to porn or just viewing porn without masturbating can be worse than just going full PMO. Good luck to everyone.