I will have porn flashbacks sometimes of past scenes I have watched in my porn watching career and although I do my best to not think of it sometimes it's really persistent. Is this normal and will it eventually go away? Is their a trick to control your thoughts so I can think about it less or never? I have already started yoga and meditation Yesterday.
Totally normal. Think of it as the porn addiction in your brain having nervous twitches because it isn't getting its fix. I personally interpreted it as a good sign, even though it isn't particularly pleasant. It does go away on its own. If you want to reduce them, I'd say just break down what happens before and see if there were triggers. Or really anything to make you think of the porn or get you on that train of thought. Maybe there was something, maybe there wasn't. If there was it would be good to make some changes, if there wasn't, don't sweat it.
Thanks that is good to know. I got them a lot yesterday but today seems to be going better. Your right my brain probably misses the dopamine and is trying to get me to watch porn so it can get it's fix. My dam brain is a clever bastard sometimes.
Yes, its perfectly normal. It wouldn’t be called an addiction otherwise would it? As @DoneAtLast has said (to paraphrase him liberally): understanding the concept of triggers can be extremely empowering and useful; I would extend this piece of advice to say that understanding the basic neurophysiological underpinnings of porn in general, is absolutely indispensable - it was the turning point in my own battle at any rate. To that end you would be best served in reading this excellent page on YourBrainOnPorn if you have not done so already, rereading it if you have - https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/mis...-has-not-prepared-your-brain-for-todays-porn/ Trying to quit porn without understanding the concept of triggers is like boxing blind. The second point I would like to make, is to ask you whether you have a strong sense of purpose in your life, healthy (non-sexual) interests and aspirations which give you a sense of fulfilment and meaning? This was another turning point for me. I have found that with a life that is shallow and empty, devoid of these things, the urges to use porn are far more frequent, and much more difficult to resist. I made this point in a separate post - ‘You need some interests which can help your brain to create a new pleasure highway, one (or more) which can form a new and healthy alternative to the massive porn superhighway which you have created to your brain’s reward centre, and which your brain has become extremely used to using in order to achieve a sense of fulfilment; In short, you need to find new, healthy, interests which are ‘intrinsically’ rewarding.’ ‘To illustrate this idea, let us take up the analogy of a foundering ship, imagine this ship is your mind, the ship is damaged and has a hole in the side of it (porn addiction) and water (urges to use porn) keeps flooding in threatening to sink the ship (relapse), in this situation your willpower is like a bucket that is essential for dealing with the water (urges) when it actually enters the ship (your mind). Every sailor (rebooter) needs a good bucket (willpower) to guard against sudden disaster, but on its own it’s not an effective long-term solution, as eventually you will be overwhelmed, you will get tired of bailing water (resisting the constant urges to use porn), and your ship will sink (relapse). Strong, healthy interests and aspirations on the other hand, are like nice, new planks of wood that patch up the damage, preventing water (urges) from entering the ship (your mind) in such a high volume, and meaning that when water (urges) does enter (temptation) it is usually much easier to deal with using your bucket (willpower).’ The third point I would like to make to you is on the topic of meditation. If you take the time to read the ‘YourBrainOnPorn’ link which I have posted for you above, you will read that it has been demonstrated in studies that long-term porn-use weakens the function of your brain’s prefrontal cortex: the part of the brain which is responsible for impulse control i.e. resisting the urge to use porn. Meditation has been shown to strengthen this part of the brain; in other words, it’s like a workout for your willpower.
