Other forms of escape falter progress?

[Want2BeFree]

Hello,

During the absence of pmo I'm trying to stay constructive in my free time. I experience major "down" days though, that leave me festering for a dopamine rush, or to simply escape reality for a time. What I'm talking about is things like watching tv for hours, playing video games, reading fiction books, cigarettes, alcohol, junk food, and so on.

I discovered the whole pmo thing in the beginning of august. I achieved a 2 week abstinence period, and felt nearly zero improvement (towards social anxiety, anger, etc.). During that time period I was distracting my self from pmo through binging on other worthless activities such as the ones I previously listed. Around week 3 I spent a weekend out doors (hunting), totally isolated from items that would create dopamine. That was the best I've felt in a very, very long time.

Any opinions in this? My theory is that substituting pmo with another addiction will yield little benefits. Perhaps the whole pmo thing relates to a more total life change, that requires constant vigilance on our daily activities.

[artguy34]

In my opinion, it depends on the addict. I for one find other means to take my mind off of PA. Crisodian and I love to read books and we spend many hours reading when we can. I also love working on the house or building projects. We also love to play video games as well. Most of the time, we have two little rambunctious boys that demand our attention, so our "spare" time is very limited.

However I will say this... too much of a good thing is still too much! Everything needs to be done in moderation. Also, as an addict, I will say that to replace PA activities with another activity that produces high levels of dopamine is probably not the best thing to do. The reason being that our dopamine levels are dramatically increased while being an addict to porn. Finding activities that do not further increase our dopamine levels but are still enjoyable to take our minds off of our addiction is probably the best course of action. But that is just my opinion on the matter.

What it boils down to, is that the addict must be honest with themselves and find what is going to work for them. There is no cookie-cutter plan for everyone. But taking bits and pieces from others can work.

Perhaps the whole pmo thing relates to a more total life change, that requires constant vigilance on our daily activities.

This is what recovery is... a total life change, constant vigilance on our daily activities. There is no other alternative. It's like an alcoholic trying to recover but goes out to have ONLY one drink? C'mon, we all know it doesn't work like that!

I achieved a 2 week abstinence period, and felt nearly zero improvement (towards social anxiety, anger, etc.)

This is common after two weeks of living clean and sober. This is called a withdrawl symptom. Your body is looking for a fix, and if you're not prepared mentally, your mind will justify a relapse because your body is searching for that dopamine fix. Anxiety, Anger, Irritability are all signs of the withdrawl. Once you work through that, it becomes much easier to deal with it. This is why I tell myself that "Relapse is NOT an option." Because once I believe in that, there are no excuses or justifications that can wear me down. If it's not an option, then there is no discussion.

Regardless, this is just my opinion, but one I feel strongly about. However the important thing is that you must do what YOU need to do to recover! What ever works for you, stay with it!

Good luck on your road to recovery!

AG