Porn Relapse

Breaking free of a porn addiction can be quite challenging. While it is possible to overcome it fully, sometimes drawbacks tend to happen. These Drawbacks are referred to as a “Relapse,” especially related to issues concerning Addictions. Internet porn hooks people faster than any other sexual acting out behaviors. It can have a powerful hold that leads to frequent relapses.  A porn addict may often use porn to avoid feeling sad, angry, confused or respond to stress.

What is Porn Relapse?

A person trying to stop watching pornography and porn-related materials can make mistakes, feel bad, and start doing it again. This return to pornography is called a porn relapse. A relapse is not uncommon and happens to a lot of people recovering from porn addictions. Along the way to recovery, people will often have one or more relapses. 

A porn relapse is usually a deliberate and conscious abandonment of your recovery plan. This is what differentiates it from a slip-up. Most people tend to mix up these two words. While a “Porn Relapse” refers to repeatedly abandoning one’s recovery plan, A “porn Slip up” means mistakenly going into the act once or twice. It is usually an accident, that doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning the recovery plan. However, Porn slip-ups usually lead to relapses. Also, to have a Porn Relapse, you must be an addict— non-addicts of porn experience slip-ups, not relapses. A ‘binge relapse’ is when there is continuous relapsing for several days or even weeks, leading the addict to masturbate repeatedly in a single day.

These relapses are usually caused by specific triggers (anything that makes you want to go back to pornography) depending on the individual. Examples of these triggers are sexual texts (including erotic novels and articles), sexualized advertisements, and video games containing nudity. It could even be a location where you used to watch pornographic materials, etc. 

These triggers are very peculiar to individuals (one person’s trigger is different from another’s) and can be anything or anyone. It becomes imperative to know one’s triggers and eliminate such influences to reduce a Relapse. 

Actions Considered As Porn Slip Up

Having earlier mentioned that a slip up is usually a mistake and not frequently occurring, the following can be considered a slip up:

• A slip up occurs when you quickly open up a porn website and then close it, stopping yourself from a prolonged porn session.
• Checking out substitutes to porn
• Breaking a personal goal of abstaining from masturbation.

Actions that are Flagged as Porn Relapse 

As earlier mentioned, relapse is usually intentional; therefore, the following are considered as relapse:

• Intentional masturbating to a pornographic video. 
• Purposely going through pornographic materials for a long time. 
• Loading up a porn website and watching for a long time. 
• Deciding to stop following or adhering to the recovery plan. 

Actions that are not Considered a Relapse 

When you experience certain sexual feelings that are outside your control, it is not considered a Relapse. These include: 

• Having wet dreams. 
• Checking out a person you think is attractive, even if it is a personal goal of yours not to do so, is not considered a relapse. 
• In as much fantasizing about someone is thinking about sexual encounters can lead to a relapse. It is still not considered a full-blown relapse. 
• Accidently stumbling upon porn and closing it quickly.

How to Avoid a Relapse

Once on the road to recovery, there may be certain urges pushing one to relapse. It is crucial to put up specific strategies aimed at distracting you when you get such feelings. Getting out of pornography addiction is a deliberate action. This is why the following tips should be in place to avoid a relapse. 

1. Engaging in physical training such as weightlifting can help you build the character strength to say No to porn and eventually overcome it. These exercises also keep you busy and help to distract your thought pattern to issues concerning pornography.
2. Being idle should be strongly avoided as it leads to boredom, which could result in the addict watching porn to occupy their time.
3. Engage in positive activities such as reading books, drawing, playing different instruments, etc. 
4. Have people around whom you can instantly call for support when the urges return. This helps you break the secretive and reclusive pattern that porn usage feeds on.
5. Setting up web-based filters or blockers to prevent the temptation to view pornography from turning into a relapse.
6. It is also advisable to keep your personal computers in open, shared spaces.
7. When the urge is strong, put down your phone or close your computer and go for a walk. This will help calm your nerves and give you back the needed control. 
8. To avoid having a relapse, it is necessary to find out or know one’s triggers and avoid it. 
9. Start making energetic, positive decisions in your life and way of thinking. Inculcate new behavioral patterns and stick to them. 

A porn relapse in simple terms, means that the right and healthy practices that have kept you away from porn have failed. A relapse is often highly destructive as it pushes the addict into different waves of guilt, shame, and regret. If not handled properly, it can lead to prolonged relapsing. This is why the ability to forgive oneself during a relapse can never be overemphasized. Porn addicts need to understand that mistakes happen. Still, the most important thing is to ensure that the mistake doesn’t keep happening.