How To Stay Strong And Not Relapse During A Porn Reboot?

Scandinavian Bob here hi.

Today we are going to talk about three things that are very important for staying strong and not relapsing during a porn reboot / NoFap journey.

I consider these to be the basics really, yet so many guys neglect them. And you shouldn't, because there is even research showing much higher relapses rates in addicts who don’t take what I'm about to talk about seriously.

And I can personally say that it wasn’t until I really started putting more weight on these that I started to see vast improvements in my own porn reboot, a few years back.

How to not relapse during a porn reboot #1: Social contacts...

You can't spend time alone all the time.

You need a social network and you need people around you that you can trust.

Now, it doesn’t have to be a big network, but you should at least have a few people you can spend time with several times a week.

Loneliness is a big resons behind many a porn relapse...

Loneliness is one of the biggest reasons for relapses  -in every single addiction-  and this seems to be even more true when it comes to addiction to online porn sites.

Now, I don’t mean that you have to tell everyone about your problems,  I mean socializing in general.

However, that said, it would be good if you could find one person among your friends that you can share your porn rebooting benefits and struggle with.

If you have a hard time around people then great, because now you can make this one a long term goal, and you already know that I’m big on having goals in life...

...especially when rebooting.

How to not relapse during a porn reboot #2: Get good quality sleep...

A recent research at Caron Treatment Centers suggests that poor sleep is a big relapse factor in addictions.

They tested people with a couple of different kinds of addictions and found that if someone was having difficulty sleeping, they were much more likely to relapse.

If poor sleep is something you struggle with, the following tips are absolutely crucial for you...

• Not drinking caffeine / chocolate before you go to bed...
• Not exercising heavily 2-3h before bedtime to to three hours before bed...
• Not using electronic devices right before bedtime...
• Sticking to a schedule for going to bed and waking up...
• Not lying in bed when it’s not time to sleep...
• Making sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and comfortable..

Avoid using your 'modern devices' the last couple of hours leading up to bed time...

Now, there is one of these I really want to underline and that is, not using electronic devices right before bedtime.

These devices expose you to blue light and studies have shown that exposure to blue light in the evening suppress melatonin, which is often called your body's “sleep hormone".

And people who are exposed to blue light before bed tend to report not sleeping as well.

Those of you who have been following me for some time now know that I’m a big believer in 'operation blackout'. In other words, turning off the internet and stop using your phone at the end of your day. 

First, because it greatly reduces your risk of relapses.

And second, because it also serves as a short dopamine detox and third, because it makes you sleep better. 

If you don’t want to do operation blackout then at least make sure to get some blue light blocking glasses and put those glasses on two to three hours before bed time.This will block the blue light and thus it does not mess with your melatonin.

On the nights I’m not doing operation blackout. I use blue light blocking glasses myself and I really notice a big difference. 

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How to stay strong and not relapse during your PMO reboot #3: Stress management

This is another big thing guys tend to neglect.

Please don’t do that because it is so important!

Stress is right up there on the list of things that will drastically increase your risk of having a nasty porn relapse...

...yet most guys completely underestimate this one. 

Stress makes you more impulsive, and not only that, but negative stress also reduces your willpower. Both short term and long term, so it really is a double whammy when it comes to relapses. 

Some great tools for stress management are...

• Meditation / mindfulness
• Physical exercise (taking a long walk is great)
• Avoiding coffee
• Getting a massage
• Yoga
• The Wim Hof method
• Cold showers
• Playing with a dog or a cat
• Walking in nature

Now, as a person having suffered from a lot of stress and anxiety myself, I know from experience that, just like the socializing, this one can take a bit of time so, again, make it a process you keep working on.

There’s nothing bad that can come out of that, only good. And natural and healthy activities are of course always to be preferred so really take this to heart.

Thanks for reading,

-Scandinavian Bob

Related posts:

• 3 Deadly NoFap mistakes making you relapse
• I feel better after a porn relapse, what's going on?
• Is peeking a relapse during a porn reboot?