No More Desire ™ Porn Addiction Recovery 20: I Relapsed on Porn. What Do I Do Now?
FREE LESSON: Write Your Walk Through Fire Statement
When I was addicted to porn, I often struggled to know how to respond to a relapse. The amount of shame, fear, and anger I felt when I slipped was overwhelming.
I thought that if I relapsed on porn, it meant all of my progress was now down the toilet. I thought, “What reason do I have to stop watching porn now? Afterall, my time clean is zero. So, why not just give in for a while?”
Working with other addicts I sponsor and coach has shown me that I was not the only one who felt this way after I relapsed. People often tell me after a slip that they feel like giving up.
After a full year of sobriety, one addict recently told me after he relapsed, “I’m just having trouble finding my meaning again. I don’t know why I should stay sober. I know I want to, but I just don’t feel the drive to stay clean like I did before.”
I could not tell him how much I understood those feelings. I had been there many times after relapses. The will to go on wanes, as the momentum you previously experienced dies down. Getting it going again is painful. But it can be done.
When you relapse on porn, it is easy to feel like giving up and giving in. I understand that feeling, as it happened to me so many times as an addict.
One of the things I came to find out after years of sobriety is that this mentality of giving up was not exclusive to my porn recovery alone. I practiced this type of hopeless thinking in multiple areas of my life. It was not until I began changing my mindset - from an addiction mindset to a recovery mindset - that I started to experience more success staying clean.
We’ll address these points in this episode. If you’ve relapsed on porn, my prayer is that these teachings will help get you back on track.
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