Hi Phineas. Yes I would certainly like to think that this is the case. The focused approach worked for me earlier this year. One of the problems, apart from my less than ideal living & work circumstances, was probably a lack of looking & planning forwards as well as some negative thought cycles I had not addressed at the time. This week is merely the circuit-breaker but I will try to use this time to address some potential challenges over the coming week.
Breaking it down into goals you can see right before you is very effective. I used to have a 3 day goal, felt like I made progress every three days! Works.
This is a good idea. Something I will make sure to consider moving forward.
I remember as a younger man (early 20's), I dealt with masturbation and lust as a real problem. Porn wasn't a thing for me at that time. I didn't think I could overcome it living alone, because of all my privacy. But, with God's help, I was able to overcome this back then (1990-91). Those alone moments are still cherished to this day...!
Don't let being alone (not lonely) determine whether or not you overcome, instead overcome in spite of it!
I didn't properly address this at the time but it can be a difficult catch-22 when, for me personally, I need my alone time & space to recharge and have the energy to live well but suffering from an addiction that thrives in isolation. I too cherish the alone moments in life.
You make a very interesting point in that while you were alone in a physical, situational sense, you never felt alone or (more accurately) lonely as a result of faith and being able to make a connection with God through that period. It is of course possible to be alone and not feel lonely as it is also possible to feel loneliness amongst others. I used an hour of my allowed 2 hours computer time today to go through an interesting lecture on HALT management that I will post below. It discusses potential ways an addict can manage feelings of loneliness & isolation and three of those are:
* Connection with yourself (i.e engaging in fulfilling solitary pursuits i.e making music in my case)
* Connection with others (self-explanatory)
* Connection with a higher power
Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that one needs to have all three covered at all times but I couldn't help think of your example and think maybe at times I need to remember to separate the feeling from the situation and use this knowledge to better manage the new-found space I now have to myself.
Also, the lecture is great and I highly recommend it to anyone.
EDIT: Wishing you all well today