EMDR therapy and porn addiction

Is there any research out there about this? What about personal anecdotes? I wonder if EMDR therapy can in any way help the process of rebooting.
 

Phineas 808

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I've studied that angle back when, and applied some techniques on myself in my own abstinence programs.

At the end of the day, much of it was needlessly technical, especially when essentially we just need to apply habit change techniques.

But it is interesting to look at.

What I found helpful is looking at this from the angle of OCD type of therapies. I've also looked at it from the perspective of eating disorders.

All these things can be helpful, if we don't get tangled up in the technical aspects. Whatever empowers us, instead of disempowers us.
 
Phineas 808 said:
I've studied that angle back when, and applied some techniques on myself in my own abstinence programs.

At the end of the day, much of it was needlessly technical, especially when essentially we just need to apply habit change techniques.

But it is interesting to look at.

What I found helpful is looking at this from the angle of OCD type of therapies. I've also looked at it from the perspective of eating disorders.

All these things can be helpful, if we don't get tangled up in the technical aspects. Whatever empowers us, instead of disempowers us.
Good points.

Interestingly, I've found that fighting my cravings to indulge in sugary foods is actually far more difficult for me than fighting the cravings that I have for porn. I've been going up to Chipotle to eat for a long time now, I eat there literally 5-6 days per week. Lately I've been intermittent fasting and just doing one meal a day (Chipotle).

For some reason, the prospect of going up to the grocery store and trying to figure out what foods I do/do not like is extremely daunting. And then to try and learn to cook those foods. I don't know why but this is a significant mental struggle for me.

I wonder if it has anything to do with PMO and dopamine desensitization. That is to say, perhaps healthy food doesn't sound appealing to me by default (compared with options like Chipotle), but ESPECIALLY so because I have desensitized myself to dopamine, and these healthy foods likely release far less dopamine than more tasty foods do.

For the record, I'm certainly not obese. I'm in decent shape if not just a bit overweight (maybe 10lbs at this point). But I would like to improve my diet. I feel it's a big area that I need to work on, I just have trouble actually doing so or sticking with it. Same with sleep; it's very hard for me to get a consistent sleep schedule b/c the night is when I feel my best. Without fail, every morning I feel like shit, and as the day goes on I feel better until the night arrives and I feel my most alert/present.
 

Phineas 808

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Glad you are making changes toward a healthier diet and sleeping pattern...

Diet and rest are important in our reboot or recovery, but I didn?t mean to suggest that porn use is directly related to OCD or eating disorders. Just the mentalities behind these and other addictions seem to share affinities together, and could understand one another.

So I used to read subjects that crossed into these fields. Though there was no direct relation, I would apply what was said in helpful recovery approaches to my situation.
 

Jethro

Member
Hi Lukeman,

                    Read your post with interest, I have undergone EMDR myself for other things unrelated to porn. It is similar to the aim of rebooting, to retrain the brain and form new neural pathways so that we are able to look at subjects from another perspective. I was very skeptical at first, but as the therapy went on, I must confess that, despite my initial skepticism, it worked for me, so for me it was a success. If I can help in any way, I would be happy to do so, good luck and keep on punching brother. Praying for you.
 
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