Food for thought -- Things to avoid post-reboot

[ThePwnd]

Greetings all.  Today is day 12 of my reboot, and the question occurred to me today, what sort of things should I avoid after my reboot is complete?  Now, some of you may think this is a bit premature to ask, but I think it's good to think ahead.

Obviously, porn is right up there at the top of the list.  What would the point of all this be if we were to go right back to it after putting so much effort into curing ourselves.  But I want to look at less thought of items.  During a reboot, one of the only 2 rules on YBOP is to avoid artificial sexual stimuli, which includes not only straight up porn but also movies, tv shows, books, music videos, video games, etc etc that depict graphic sexual content.  Now, after the reboot is done, do we still have to avoid watching R rated movies or TV-MA shows because of the (mostly) uncensored sexual content?  Or, hell, even PG-13 sex scenes?  I know my girlfriend is going to want to go watch every new Nicholas Sparks movie that comes out in theatres, but I also know that he doesn't write books without a sex scene--which gets carried over into the movie.  Do I need to leave the cinema for the duration of that scene?  Do I need to cover my eyes and ears?  What's the protocol here?  Books--I love George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, (Game of Thrones for those of you only familiar with the TV adaptation), but it is littered with graphically depicted sex scenes.  I don't love it for the sex scenes, I love it because it is an absolutely phenomenal work of literature, but do I have to permanently give up reading it because of the mature content?  Video games--There are a number of games in my Steam library that are rated for nudity, or other sexual content.  Do I have to abandon all of those games for good too?


Another thing, that's really been bugging me, what if my girlfriend sends me nudes?  When this reboot is over, can I masturbate to pics of my girlfriend without risking a relapse?  Technically it would be considered "pixels on a screen" (as YBOP is so fond of saying), but on the other hand, she's my girlfriend, and I'm supposed to be sexually attracted to her.  Plus, my brain has a much different connection with her than it does with porn, and it should stand to reason that seeing a picture of her would light up all different kinds of associations than would seeing any random girl on the internet.  And to clarify, I'm not talking about a 2 month fling.  I'm talking about a long term girlfriend of over 3 and a half years--someone I have no intention of dumping in the future.


I guess my ultimate question is how far can I go without risking desensitization of my brain all over again?

 

[Username]

You have to answer that question for yourself, I'd say. As for myself, avoiding porn and extremely explicit content would be enough. There's little wrong with an erotic movie scene - as long as you're not indulging in too many of them or deliberately looking for them. If anything, you're able to tell what might be harmful to you - when it is,  it's going to occupy your brain and distract you even when it's over. That's where you should be on your guard.
As for the nudes of your girlfriend, I'm not sure about those. As long as you're not seperated for endless periods of time, I would refrain from using them. Because this is what it would be about - using them. For what purpose? If you're fully recovered, fantasizing about you as a couple should be inspirational enough to masturbate.

 

[fugu]

You have to answer that question for yourself, I'd say. As for myself, avoiding porn and extremely explicit content would be enough. There's little wrong with an erotic movie scene - as long as you're not indulging in too many of them or deliberately looking for them. If anything, you're able to tell what might be harmful to you - when it is,  it's going to occupy your brain and distract you even when it's over. That's where you should be on your guard.
As for the nudes of your girlfriend, I'm not sure about those. As long as you're not seperated for endless periods of time, I would refrain from using them. Because this is what it would be about - using them. For what purpose? If you're fully recovered, fantasizing about you as a couple should be inspirational enough to masturbate.

I think this is wonderful advice! It's too to avoid explicit scenes in movies and shows - and I really wouldn't worry about those too much as long as you aren't actively pursuing watching them. As for the pics...I would stay away from those. That's a much murkier road, in terms of pornography addiction. It's very similar to the thing we were addicted - pixalated images of nudity on a screen.