I just relapsed after 26 days. I did not use any blockers and I did not have urges during my session. But today after a long battle in my mind I relapsed
It is so painful to see 0 instead of 26 (I know that If you relapse after a good streak your progress won’t decreases to 0)
In this forum I met a lot of people who said counting days is useless or it is bad.
I would like to hear pros and cos
It would be suprising because I could make a 26 days streak without blockers. But what would happened If I did not know how long is my streak?
The issue with counting days is complex. It varies from one person to another, it depends on how you view it.
If you count the days and give them too much attention they may become a threat to you. Everything that takes too much of attention has the power over you.
You see when you look at the counter and it has been longer than usual, some people view it as both motivating but also, and more importantly, scary.
Being in a phase that you have never entered makes your brain feel shocked. Shocked that you haven’t done something so rewarding in a while, something that is still fundamental to feeling happy. It stayed fundamental because you have an abstainer’s mindset.
An abstainer’s mindset is about trying hard to stay away from PMO, believing that you will never get an urge to do it again after 30, 90, 365, or even 1000 days. But abstaining is not recovering.
Why am I talking about abstaining? Because most people who struggle with counting days have this mindset. The problem is not with counting days, it’s with the right mindset.
I, for example, consider counting days as a tool. I don’t care about it that much cause I am serious about quitting forever. My streak can motivate me to keep going if I see each day as a victory instead of having fear about the outcome. The outcome for me is not a source of fear for I have faith in myself because I know I can do it.
TLDR, It’s all about mindset. Once fear is associated with the streak it will turn against you. Once excitement and happiness are associated with the streak, it becomes a source of power.
Same to Me
When i see my streak i feel pleasure and some inner power
Instead of fear & taking pressure on mind that what if i relapse cuz i know that one relapse doesn’t drain all the energy i stored.
You explained it well, thanks.
And I can say it is all true.
Because when I see I have a big streak I feel good. But I want to reach infinity. I dont want numbers , I want to delete ■■■■ in 100%
But If I relapse and I loose my great streak I become depressed and it makes me stressed.
Yeah, that’s the mindset. Let the app count your days and don’t do it. Read that number whenever you’re curious about the streak to feel proud and that’s it. The goal is always forever. Failure should never be an option. The only options that should exist are winning or winning good.
If I understand correctly it is personal
I made this topic because I was curious about the options of other people
I count my days since the beginning and I don’t know it is an advantage or disadvantage.
High streak makes me happy and if I lost it I will have depression. And If I see a 0 I often fall on chaser effect because I see a 0 - it has a negative effect
