How to Get Past Self-Sabotage or “Mental Blocks” in Porn Recovery

Feeling stuck in your goals or problems? You may be self-sabotaging and here’s what you can do about it.

Relapse and porn addiction recovery can sometimes feel like spinning your tires in the mud or snow while sinking deeper and deeper. While there may be several reasons for this, including unresolved past experiences and a poor recovery strategy, there are other kind of mental blocks that may be preventing you from successful recovery.

Watch below as Shane Prettner and I explain what causes these blocks, why they may sometimes be beneficial, and how to overcome them to achieve your goals.

Where Mental Blocks Come From

Mental blocks or self-sabotage can come from a variety of sources. For example:

  • Your core values subconsciously trying to stay priority
  • Fears that are holding you in a place of safety
  • Limiting perceptions of yourself, your abilities, or your future capabilities
  • And others

What To Do About Mental Blocks and Self-Sabotage

As Shane suggests in the video above, the most important step to rooting out these blocks, understanding them, and then restructuring your choices, is asking lots of questions.  

Why are you struggling to quit?

Why are you struggling to reach your goals?

What is it you really want?

What are you afraid of.

By asking deep questions and exploring  your self-sabotage you may be able to identify what’s really going on and why you can’t get past it. This may in turn spark a new direction or reveal an area of weakness to correct.

Try This to Remove Mental Blocks and Self-Sabotage

Start by filling in the blank and writing the following:

“I don’t want:____(thing you do want)___.”

Now answer the following questions with as many unique answers as you can come up with (10+).

  1. What evidence suggests this is true?
  2. If you actually did want it, what would you do differently?
  3. Why do you NOT want that thing?
  4. What fears or attitudes are holding you back or limiting you?

For example:

“I do not want (to get more sleep and have a good bedtime routine)”

Then you may write the following reasons:

  • I wont accomplish as much as I need to
  • I wont have quiet time I enjoy
  • I haven’t written down a goal or established a new routine in writing
  • I haven’t formally committed to the new routine
  • I keep making excuses because I don’t want to go to sleep
  • And so on…..

Now that you understand the problem, you can take steps to change your thinking or behaviors to achieve that goal! Or on the other hand, you may realize you don’t really want to work on the particular goal and can let it go in place of more important objectives.

Let us know below or on the YouTube video your thoughts and how this tool helps you!

For additional trainings from Shane Prettner or myself, check out member.fightthebeast.org

Fight the Beast is a recovery organization helping men overcome sexual addiction. For support groups, partner resources, and recovery tools, please visit FightTheBeast.org and FightTheBeast social media pages. 

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