1 week in, then down

You're definitely thinking correctly. That's when a lot of people fail. Once past that point it isn't completely smooth sailing, but a lot of people say that's one of the hardest, if not THE hardest hurdle to get over. Figure out what makes you FINALLY give in; if there's a specific trigger like boredom, being alone, something on TV, or etc. Then work to remove that next time.

 

This might sound like some counter-intuitive advice, but it sounds like @Letsdothis! has already touched on it a bit. As weird as it sounds: you are not relapsing because of your urges to watch porn. First and foremost, it might be helpful to view your addiction as a symptom. Indeed, addiction is a force of nature itself and can be the source of many problems in your life. However, there are deeper-rooted problems that the addiction grew from in the first place. For porn addicts, some common ones are past trauma or abuse, neglectful parents, feelings of insecurity, depression, social anxiety, and feeling bored or like your life is in a rut (maybe that last one is your reason?).

So, to bring this back to the question at hand: I think the reason you keep relapsing is because, even though you are abstaining from porn, you aren't treating the underlying issue that caused you to develop an addiction to porn in the first place. It sounds like boredom is a trigger for you. So, let me put it this way: If you want to treat your porn addiction, you need to deal with your boredom problems first. Here are some things you can do when you're feeling bored that will just make you more excited and invested in life:

• Meditate
• Write in a journal
• Exercise (this is a really good one)
• Call a friend or family member just to say hi
• Start a new creative project
• Clean your living space
• Practice a creative skill like a musical instrument or drawing

If you do one of those things every time you get bored, I think you'll find that the urges are laughably easy to overcome

 

Probably both, as confusing as that sounds. When my addiction was first developing, I used to masturbate when I was feeling depressed because I believed it soothed my pain. However, masturbation can make you feel depressed, too. I wasn't able to see that when I first started developing my addiction, but now that I know, it's just a matter of breaking the cycle. If depression is something that you're trying to treat by masturbating, try treating it with something else.

P.S. about the activities becoming slow and unmotivating: I guess my advice is to try making a game plan. You said you notice things start to slow down and get boring around day 9-10, so why don't you use that knowledge to your advantage? Once you reach day 8, brace yourself. You know things are going to feel boring or slow the next couple of days, so just prepare yourself mentally for that. That sort of awareness gives you a lot more power than you might think.

 

I can think of four things that might help you

1. Exercise - Seriously, exercise helps soooo much. It pumps your brain full of endorphins that make you feel good, confident, and grounded in reality. In my opinion, cardiovascular activities like running, bike riding, or hiking are the best sorts of exercise to do (though lifting weights and muscle building aren't going to hurt you if you do them safely). You don't even have to do it that often to feel the benefits. I exercise maybe three or four times per week and that's usually enough for me to feel okay.
2. Express yourself - Find a creative activity and practice it. Drawing, practicing a musical instrument, programming, writing, stand up comedy, whatever. Expressing yourself is like the polar opposite of depression. Don't stress about how good you are at the activity. There are no wrong answers. Just open up and let stuff come out.
3. Socialize - If you have a good relationship with your family, spend some more time with them. If you have a close group of friends, hang out with them. If you have a partner, spend more time with them. If you find yourself feeling isolated and like there aren't people in your life, then change that. Find an activity you love doing and find a social group or meetup that gets together regularly to do that activity. One of mine, for example, is a chess club. It's a great way to meet new people who have interests similar to your own, and it will make you feel like you aren't alone in the universe.
4. Meditate / pray - You don't have to be religious to meditate. Just take 10 to 15 minutes out of every day to just sit in a position where you won't easily fall asleep and focus on your breathing for a while. You don't have to force any thoughts out of your head or anything like that. Just let the thoughts flow through you like water. I think of a human life as a big, complicated painting. If your life is a painting, then meditation is the canvas or backdrop on which the colors are drying. It's important to have somewhat of a backdrop, and doing nothing for a solid 15 minutes every day makes the parts where lots of stuff is happening that much more exciting.

Those are all the things I can think of for now. If you really give all of those things a good chance and you still feel like shit, consider going to a doctor and talking about depression. Your doctor may recommend a psychotherapist, which can really help with depression, or perhaps there is some medication you might be able to take. If you're feeling depressed, the important thing to remember is that you're not alone and that there are options for treatment. Hope that helps!