Do all recovering PA have porn flashbacks?

I've had them ..

 

I think probably everyone has them. For me its the hardest part. You'll be sitting there and suddenly images from some porn video you watched come flashing in your head and it brings really strong urges.

 

I have had them too and get them out of my mind as quick as they come into my mind. It is annoying because you seem to be doing well and all of a sudden this happens and what is the reason, the mind plays tricks on you and you must retreat from PMOing and do the right thing.

 

Usually yes. Mine fully went away after about a year and a half of no porn, although it lessened in intensity about the 5-6 month mark.

I don’t think the thoughts for porn go away entirely though, but despite that, it definitely gets better. At first, it was a lust for porn, now for me, even being 8 years clean of it, it’s more of a curiosity than an actual urge.

 

I haven't watched P in over two months, and I still get some urges and flashbacks, but they are getting weaker and less frequent. They probably won't ever truly go away.

 

Like most memories, it depends on how meaningful (and in this case, stimulating) it was for you. For many people, they tend to fade a little and get more blurry with time, but make no mistake, they can still be dredged up. You can also add your own twist to the memory with your imagination. Bottom line: we must be mindful of our triggers and never let our guards down.

 

I would say most of if not all of us do.

 

I definitely do, although as time has gone on they have stopped being as bothersome. For me, they seem to come out of nowhere, which makes avoiding them hard as you cant really predict when/where they will pop up. If you have ever suddenly remembered something very embarrassing from the past and been able to almost feel the emotion, its pretty much like that.

 

Yeah I've had them and still do to a lesser degree. One thing to note though is that however strong those thoughts feel, they will go away naturally if you don't focus on them (since the brain tends to put focus on things you try to fight rather than ignore, those thoughts start to stay. It's hard at first but being able to ignore them will come along with discipline) and more so if you take further action by forming healthier neural pathways from positive activity. I dealt and have been dealing with Porn flashbacks coupled with major POCD Intrusive thoughts too, (HOCD too) and although I know I'm not my thoughts going through that made me feel really anxious and depressed, but hard work pays off and now I'm in a position far more capable of getting a handle on this.