Thanks for bumping up this thread. I had been meaning to go back and read it and make a comment, but I decided to just stick with my usual thread. It's nice to look back at a post from a few months ago and see what's similar and what's different in myself.

How to avoid a slip? Someone asked me what the key to staying clean is. I said if I had that key, I'd be rich. During my first few days of abstinence, I would get these crazy thoughts and also physical feelings that I felt had to be quelled with a release. I held back and just laughed at myself and the insanity. I recently discovered that I wasn't as insane as I thought I was. I also discovered that those physical feelings were real and not just a result of my craziness. I didn't realize that when I look at women in the stores or on the streets, I am causing myself a physical arousal. It may be a miniscule additional flow of blood, to my lower regions, that I previously would have never thought of as an arousal, but it's there and it's real. It's just a sensation or a tingle, but an arousal nonetheless. The point is that I don't have room for any lust and even a small amount of lust has a physical effect on me. I may not even notice it, but it's there day after day if I take in lust, until the point comes where I can't control myself anymore. So if I don't want to slip up later, I have to act now.

Hatzlacha!