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No Despair Allowed
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Scientific studies show that it takes 90 days to break an addictive pattern in the mind. Start your own Log of your journey to 90 days! Post here to update us on your status and to give each other chizuk to stay strong!

TOPIC: No Despair Allowed 6358 Views

Re: No Despair Allowed 06 May 2025 20:17 #435542

youknowwho wrote on 06 May 2025 18:05:
Welcome back!

Please forgive me for asking a silly question. And please forgive me for asking it punkt here, despite having seen the same concept elsewhere on the forum. 

L'choirah, m'mah nafshach...oiff vee viet you are machshiv "cumulative count", than what is the chashivus of "day count"? And if there is "fort" a chiluk, than why mention it b'chlal? I would probably have over 7,000 cumulative days since I have engaged in this struggle, but l'mai nafka minah? It doesn't help me (stress on me, I acknowledge there may be another way of lookin' at this) because for the freaking majority of those thousands of days, I was a zombie addict with no real end in sight, whether I fell or not, or how often. 

Now, regarding "day count", it's also pretty murky. Yes, it is nice to see higher streaks, but it can quickly lead to burnout if a guy is restarting every 3-7 days or whatever. On the other hand, "day count" can be a useful way of tracking inner progress, by showing us how we are implementing tools and inner change over longer periods of time. 

End of Moldy Voldy's unsolicited and unhelpful ranting.

If cumulative count or any other type of count is somehow a motivator for you, please ignore me, I'm just an anonymous schmuck off the internet. 


I am not as much of a lamdan as you , but here are my thoughts for my situation:

I struggle with P & M. No denying it. Still, that is only one part of my life and a small part I might add. When the struggle feels bigger and takes over my mental space, I struggle even more. I feel like there is no way out. The cumulative count is a way of helping me size down the struggle and, for me, it helps to boost my commitment/morale. It shows me that I have succeeded for that many days.

I wouldn't describe myself as a "zombie addict," but in those 1600 hundred days, I had struggles and I overcame them. Or I set up boundaries that prevented me from being triggered in the first place. The cumulative days attest to the fact that I can succeed. By the way, my goal is not to graduate or kill the yetzer hara. My goal is set up my life in such a way that I don't fall and I prevent myself from being triggered to fall. So, if some or many of those cumulative days were challenging, all the more significant that I was still able to overcome that day's struggle.

Regarding your day count comment re: burnout, I agree and that is why I took a break from being active on the forum. Still, I have updated my count throughout all these months. For me, it adds accountability. I am tracking my progress.

Unsolicited, yes. Unhelpful, I don't think so.

End of work day update: I successfully avoided time-wasting browsing today. No falls to report. 

Re: No Despair Allowed 07 May 2025 12:40 #435562

I had an M fall last night. Oh well. One disadvantage of the day count is that it is easy to have a series of consecutive falls when going back to zero because 'I have nothing to lose'. Not doing that.

With Hashem's help, I am again taking on no time-wasting browsing today and I'll check in with a GYE chaver for accountability today and tonight.

Great day, all.

Re: No Despair Allowed 08 May 2025 13:06 #435612

Good morning, all.

My plan today is to stay vigilant and avoid time-wasting browsing. I work from home and am home alone. I have found that listening to a podcast while working helps me to avoid looking for a non-work distraction. 

Have a great day. Wishing everyone tons of ברכה והצלחה.

Day Count: 1 Day
Cumulative Count: 1634 Days

Re: No Despair Allowed 08 May 2025 13:37 #435614

  • kavey
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Hey!

I work from home and am home alone as well. It's a struggle. I also can't easily filter my work computer.

I'm trying to attach the JSON of my StayFocusd Chrome extension settings. Essentially it's a long list of blocked sites and some sites that I give some time to browse like GYE (I also completely block Edge with the Nuclear Option and use duckduckgo for Search)

Uploaded as txt since GYE apparently doesn't allow JSON...if you want to use just change the suffix to .json instead of .txt and import it into the Chrome extension

The nice thing about this extension, is that let's say you go to a news site and want to block the url. You just click on the extension and there's a button to block the url or the entire site and add it to a specific group. As you might be able to see...I have quite the long list.

That of course is half the battle. As workers we have a lot of tension (at least I do) and need an outlet. I was bli neder mekabel not to use technology at all for relaxation... i.e. for me that podcast site would likely lead to clicking click click click. For me it's books or magazines or sometimes a short walk (or food!).  

Still use Whatsapp and shiurim apps but still...and also staying far away from the channels and to some extent statuses

Anyway just a thought...I think we need that moment of clarity to help prevent us from falling. It's not a sure thing but with nothing holding us back...it's like a roof without a guardrail...you can still jump over but at least hopefully you won't just walk over the edge
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Re: No Despair Allowed 08 May 2025 14:55 #435620

Great "just a thought," Kavey.

I have StayFocusd and Porn Blocker on Google Chrome and because of your post I reminded myself to add a safeguard to Edge. I just installed Porn BlockX to Edge. For those who are not familiar with these extensions, remember to go into the extension options and select that you want the extension to be enabled in inPrivate or Incognito mode.

No reason to not install an extension filter just because it isn't foolproof. It is still is a geder. It still causes pause. In my case, the extensions have made a huge difference.

Re: No Despair Allowed 09 May 2025 12:28 #435652

Good morning, all.

I was ready to start my work day with some serious time-wasting Internet use. Coming on here to do an update post has made me re-think that. Yesterday's post really helped me to control my Internet use during work hours. One day at a time.

Wishing everyone a great Shabbos.

Day Count: 2 Days
Cumulative Count: 1635 Days
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