Self-help program

Recognize your progress on your new path

• Recognize the ways in which you have progressed. Compare your current situation to the one you started from.
• Recognize what skills and methods have helped you on your journey.
• It is important to practice continuously. Repetition strengthens change.

Try to implement what you have learned also to the other problem areas of your life

• Remember that thoughts are just thoughts and you can change your approach to them.
• Set goals for yourself so that you can recognize thoughts and decisions that are relevant for the desired end goal.
• When difficult feelings arise, it is important that you stick to the goal you have set.

Recognize and challenge unrealistic expectations when they arise

• Recognize unrealistic expectations (e.g., “I will never feel the urge to watch CSAM ever again”).
• Progress includes continuous movement, and sometimes that movement is backwards especially in times of stress or sudden moments of adversity.

Moving backwards/relapse is not a catastrophe

• Practice seeing a step back as an opportunity to hone your skills and practice the things you have learned so far: “This kind of a situation is surprisingly difficult for me. How could I manage it better in the future?”