Recovery Nation

I'm having some trouble completely understanding these filters. (Time, Intensity, Habituation) I believe I understand them as concepts but when I try to apply values to them (as in lesson 22) I'm not sure I'm doing it correctly. I'll describe the elements as I understand them. Let me know if I have this right. Thanks

Each element in a ritual can be experienced through a certain period of time. For some elements, like masturbation for instance, there is a certain period of time one can masturbate to get the full pleasure out of doing it. But the longer the period of time, the less pleasurable it can become. So how do you assign a value to that? The higher the number, the more closely time becomes a factor in the full emotional stimulation derived from that element?

Intensity well...refers to the intensity of the emotions that can be experienced from that element. The higher the number...the higher the intensity

Habituation refers to the decrease in emotional stimulation that can be derived from an element when experienced over and over again. The viewing of a certain porn scene for instance. How do you assign a value...number...to that? The more habituation can affect that element...the higher the number?

Thanks for helping me understand this. I know this is important. I just want to make sure I've got this right.

_________________
Your story may not have such a happy beginning but that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your story...who you chose to be....

The numbers are arbitrary. They're the numbers you assign, as you see fit. Use your first gut instinct.

Let me use a silly example: Eating Pumpkin Pie.

Timing: Pumpkin pie is my favorite dessert, and I usually eat it around the holidays. However, if someone made me a pumpkin pie for my birthday in January, I would eat it. In fact, I have a pumpkin pie in the freezer right now, that I hope my wife bakes for me, soon. Timing can also relate to the duration of how long I can eat pp before it loses it's appeal. That would be determined by my discomfort in my stomach, from feeling full. Thus, I give time a middle of the road value, 5.

Intensity: Intensity relates to the feelings elicited during the ritual. I love the process of baking pie; The aromas, the feel of the mixture, the process of baking itself, so I give the intensity a pretty high rating, a 9.

Habituation relates to requiring additional stimulation to achieve the same effect. So, I've eaten pp every day now for a month. I'm sick of pumpkin pie. I want apple, lemon meringue, or even blueberry. Thus, I give habituation a value of 7.

(I am typing this in a hurry, before I have to leave for work, and it's a silly example, so I hope this helps a little bit.)

The advice I give to many is this: Don't sweat the details, and keep moving forward. The intent of this exercise is not to be 100% precise and accurate, it's a way to begin to deconstruct your addiction and to see it for what it really is: A way to manage your emotions. The picture becomes clearer the more work you put in, and the more time you stick around here.

I'll check in later today when I have a few more minutes to spend, and make sure if you've gotten the gist.

Keep moving forward,
Tim

Hi Capt

Coach T has given you a great reply. The numbers are random. The lesson is meant to be part of the process of breaking down our rituals. To see how we made them - and that we made them. Once we see that, we can un-make them!!!

In this case, it helps to define what kind of ritual you had. I, for example, tended to score high on time - the ritual was part of a wider process of procrastination. Of fear - escaping from the constraints of time and daily worries into a fantasy world. Making this connection has been part of a process of reassessing everything in my life.

How do I procrastinate and why? How do I stop - and what do i have to do to create healthy replacement. Mainly, facing my fears and not delayhing in doing so.

For others, the intensity of the thrill was key - for another person, it was the sheer repetition of the ritual that drove the addiction. It was an engrained part of one;s life. Of course, most of us can lay claim to each section of Coach T's pie. But the proportions and motivations will be differnt for each of us.

I hope this helps a little too.

Shaw

Thanks Coach Tim and Shaw. I'll never eat a piece of pumpkin pie the same way again! posting.php?mode=reply&f=2&t=19683#
You made things a lot clearer.

_________________
Your story may not have such a happy beginning but that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your story...who you chose to be....

Thanks Coach Tim and Shaw. I'll never eat a piece of pumpkin pie the same way again!
You made things a lot clearer.

_________________
Your story may not have such a happy beginning but that doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of your story...who you chose to be....