Withdrawals are a normal part of the recovery process, especially in the first 90 days of going without. Think about it this way -- you've created an expectation in your body and mind that every sexual impulse will be acted upon up to climax, and relatively quickly. Suddenly you aren't getting that reward, and so the impulse gets stronger. After a while your body and mind learn to accept that this impulse doesn't need to followed up on.

One of the worst things you can do right now is try to substitute something else for porn, whether it's bikini photos or even ice cream. This will just reaffirm that these impulses ought to be acted upon but leave you feeling unsatisfied, since none of these things will be the reward you were hoping for.

In the mean time, I found that distraction can help a lot -- spend time with friends, or devote time to a hobby you particularly enjoy and that preferably takes you away from the computer.

If you have been using your addiction to mask stress (including boredom) or internal pain, that can add to the irritation, because you may be feeling emotions you haven't paid attention to in a long time. Learning to cope with those emotions in a positive way will help you make this change permanent. That might mean talking to someone or journaling. I also had to learn that it's okay to feel frustrated, sad or stressed sometimes -- I don't always need to do something about it.

I also believe prayer is important. I believe God is bigger than our addictions and will give us the grace to overcome them if we are open to it.

I am sorry to hear you are in withdrawl and I know what it is like. I only started getting sober when I joined Sex Addicts Anonymous and began active recovery.

Those early days were really hard, but I gained a support network of people. I made daily calls, and others called me. They started me off on daily actions to help me cope but those early weeks I was white knuckling it.

After a few weeks I got a sponsor and was guided into working the first step of the 12 Step programme. I was also going to a face to face meetings too.

I worked my first step as I admitted that my behaviours were out of my control. Without this, it was only a matter of time before I would act out again. I admitted that I was powerless and my life was unmanagable. This was important as it started the process of deflating my ego, which had always been telling me, I can do this, I just need to keep trying.

Once I had admitted that I could not stay sober for long if I relied on my own resources, I came to see that I needed a power greater than myself to trust in. This was round about 6 weeks in and the withdrawl was becomming less noticeable by then.

I could have said 'oh look at me, I'm doing really well'. Other addicts and my sponsor helped me to see that to go forward and achieve long term sobriety, I needed to hand my life and my will over to the care of my higher power, so I could be restored to reality, 'sanity' as it says in the AA Blue Book. My ego was deflated more but my self-esteme had really grown. I began to respect myself more and look less at the problem and more to the solution, one day at a time.

I have worked through writing a searching moral inventory and admitted it to myself, my higher power and another person (my sponsor). I have stayed sober for coming up to seven months. I could not have done that without the programme to work.

This programme is similar for alcoholism, gambling, drugs, overeating and various other addictions. It works for people who are willing to go to any lengths to get into recovery. The programme deflates the power of the ego, helps with tools for resisting temptation in times of high risk. I am seeing benefits which go far beyond the recovery from addiction.

My family relationships are better, I use my time more profitably and I feel so much better about myself.