There is a pasuk in Eicha (1:3) כל רודפיה השיגוה בין המצרים. Seforim hakdoshim bring a pshat that כל רודפי י״ה all those who pursue G-d have the power to get close in the 3 weeks. They say a mashal of a King whose subjects have a tough time getting through to him when he is in his palace surrounded by all his ministers and advisers. It can take months to get an audience. However when the king is travelling and is wandering from village to village, anyone can go over to him and speak to him directly. So too כביכול the רבונו של עולם is wandering since the beis hamikdash was destroyed and all the more so in the 3 weeks.
There are times when a person feels strong and detached from lust, and there are times when one feels weak and utterly vulnerable. In times of strength one tends to forget the weakness and helplessness (which is actually a great thing as it allows you to feel a taste of freedom). The problem with this feeling is that we drop our guard and the yetzer hora can catch us totally unprepared. This is one of the yetzer hora's greatest tactics and we. We need to find the right balance in order to keep constant vigilance without dampening our sense of power and freedom when the going is good. I look at it as a person with asthma. When a person gets an asthma attack he has to treat himself immediately and puff on his reliever in order to be able to continue breathing. That same person can also lead a normal life as long as he takes his medication and keeps his reliever in his pocket for emergencies. So too us people who suffer from lustma ;-) we can lead normal lives and enjoy the freedom so long as we take our daily medication and keep our reliever close by in case of emergency.
I personally have made a kabala to read 3 pages of GYE material every day even when i feel strong. In order to make sure i actually keep that i have included the Taphsyc method as follows if in any given day i don't learn Torah for 30 minutes + read 3 pages of GYE, the following day i will fast until chatzos {bound by a shvua} with the exception of drinking water (i dont want it be a kabala that is too difficult to stick to). As soon as i feel lust approaching from the distance, I log onto this forum and either read other peoples struggles and chizuk or i try to compose my own thoughts (like I am doing right now). It is incredibly fulfilling to be able to pen your thoughts and maybe even help someone else at the same time.
Thanks to everyone for just being there so that we are able to be in this together!
P.s. This was a response to lust approaching. I now feel invigourated enough to go and learn for 30 min instead of acting out. What a kiddush Hashem we can make out of these opportunities.
