Joke title for levity, but I am serious. I've noticed myself sliding into harder stuff to get off and I know it's a clear sign of porn addiction. Wondering if any other comrades have struggled with this and found abstinence? Obviously I don't want any weirdo no-fap reactionary shit. Also volcel police do not look at this thread.
I have an ADHD perspective. I find its difficult to regulate anything once I'm diving down the hole. Often I try to reality-check myself; do I really want X or am I just bored? X could be smoking, drinking, sex, eating, wikipedia, refreshing Hexbear.net 14 times, etc, etc. Its very much like Doomscrolling, but instead I'm continuously looking for something to sate myself. With porn in particular I often ask if I'm legitimately horny or simply need new stimulation.
Whatever it is I try an interrupt it with something else. A favorite interrupt is some exercise. I have a door frame pull-up bar, and a few sets usually is enough to reset my head. Pushups and burpees are good as well. Another tactic is to put myself outside my immediate surroundings as a way to interrupt the behavior. Maybe I'll grab a coffee or some grocery shopping. Even going for a short walk or drive puts me physically in a different space, which also makes my brain shift to a different mental space. This short-circuits 90% of my problems. I like @RoomAndBored@hexbear.net's idea of separating the viewing from the nutting, and you can use the latter to break the codependency with the former.
Finally, every now and again I get a steamy earwhig that absolutely drives me to obsession. For those I grab a journal and write down as many details as I can and make a story of it. The act of going over the details, paradoxically, takes much of the edge off and I can usually fall into one of the above tactics after a while.