P.A.W.S. - what are they, cure, duration

I'm not saying you were specifically saying it. I'm just saying in general people keep saying that I'm denying the existence of PAWS.

Yeah I do if I need to, no porn though.

I've also had multiple drug issues in my life time, specifically opiates and very heavy cannabis use.

 

I'm 180 days in and still feel like shit compared to before, Really hope i return to normal soon...

 

Also has anyone experienced almost constant permanent muscle tension around their sternum 24/7 a day? It feels terrible.

 

I finally feel that I've crossed a line, I'm not feeling most of the negative symptoms that used to bother me so much, insane brain fog, fatigue, extreme anhedonia, depression etc..
I'm still in this flatline but I don't feel the cognitive and emotional pain, I'm still not in this joy state it's like I'm half in between, not great but not bad

 

who else felt inability to feel cold during a flatline?

 

shortness of breath/shallow breathing lifted a lot, I'm breathing like 80% better
.
but this is a symptom that, although not extreme like the others, I don't like it, I don't feel comfortable, the weather could be cold as fuck outside but in my skin I don't feel the cold, that's one of the reasons as to why taking cold showers for me didn't work as well, the sensitivity in my body's been compromised due to this flatline, there's no other explanation

 

How long did that take you?

 

I am not discounting peoples symptoms on here. I have been through the whole lot in terms of my own recovery. I am also one of the longest who has been experiencing these symptoms, 5+ years on my estimate, probably longer. I am also hugely sympathetic to what everyone on here is going through so please dont paint me in the light of a troll or denier.

I am giving my own personal thoughts on the topic of paws. To me there is just too much that is unknown about this topic and it is very hard to find much research on it, unlike the actual addiction model on P. We dont know anything at all about this, so lets be clear on that. Anecdotal evidence is simply not good enough when so many factors are at play.

I use to believe in paws, but from my own experience my thoughts have changed. I don’t personally believe it now, that doesnt mean im saying people are lying or that im saying “man the fuck up”.

It saddens me that people on here are still suffering after such a long abstinence. Im on here to help people get better if i can, whether paws exists to me or not is irrelevant.

hope that cleared some things up

 

I'm having it in my reboot right now. It don't matter if it's cold or hot, I don't feel anything in my skin. Once in a while I could feel the weather and shocked how cold or hot it is....

 

shit.. it's rare to see someone with this symptom
fucking crazy isn't it bro? this shit is insane

 

3 years

 

At first it was annoying to deal with them. Now it's I don't really bother with some of them except for my brain which is still not function at least 50% where I can return to the workforce.

 

So guys, while I was meditating I've been pondering about my improvements, it's been a long and arduous journey, I was thinking about posting this on the success stories part of the forum but I think guys wouldn't consider this a success per se but to me it is, I feel like a big portion of the roald has been travelled, I've come a long way to get to where I am but there's still more to walk.
One GREAT improvement is: I don't sleep after lunch anymore, in the beginning, pretty much the first 18 months during this flatline (3 years) I would always get super tired after eating lunch and I would always take a "nap" of 2 hours afterwards
I think the lethargy and weakness in my body has been one of the toughest ones anyone has ever experienced in a flatline, I couldn't work out during pretty much all those 3 years and I was addicted to the gym, went to doctors numerous times and there was nothing wrong with my hormones
stamina and physical endurance has also improved
brain fog, holy shit.. first 18 months were also hell as well, nowadays I am MUCH better, by far, I'd say it improved 70-75% I didn't just suffered from brain fog I also had a cognitive pain, that's the only way I can describe it, anhedonia+ cognitive pain 24/7
Thankfully it's lifted a lot, I won't take for granted this improvement, I'm so grateful for it
I also had this lower back pain that annoyed me for so long (more than a year!), thankfully it's gone since mid-2019 and never came back, I couldn't sit in a chair for 10 minutes straight, the pain was unbearable
and my breathing, the shallow breath/shortness of breathing symptom was terrible, I would breath, and not pull enough oxygen this shit was horrible I couldn't be more thankful and grateful for being able to breath normally again (80/100)

 

I could stand right in front of an air conditioner for 30 minutes after a cold shower and not shake or tremble due to the excess cold that I should otherwise feel

 

You're all going to be fine.


Move on with your lives. If you've been clean for at least 6 months then you are done. Mission accomplished. This forum serves you no purpose anymore and it's keeping you from progressing. Do not spend the next several years here going round and round in circles, it's making you worse.

 

You keep talking about how the forum is psyching people into believing theirs something wrong with them, but, the funny thing is i didn't even know my withdrawals were related to porn until later on. In fact i didn't even come across this website until a decent deal of time later in my withdrawals. Besides using your logic, i've been living the most stress free life i possibly can, so i should be completely fine at the moment then right? Thing is, im not. And you can keep saying its stress if you want your entitled to your opinion just like me, but i really don't think you should discount the effect porn has on chemicals in the brain, and how long it can take to recover from those imbalances. Also i somewhat agree with what you said above about dopamine not being the be all end all, but studies have shown that low levels of it can lead to somewhat severe mental and physical problems, and dopamine isn't only chemical released when masturbating either.

 

Sounds like my life I had every symptom you mentioned. Gosh I remember the back pain I went to the doctors for it they saw nothing, after I started nofap it went away. The brain fog crippled my life more than anything thankfully I’m seeing improvements on my good days im 324 days hard mode and still dealing with PAWS.

 

Peoples experiences are very different. And although I don't think everything can not be just randomly be placed under "PAWS", I am 100% convinced PAWS do exist. Keep in mind this is a forum and, although my trust in people is pretty high, I also recognize we can put everything on here that comes to our minds.

Some experience heavy migraines, flu like symptoms, diarhea, etc
Some experience severe fear and anxiety, nightmares, neurological disfunctions, or even suicidal thoughts
Some people even have stories of lucid dreams where demons or succubi try to hold-on to their being, scaring them big time one more time before finally leaving

Some people experience all of the above
And some people experience "just" heavy social anxiety

everyones "hell" is vastly different

Look up the stories on benzobuddies, where people experience waves of real, real tough hell for months and years. Only because of some little white pill they took every day which influences the GABAergic system a bit.

Oh and, again, look up "crawlingordie" his posts on reddit etc. He also experienced some real existential pain. (He's doing fine now after 5+ years of nofap without relapse)


shit is real

Continuing communicating our experiences with each other, while being honest with ourselves, is VITAL

I would also encourage everyone on here, whatever your pain or story, to look into "epigenetics". Not so much the joe dispenza kind of information, but I mean the scientific information we now have on epigenetics (look up how people live in the Bluezones. Talking about some lifestyle )

 

I don't understand whysolong's position. I am 10 months in (had sex at 6 months once) - and at no point did I ever feel close to normal. I am going to state again just as so many people have the implicit assumption everyone who gets addicted to porn are depressed, anxious, and living in their parents basements; I never in my life had social anxiety or depression not attributed to cocaine or porn, and my current symptoms started around 3-4 month of nofap and around 5-6 relapse

I also don't frequent this forums much, nor do I live a stressful life. In fact my life is the most stress free it's been since I was born in terms of external factors.

I also meditate, like a lot, and I'm pretty close to completing the full Buddhist path. I've spent nearly 2 months this year in intensive silent retreat meditating 16-18 hrs a day.

I have had periods of weeks where barely any thoughts besides going to the toilet have appeared in my consciousness. I can feel the energy flux and vibrate through every part of my body. I can't describe how attune I am within my own experience.

Guess what? Even when I meditate and reach states of consciousness known as Jhana states -> I arrive back to a body that is in constant low level fight or flight, with a numbed/blocked energy toward the front of my head, that pulses and tingles.

I understand the sentiment - when you are physiologically healed, you probably want to put everything behind you and move on, but how can people come to the position that telling people who are healing and suffering from essentially brain damage to just move on, it's nuts. It's completely unhelpful advice at best, and at worst contributes to more suffering and stress.

PAWS is real, the suffering is real, healing is real, complete recovery is real.

Lows of addiction to full recovery is a progressive journery and spectrum. We should tailor our advice to where people are on the spectrum. Someone who is 12 months in needs different advice and support then someone who is 6 months in, 3 months in or struggling to simply get a streak of 30 days going.

Lets be clear; telling anyone who is still in recovery no matter where they are on their journey, that they are being hyperbolic, and discounting their experience or suffering never constitutes good advice