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What is the number one reason to quit PMO?

Discussion in 'Porn Addiction' started by RainbowChaser39, Jul 2, 2020.

  1. RainbowChaser39

    RainbowChaser39 Fapstronaut

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    You see, i think i will get some hate for saying this, but i've been struggling a bit with the idea that porn is bad for us.
    Is there really a scientific proof that it's doing something bad to us ?
    Please help me change my mind because i would like to quit but find it hard to really see that its doing something truly bad to us. This is a serious post, no trolling, please help me see what bad thing PMO does to us?
    thanx
     
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  2. skaterdrew

    skaterdrew Fapstronaut

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    When it comes to porn in my opinion the biggest problem is the platform, how the porn is being delivered to you. Having a platform where there is never ending searching, having never ending content to search and find. This platform only really came about in 2006. This is the biggest problem when it comes to porn/artificial sexual stimulation in my opinion.

    Constantly searching and viewing new content, flicking about tons of different tabs, doing all this while edging and masturbating is very damaging. Your brain keeps constantly releasing more and more dopamine every time you search and watch something new, then your also edging and masturbating while doing all of this. It's causing your brain to go sky high in dopamine. This is actually the reason you want to keep edging, searching and looking at something new, because more dopamine keeps constantly being released when you do this.

    This is addict behaviour. Constantly wanting to drink more alcohol, constantly wanting to take more drugs, constantly gambling, constantly anticipating the win. Constantly wanting to search more arousing content while edging and masturbating. The reason people want to use these things in this way is because the way they're using these things is causing the dopamine to keep going higher and higher in their brain. It's addict behaviour.

    Having dopamine sky rocket in your brain to this extent for long enough causes many things to happen in your brain that you don't want. Down regulation of dopamine receptors ext. You also develop a tolerance to what you're using and keep needing more of it. So with porn you might need more extreme types of porn, and just searching, edging and binging more in general.

    Having your dopamine sky rocketing to this extent can cause mental health problems, and as you're probably aware when you sky rocket your dopamine like this for long enough through porn and artificial sexual stimulation this can also cause difficult to reverse sexual dysfunctions like erectile dysfunction.

    Here actually check out this video on dopamine and addiction.

     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
  3. First of all OP, I want to praise you for asking this question which doesn't get asked nearly enough on this forum. And yes, there is a chance you will get hate for asking such a question here, unfortunately. Here is my input.

    There doesn't have to be a universal reason, nor do I think there should be. People should have the accountability to decide for themselves whether watching porn is a good or bad idea. You will find a lot of people on this site who believe that the idea of porn itself is evil or harmful in nature. I vehemently disagree. I see porn as a neutral thing, perhaps even a positive thing that, when used in the wrong way, can have negative effects on someone's life. But the guilt ultimately lies with the consumer. It is OUR responsibility to determine if our use of porn is causing us more harm than good, and OUR responsibility to take action if we recognize a problem.

    Now, with that said, speaking from personal experience I have seen a multitude of positive results in my life as a direct result of participating in NoFap. Some of these were psychological results, such as boosted confidence. Some were emotional - improved mood, etc. Some were physiological - improved sensitivity, no more need for a "death grip," so to speak.

    So far, a lot of the information we have comes from anecdote. There is research in support of and contrary to the notion of "porn addiction" - a term which I try to avoid using overtly. If you really want to know all there is to know, I would recommend reading a bunch of research articles on the topic. Sites like scholar.google.com will narrow down search results to peer reviewed articles, although they cannot filter out bias. Many people on this forum rely on a site called yourbrainonporn.com for their rationale. Although I respect the scholarly approach of that site, it has to be said that there is an overt bias against porn and the porn industry.

    I hope you do your own research and come back with a conclusion that suits you, whatever your goals may be.

    And if you're truly curious, there is nothing better than firsthand experience. Try a challenge of NoFap for a month and see if anything changes in your life.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
  4. I agree with your message, but I wanted to highlight key phrases, which I'm sure you intentionally included in your post.
    Phrases like "to this extent" and "for long enough." I don't remember your exact stance on this issue, but I'm sure you would agree that the quantity and intensity of use is what matters with so-called "addictive" substances or behaviors, not necessarily the use in and of itself.
     
  5. skaterdrew

    skaterdrew Fapstronaut

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    Well yeah if you masturbated to porn for instance and it was over with in 10 minutes, this would be no where near as damaging as someone who has edged, masturbated and binged on tons of different content for hours.

    It's the second one that is more addict behaviour.

    Another example is you could have two friends who meet up for lunch, they both decide to have a few glasses of alcohol with their lunch. But after these few glasses of alcohol friend number 1 has had enough, but friend number 2 hasn't had enough and wants to keep drinking. So later that night friend number 1 only had a few glasses of alcohol with their lunch, where as friend number 2 bought more alcohol and got intoxicated.

    Friend number 2 is the one with the addict behaviour. Friend number 1 didn't keep wanting more alcohol, where as friend number 2 did keep wanting more alcohol.

    Friend number 1 and friend number 2 both used a harmful addictive substance. But only friend number 2 displayed addict behaviour on this substance.

    You could use this example for anything, including porn. Was your slip on porn short and over quick? Did you not feel the urge to use any more porn after this slip? Or did you keep wanting more porn after this slip? Did you keep using more porn after this slip?

    If you keep wanting more of it, and keep using more of it then this is more like addict behaviour.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
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  6. Avenger 2.0

    Avenger 2.0 Fapstronaut

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    Porn does have bad effects on our brain. But after doing nofap, i do find it overhyped. What we do is that we blame porn and masturbation for all out problems. We feel as if porn is the reason of our misery and all out bad habits. But we fail to understand that nofap isn't the solution. Nofap does provide us a strong base to build new and better habits. But what you build is totally up to you. You can still be a lazy ass even if you do nofap. I never felt any "superpower". Even after nofap I'm still the same person.
    As for the scientific reasons, there are various reasons. But the biggest reason is huge dopamine and instant gratification. This makes us procrastinate. Our brain uses porn to get its dopamine - the"feel good" hormone. It decreases our productivity and we kind of avoid difficult stuff. So yeah porn is bad.
    As for masturbation, it's totally up to you whether you want to do it or not. Masturbation in control is okay. But porn isn't good at all. Btw u can get more info if you google nofap.

    Also people don't realise that porn and masturbation aren't the only things which provide high dopamine and instant gratification. Our mobile phones,. laptops,video games also give us a big shot of dopamine. We can use such activities as rewards though.
    There is this guy named Andrew Kirby. You can watch his YouTube videos. They are really helpful. He makes videos on self improvement stuff. Here's one of his videos.

    I apologise if I weren't able to convey myself properly. English isn't my first language.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
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  7. RainbowChaser39

    RainbowChaser39 Fapstronaut

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    This is interesting, can you elaborate which mental health problems and how does this happen ?

    btw great video, i really enjoyed the explanation of how dopamine works, i guess i released dopamine by watching a video about dopamine. it ties closely with what iv been reading recently in "Power of Habbit" book , according to the author thing that holds every habbit together is craving , and expecting a reward causes craving so this method of motivating yourself suggested in the video is brilliant, starving yourself of dopamine to make borring activities look more appealing and/or using high dopamine activity to cause a craving for doing healthy habbit seems like a great way to motivate yourself.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
  8. Di.Do.555

    Di.Do.555 Fapstronaut

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    It fucks up your dopamine receptors.
    It fucks up your masculinity.
    It makes you a slave to pleasure.
    It screws up your self image.
    It screws up your view on women.
    You surrender your sexuality to an an evil industry. Your sexuality may be fixed but your sexual preference is malleable.
    Watching porn makes you a pavlovian dog. They ring the bell and at first they throw in some meat and bones , but at a later stage , they will start ringing the bell and throwing shit at you. And you know what ? You will eat it because you lost your free will to a bell.
     
  9. Arnuld

    Arnuld Fapstronaut

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    It’s just wrong. For many of the reasons listed above and because of one that is undefinable. It’s that thing inside all of us that knows it’s just not right. Things that are good for you generally make you feel better and help you to be a better human. Porn does not do this in any way. It’s the psycho emotional and spiritual equivalent of eating twinkies. It may taste good in the moment but you know it’s garbage.
     
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  10. PerseveranceToday

    PerseveranceToday Fapstronaut

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    Depends on the person.
     
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  11. RainbowChaser39

    RainbowChaser39 Fapstronaut

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    Sorry i didnt get the following points, would you please elaborate?

    - it fucks up your masculinity : how does it do that? Here is a shot in the dark ... Do you mean by equating masculinty to penis size and comparing to male pornstars?

    - screwing up self image: isnt this individual based on how one perceives themselves?
     
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  12. Iamdone

    Iamdone Fapstronaut

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    I think we all have to find our own reasons, one reason for me is I’m not very proud of myself when I view and treat other people as nothing more than an object. It’s disappointing. And I hate living being disappointed in myself all the time.
     
    Bat thunder 8 likes this.
  13. fredisthebes

    fredisthebes Fapstronaut

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    Amazing, life-changing book. Actually it gets brought up quite a lot on this forum.

    Porn addiction effects different people in different ways, but I think ultimately we all want to be free of addiction in general, to feel like we are in control of our lives, and the starting point for this has to be our personal habits. Do you ever find yourself planning your day off in your head while you are at work, all the things you are going to finally get done etc? And then end up spending the day in bed with the curtains closed? Yeah, me too. We are wasting our time, and that is the one thing that we can NEVER get back.
     
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  14. Here is a fun analogy.

    Let's say I have a forum with an active community of 10,000 members. All of us are addicted to eating paint, and the purpose of the forum is recovery from paint. Now we can all agree that paint has had a hugely negative effect on our lives. But does that mean that paint is evil, or that the paint industry is evil? No - the paint industry provides a service that most people would value as a positive effect on their lives. People have had the desire to color their homes and belongings since the beginning of humanity - and just because the luxury of being able to do so has physical and mental costs on some people, does not mean that we should do away with the institution of paint as a whole.
     
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  15. RainbowChaser39

    RainbowChaser39 Fapstronaut

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    The longest my streak can last is 10-15 days then my libido usually increases and temptations just get too tempting.
    My cue that starts my pmo habit is a combination of loneliness and seeing someone sexually attractive to me, it starts a craving that i can hardly fight against.
    What i get a kick from is seeing women showing some kind of sexual approva/liking/affection toward a male pornstar that makes me subconciously feel like im that guy which is what i lack in real life - someone who loves me for who i m.
    It will be hard to combat this but i will give it a try.
     
  16. I'm sure you would agree that having a woman like that in your real life is far better than having someone on a screen alone. I'm glad you've decided to approach this rationally. If nothing else, let the results speak for themselves. Don't let me or anyone else try to convince you.

    Overcoming sexual urges is one of the hardest things to do, but you need to find something that motivates you to do it. Check out some of the success stories here, they can be pretty inspiring. Personally, I have made it to 93 days, and those were some of the best days of my life. If you can get 10-15 then you can easily get 100. The first couple weeks are always the hardest. Just stay away from thoughts and images that trigger you. And stay busy. Good luck.
     
  17. RainbowChaser39

    RainbowChaser39 Fapstronaut

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    Hi FellatiousD , so you are saying that porn is just a tool that can have positive effects if not misused? That makes sense, i think there are many good things i picked up from porn for example all the sexual techniques :D , i guess the problem starts when you are trying to replace your lack of healthy sex with porn, it becomes your personal lover so to speak.
     
  18. Di.Do.555

    Di.Do.555 Fapstronaut

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    Try no pmo for a while and you will understand.
     
  19. With something like this, you really need to experiment with yourself. Be your own scientist. Forget about the research if it is something you feel is biased or not the truth. What matters most is your own experience of truth. So give porn a break and see how you feel, bare in mind the benefits can take a while to kick in so it will need some time.
     
    RainbowChaser39 likes this.
  20. Prabal Baishya

    Prabal Baishya Fapstronaut

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    Ok so my number 1 reason to start NoFap is that I was tired of my lifestyle. I was not an addict as I could go for a huge number of days without masturbating even before knowing anything about nofap, but sometimes I would go upto 3 times a day lol. I came to know about porn at the age of 12 and about Nofap at the age of 17. Then I started to research more about nofap and it's benefits and decided to give it a try. I remember the 1st time I did was like going for 12 days but on the 13th day the urges were so sudden and huge that I eventually failed. I felt that something essential had been lost from my body and kept on trying and lost numerous number of times. But finally I have came to a point that if I get any urges I remind myself of my past failures and how they affected me later on. So all of failures actually helped me in getting stronger and now I feel that I can go on forever.
     

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