Thinking about / watching sexual stuff while Nofap

You will have sexual thoughts for the rest of your life. It is part of being human. So no I wouldn't call that relapse. However, I wouldn't watch "sexual stuff" during recovery. It seems like it'll only do harm in the long run.

 

I wouldn’t say you relapsed but you’re definitely playing with fire by looking at instagram and social media shit that’s a major p-substitute trap. The fantasies are torture and not worth it though it’s damn hard not to think of past times with girls. Great work not touching your bird at all. That’s key.

 

I agree with the above. What you're experiencing is normal recovery. The fantasy is your brain trying to trigger an actual dopamine kick. If you actually look at p subs all the time and edge, that's similar to a dopamine release.

This is normal part of rebooting. You're doing great, don't give up now you can save yourself huge pain and set yourself a massive advantage in your life. Many your age will not do this and suffer big time. Good Luck.

 

While I'm not an expert in the NoFap forums, I do have some understanding of how brain chemistry works. Dopamine is a natural part of brain function. There are negative consequences to dopamine going too low, just as there might be for having it spike.

I've been at the low end, and, believe it or not, have been experimenting with nipple stimulation just to provide my brain with some dopamine. (I don't recommend you try this unless you know yourself to be strong against crossing the line.) Whether it is from this, or from the special prayers of friends and family during the past several days, I have been feeling less depressed since doing this. If nipples are off limits, I guess I'd need to do a reset as well. But for my personal goals, they are within bounds at this point. Health is part of my ultimate goal, in addition to having a clear conscience.

I haven't experienced all of the extra "energy" that others claim to have via semen retention. It's been months for me without any loss of such vital essence, but they have been lonely months as they were precipitated by the loss of my life companion. The loneliness and depression, possibly complicated by a B12 deficiency, have caused me to lose weight which I needed to keep (6' 1" / 185 cm. tall & 106 lbs. / 48 kg. weight currently), lose sleep, get headaches, feel anxiety, tired all the time, etc., and when I went searching for answers online, I soon found many of these were symptoms of low dopamine levels. As I see it, therefore, dopamine is not, itself, the enemy. It's dopamine which has been out of balance that seems to be the problem. Everything in moderation.

Anything you enjoy will give you some dopamine, including eating, exercising, and many other healthful or wholesome activities. Don't worry so much about dopamine--it is natural to have it, and it is a necessary body chemical. Just be sure to live healthfully and morally so as not to unnecessarily drain your nervous energy.

 

Not sure if it slows progress. But I does create dopamine for sure

 

I have been researching nipple stimulation lately. This sounds to me like a great way of regulating urges and i must admit this seems quite beneficial to one's goal of abstinence. Unless it leads one to cross the line, as you have stated.

I don't know about dopamine release however i can confirm oxytocin release as this has been noted in biological studies.

I see this type of stimulation as a cleaner way to temper urges and while it's definitely not O, it can cause one to crave such a thing.

This may be a solution in keeping with one's goals. My goals today are not grabbing my junk and pulling off.

 

That depends on what his goal is. If his goal is to stop PMO, then no this isn't a good way to fight off urges. If he wants to stop PMO, this means no porn, no masturbation, and no orgasms. Also, this nipple stimulation would INCREASE the urge not be a means to temper it Again, it depends on what he is actually working on. For me, I'm doing nofap and no PMO so I don't want to be stimulated so that my urges increase in strength. I don't know what his goal is.

 

1. No you don't need to start over. You didn't watch porn, masturbate, or have an orgasm. I don't know what your goals are, in terms of porn addiction. If your goal is to kill the porn addiction, then what do you want to give up? Just porn? Porn and masturbating? It depends on your goal. In case you didn't know, YOU set the goals.

2. You don't need to start over but you do need a break from sexual situations and thoughts. Keep busy, do exercise, go for a walk, read a book. This should stop the sexual thoughts.

3. Those sexual thoughts are going to increase your urges and will, at some point, cause you to relapse. I've been keeping busy with political activity, reading a book, taking care of my partner and my dog, and getting online and chatting with friends via Facebook. You have to find things that are fun to do that take up all your time. Those thoughts won't hang around at all. I'm almost three weeks into my nofap, no PMO journey and I haven't had many sexual thoughts. I'm too busy. I will be less busy after January 20, 2021, when the political world will be settled. I'll create a schedule that will STILL keep me busy. I hope you can find a way to stay busy.