The reason for anxiety, insomnia, etc.

Disclaimer: this is my own theory, based on my journey and things that I have read.

There is a common pattern among testimonials on nofap.com: men that have checked themselves with a physician and have normal results in analysis of blood, heart, digestive system, etc. but still suffer unbearable anxiety and insomnia among others (these are the most common).

I don't think this has to do with the dopaminergic system.

Indulging with PMO for hours is so incredibly pleasant that everything else becomes annoying and uninteresting, even irritating. With time, our system adapts to that, gets used to the pleasant state --and wants more. Then what was the normal state turns into something unacceptable and disappointing --"disappointment" is synonymous with anxiety in the Thesaurus dictionary. Our body interprets what used to be normal as a threat, and hence activates the fight or flight mechanism, which switches off the immune system, keeps you alert (insomnia), causes you fear (anxiety and panic attacks), halts your digestive system (heartburn and nausea), etc.

Although I didn't suffer from PIED, I would apply the same logic thereto: an ordinary relation is "boring" compared to PMO. Hence you don't get aroused by normal things.

As I said, in my humble opinion this has nothing to do with dopamine. Dopamine is what makes you chase PMO, what makes you disregard other important things to attend your addiction, what makes you want to repeat and escalate more and more. In short, what makes you an addict.

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P.S: striking-through some parts where I don't really know enough to draw conclusions.

 

I read about your association problem in the other thread and I agree: association can make it worse. I remember being terrified by my bed for a few months. I still sometimes am.

 

Yes, but not so bad and not so often as before. I think I'm recovering.

 

Maybe I was too quick above to dismiss the dopaminergic system as the culprit for some withdrawal symptoms. I guess what I wanted to remark is that I don't see an association between the motivation to do things —I understood this was the goal of dopamine– and anxiety or insomnia. I never had motivation problems; in fact last year at the bottom of my downfall I was still supermotivated in my work and in the gym —when not plagued by withdrawal symptoms. I am going to strike through part of my original post tho.

That's an interesting article —I get lost after a while I must confess. Yeah, I also remember reading about how anxiety and insomnia produce dopamine in the brain, which could be seen as a trick that the brain plays on itself to fulfill its hunger for dopamine. And I put this answer in a few threads on the topic in nofap.com. But, altho this is a coherent explanation, it does not make so much sense after I think about it: why would the brain deliberately do this? E.g. why would your brain want dopamine if all you need is to sleep? To me, it makes more sense to think about it as a state of alert, like in the fight or flight mode, due to normal life being unbearable (hence dangerous) in comparison to the high of PMO. And I can attest this by the way I would twitch everytime I was close to fall asleep, like I was surrounded by snakes —fortunately not the case anymore.

 

I started having heart palpitations on September 2016 and still have them. For many months I was unable to sleep on my left side because my heart would become very agitated and would beat chaotically, which is scary as hell. Because of that I could only sleep on my right side and now my right shoulder is injured. The doctor says my heart is fine but I am still in observation and go to check myself every 4 or 6 months.

But things seem to be improving. I am able to sleep on my left side again, except for nights when the withdrawal symptoms hit back. The cardiologist prescribed me a supplement with potasium, magnesium, vitamins and Q10 which helps with heart rhythm disorders.

 

Yeah, in the beginning symptoms would not show when I went to the doctor. It was very frustrating.

Already did. It showed the mentioned disorders. Nothing structurally bad or worrying, the doc said.

He has already told me that this is caused by stress, an issue in my nervous system. I already removed all stress from my life but I didn't tell him this is due to PMO.

I agree with you.

How is your heart progressing? Does it improve with abstinence?

 

Yes, if you didn't see a doctor yet you should definitely do that ASAP.