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The Lord of the Rings Challenge

Discussion in 'Events & Challenges' started by RiseToGreatness, Sep 22, 2019.

Should the Thread Title be extended?

Poll closed Jun 21, 2020.
  1. No, leave like that: "The Lord of the Rings Challenge"

    18 vote(s)
    54.5%
  2. Yes. "The Lord of the Rings Challenge: The Fellowship of Nofap"

    15 vote(s)
    45.5%
  3. Yes. "The Lord of the Rings Challenge: Rising Fellowship of Eärendil"

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  4. Yes. "The Lord of the Rings Challenge: The Journey to Mount Doom"

    5 vote(s)
    15.2%
  5. Yes. "The Lord of the Rings Challenge: The Quest of the Ring-bearer"

    6 vote(s)
    18.2%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. EpsilonDelta

    EpsilonDelta Fapstronaut

    10 days.

    Cold is pretty much gone, and yesterday I even visited a friend. We ate some good food and played some music.
     
  2. Rubzi

    Rubzi Fapstronaut

    681
    4,271
    123
    Caught myself fishing last night. But didn't give in and went to bed.

    Day 22 - The village of Bree.
     
  3. PeaceOnEarth108

    PeaceOnEarth108 Fapstronaut

  4. Vanquisher12

    Vanquisher12 Fapstronaut

    Day 1 completed, Orc again
     
    Talz, MS PBH, HE^MAN and 9 others like this.
  5. modern milarepa

    modern milarepa Fapstronaut

    435 days high king
    502 days no PMO, semen retention
     
  6. Ready to Stop

    Ready to Stop Fapstronaut

    727
    7,364
    123
    Day 203 no PMO. I volunteered at church yesterday for the first time since the pandemic hit. It was great to be back and trying to make a difference.
     
    Talz, MS PBH, HE^MAN and 10 others like this.
  7. RiseToGreatness

    RiseToGreatness Fapstronaut

    5,927
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    well, it´s not that simple "as jerking off" bro. maybe in static porn it was simple yes, but in high speed internet porn, not so much. if it was simple then it would be easy to get out of this, and most people struggle like hell to stop.

    actually, it does seem that PMO activates the same reward circuits on the brain that fires rocket dopamine, like hard drugs do.

    coincidentally, i was gonna post a article today from "your brain on porn" about that. stay tuned to my main post ;). thank you
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2021
  8. RiseToGreatness

    RiseToGreatness Fapstronaut

    5,927
    34,114
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    Great song bro, nice vibe :D
     
  9. RiseToGreatness

    RiseToGreatness Fapstronaut

    5,927
    34,114
    143
    Excellent brother. Keep going!! :)
     
  10. RiseToGreatness

    RiseToGreatness Fapstronaut

    5,927
    34,114
    143
    Congratulations bro. Keep going!! One day at a time ;)
     
  11. RiseToGreatness

    RiseToGreatness Fapstronaut

    5,927
    34,114
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    Checking in Fellowship!! :)

    Another early check-in, but i think this will happen in the next weeks, as i´m full with work, so i got to find the best time to be with you, even if it´s far from the turn of the reboot day.

    So today, so far, no urges (or minimal), feeling a bit tired and anxious, but overall better than in previous weeks.

    yesterday my 5 senses were very alive. i notice that i was crossing a bridge over a river, something that i did many times in the past, but yesterday it seem magical to me, the water was alive, the bridge was alive, it was awesome!! :). really magical feeling of aliveness and belonging :)

    Have a great day brave Companion!! :D Checking out.


    Here´s a very important excerpt from "your brain on porn" that sheds light to the difficulty of overcoming porn and masturbation addiction. Beware my brothers and sisters, Sauron is stronger than we think. But day by day, battle by battle, we will destroy him and his damn ring.


    "Addiction

    A second adaptation that may arise from excessive porn consumption is addiction. Interestingly, scientists recently showed that methamphetamine and cocaine hijack the same reward-centre nerve cells that evolved for sexual conditioning. A second study by some of the same researchers found that sex with ejaculation shrinks (for a week at least) the cells that pump dopamine throughout the reward circuit. These same dopamine-producing nerve cells shrink with heroin addiction.

    Put simply, addictive drugs like meth and heroin are compelling because they hijack the precise mechanisms that evolved to make sex compelling. Other pleasures also activate the reward centre, but their associated nerve cells don't overlap as completely with sex. Therefore they feel different and less compelling. We all know the difference between munching on chips and an orgasm.

    Just as drugs can activate the ‘sex’ nerve cells and trigger a buzz without actual sex, so can internet porn. Pleasures like golf, sunsets and laughing cannot. For that matter, neither can good old rock & roll. Just because something is pleasurable doesn't mean it's addictive. Sexual arousal is nature's number-one priority and raises dopamine the highest of all natural rewards.

    Researchers know that in all addictions, despite their differences, chronic dopamine elevation tips specific neurochemical dominoes, which bring about an established set of core brain changes. These, in turn, show up as recognized signs, symptoms and behaviours, such as those listed in this standard addiction assessment test known as the ‘Three Cs’:

    1. craving and preoccupation with obtaining, engaging in or recovering from the use of the
    substance or behaviour;

    2. loss of control in using the substance or engaging in the behaviour with increasing
    frequency or duration, larger amounts or intensity, or in increasing the risk in use and
    behaviour to obtain the desired effect; and

    3. negative consequences in physical, social, occupational, financial and psychological
    domains.

    How great is the risk of porn addiction? Well, it's common knowledge that dopamine-raising substances, such as alcohol or cocaine, can create addictions. Yet only about 10-15% of humans or rats that use addictive drugs (except nicotine) ever become addicts. Does this mean the rest of us are safe from addiction? When it comes to substance abuse, perhaps yes.
    Yet when it comes to unrestricted access to super-stimulating versions of natural rewards, such as junk food, the answer is no, although certainly not every consumer gets hooked.

    The reason that highly stimulating versions of food and sexual arousal can hook us – even if we're not otherwise susceptible to addiction – is that our reward circuitry evolved to drive us toward food and sex, not drugs or alcohol. Today’s high fat/sugar foods have hooked far more people into destructive patterns of behaviour than have illegal drugs. 70% of American adults are overweight, 37% obese. We don't know how many people are being negatively affected by internet pornography, given the secrecy that surrounds its use, but the parallels with junk food are both highly suggestive and deeply troubling.

    These supernormal versions of natural rewards have the ability to override our brain’s satiation mechanisms – the ‘I’m done’ feeling. It's hardly surprising that unlimited erotic novelty is compelling for large swaths of the population, including many who would not be susceptible to substance addiction."
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2021
    Ready_to_Stop, Talz, MS PBH and 9 others like this.
  12. MyGodandMyAll27

    MyGodandMyAll27 Fapstronaut

    Day 14. Everything went fine , I went to Sunday Mass , did my work and did some activities.
     
  13. Revanthegrey

    Revanthegrey Fapstronaut

    1,626
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    daily checking in
    Problems with the urges on the night but i did handled it.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Diderik

    Diderik Fapstronaut
    NoFap Defender

    913
    3,961
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    ---
    tldr:

    PM is difficult, though I feel that essentially the problem is simple. How to quit? Just do not do it again; replace it with healthy sexuality and healthy behavior. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that it is incredibly hard and we complicate it out of control.

    I ignored the bigger problem of pm when I said my problem was "just jerking off". My remaining problem really seems to be just m, which is what I was trying to say. I apologize for minimizing the seriousness of everyone else's and my previous pm problem; please, everyone, take it seriously and work your plan diligently.
    ---

    I was only addressing the jerking off. I should have specified that that was all I was struggling with. I had been away from porn for over 300 days, so now for me it really is almost as simple as just masturbating or not, I think. Nonetheless, I agree that my post ignored the bigger problem we all had and most of us still have: quitting porn-- which of course is mostly what NoFap is about, in my opinion. I guess I was just in a mood and wanted to get my feelings out quickly without doing a lot of thinking about it, but this does take thinking too.

    Yes, pm is similar to hard drugs in a lot of ways, though not the same. I have tried a hard drug (I won't say which one or describe here), and I realized why people did those so much. Fortunately, I told myself I would never do it again and I was not around people where it was prominent or I could get it. One difference is that the 'high' lasts much longer and is much stronger with one dose of the drug I tried, than it is with pm. With pm, I had to spend hours getting 'hit' after 'hit' to maintain the high. It's a different thing, though like I say they are very similar, and yes, I felt a bit of the same feeling on both. I see what dopamine and the rest of the hedonic brain chemicals feel like and I do respect how addictive they are in any form.

    Let us stay away from all that type of behavior.

    All I was originally saying was that masturbation by itself was probably not as hard as we make it out to be. I stick by this statement, though my post ignored the seriousness at the same time, and I needed the correction.

    Thank you, @RiseToGreatness, for correcting me. You are right.

    Recovery is not simple, though one can boil it down to quitting the behavior, replacing it with healthy sexuality and behavior. Untangling the mess of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors involved is very complex, especially after years of pm.

    Thanks as always to everyone for being here for one another, including for me. We can do this!

    For me, it's 312 days p-free, about 58 days psub-free (I was way off before on psubs), and my counter indicates m-free days.

    Onward!
     
  15. Diderik

    Diderik Fapstronaut
    NoFap Defender

    913
    3,961
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    Advice I hope is good:

    Establish a daily routine.

    As for me, I include:
    * social support like NoFap, talking and messaging to a friend, face to face support, et cetera
    * journaling
    * maintaining my relationship with my wife (if not married it would be working toward being ready, and later I would change it to finding and developing a relationship)
    * developing that routine

    Do not spend too much time online. Go get a big glass of ice water. Repeat often.

    Exercise.

    Meditate.

    Keep up with the small changes you have started.

    Do not 'beat yourself up' about taking time to get these things in place.

    I know I posted something not thought out at all. Now I am posting something totally thought out. The extremes probably come from my disorder. We probably know what I have, I always see a counselor and a doctor, and thanks for understanding. I am just glad I do not do anything serious.

    Let's do this. Onward!
     
  16. Chi405

    Chi405 Fapstronaut

    869
    4,950
    123
  17. Zapy97

    Zapy97 Fapstronaut

    246
    1,967
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  18. Vanquisher12

    Vanquisher12 Fapstronaut

    Fucking PMO'ed today, I am solidly ashamed of myself even though I shouldn't be, because I shouldn't be so weak. I was stronger than this, and I want to be again.
     
  19. Slider8

    Slider8 Fapstronaut

    2,955
    12,485
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    Busy day, but meditation, cold shower, some studies and good workout were fit in !;)
     
  20. Onan the Barbarian

    Onan the Barbarian Fapstronaut

    619
    4,452
    123
    Day 34

    Hey guys. Having a rough one today. Can't get PMO and related things off my mind. My rationalization hamster is in high gear. I'm gonna do my best and follow my plan, but prayers really would be appreciated if you believe in that.
     

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