I truly want to reboot my life. I'm a smoker, an occasional drinker, a porn addict, and a seldom- but more than I want to- junk food eater. The only thing going for me is that I do exercise regularly. My questions are: is it advisable to quit PMO and simultaneously quit all my other bad habits/addictions/demons? Or would this be too hard on myself, making the odds of PMO recovery virtually insurmountable? Has anyone else ever tried this multi-faceted approach?
Honestly this is something you should try for yourself. When I first started nofap I couldn't try and break another bad habit. But now a year later I'm at it again working on beating this PMO habit along with dieting and exercising daily. So far it's been working. Im also finding that doing the exercise and diet has kept my urges down. Anyways give it a try man and see what works best for you.
I can only talk for myself and what I've experienced. For me it's always been like: "This is the day everything changes. I'm going to stop PMO, start training like a professional, eating a perfect diet etc". The result has always been 4-5 good days and back to start again. That being said I'm doing something familier this time too, but my goals are now extremely low. No PMO off course. My goal is to start training regularly and make it a hobby. I don't care if I have a bad workout as long as I'm working out and not using my time on PMO. When it comes to eating I've started to drop sugar from my diet. That means that I can eat everything else. I've been eating pasta, chips and all kind of shit lately but I don't care as long as I don't eat that addictive sugar. After 10 days of PMO I'm going to eat junk food only every other day and after 20 day every 3rd day etc. Eventually I will get a good diet and get fit. I'm going to keep this going for a year and by that time I will be free from PMO, in shape and living life to the fullest. I'm also working on some other things in my life like self esteem, productivity and overcoming social anxiety. I think it's important to work on different things at the same time as it keeps your mind occupied. Focusing on only the PMO makes it much more difficult is my experience. All you do is thinking about not doing PMO. All day long you keep thinking about this PMO. I think it's better to do something else instead. Maybe living life.
Yes, do everything at once ! My success story: Two years ago, I quit PMO, I did sports, changed my nutrition - all at once. And I made a 35-day hard mode leap, out of nowhere. Yes, do it !! Just do it!
MOST of our bad habits are tied to the same responses in our brains. As a health coach, I always encourage my clients to have cheat or "treat" meals as long as they are 80% good with their diet. With true addicts, Im finding that maybe cold turkey elimination is the way to go as one cheat can lead to full on relapse so very easily. For me I am cutting out dipping skoal, because I always put it in while I jacked off as part of my ritual. I can honestly say that I dont miss it AT ALL. If you are talking about not going to the gym as a bad habit, then YES, break that habit for sure, because regular exercise helps to lessen overall cortisol production which should help with other impulses. Same with nutrition. Blood sugar stabilization can greatly reduce overall cortisol production as well. Edit: just saw that you get in reg exercize and eat fairly good lol. Well hopefully my post resonates with others ☺
Good idea I'm exactly the same I'm on day 2 now and think I should stop smoking 2 because it's part of the fog in my head
Good for you being in day 2. Keep it up (pardon the inappropriate pun)! I kicked everything out, except smoking right now. I'm on day 4, and I quit junk food and drinking. The smoking is my ultimate addiction, so I'm going to wait till I feel the negative symptoms of no PMO is starting to subside.
I voted - "Everyone is different. See what works for you by trial and error." For me it depends. Sometimes it has been beneficial and other times it has not. So depends from what kind of mindset I am in I guess. For the most part I notice it works for me the best.
Your body has a sweet spot at which it operates, and it undergoes several processes in order to stay in that equilibrium. For example, your body temperature is regulated by homeostasis; when your body heats up, your metabolism decrease, your skin blood vessels dilate to lose heat and cools you back to equilibrium. But when you're cold your muscles begin to involuntary contract and relax to produce heat and warm you up. Your body is always hovering over that equilibrium point from being at one side of the spectrum to another. I think that the same concept is applied to your habits. If you are used to a set of habits then those habits define your equilibrium point. One one end of the spectrum you have your better self with better habits (right side), on the other is where you overindulge in poor habits that hurt you (left side). If you happen to be far in the left side, your mind attempt to pull you back to equilibrium by a feeling of guilt and you will momentarily dispose of the bad habits that controlled you. If you happen to be on the right you will feel good about yourself and lay down your guard to be pulled back to the left side. The most intense shifts to the right and left side of your mental equilibrium happens when you try to make a big change at once. It is just too much to what you are used to. You need slowly and permanently shift that equilibrium point all together to the right side by taking small steps to improve yourself. That way you are always on the right of that sweet spot by a little bit, and your mind is not compromised. Rome wasn't built in a day, so try to focus on one habit at a time.
Smoking is just as hard to give up but I think IL finish what I have in my pack and quit so no smoking 2mro You absolutely right I was doing well without smoking till earlier my colleague offered me a drag and I probably smoked 5 already
Yeah, smoking is exactly that way for me. I quit cold-turkey for 8 years. 3 years ago, I had an e-cig and I got hooked all over again. Once I'm comfortable with no fapping, I'll take the smoking addiction on, once and for all.
I find focusing on one at a time to be the best for me but you can chip away at little bits of your other bad habits whilst focusing on destroying one. The best way to stop a bad habit is to start a new one. this is a great video on habits that will help you a lot. Anyways I found quitting one addiction at a time the best because if your trying to quit all at once, when you fail you will likely give in on all. What i found is that say I ate junk food whilst I was focusing on quitting pmo I would think ah fuck I ate something bad, at least im still on the no pmo journey, doesn't matter too much! So one at a time is best and stay relaxed. Chip away at stuff like smoking, switch to vaporisers or cigars which have known to be not nearly as bad for the lungs as smoking and also be mindful whenever you indulge in a bad habit. Best of luck brother!
I voted one thing at a time but I want to specify something: If you try to quit all the bad habits at once that's an almost sure recipe for failure, unless you had a very powerful way to cope with all the anxiety that would follow. Remember why are they there on the first place. But once you have a good, stablished streak on addiction A of course you should begin with addiction B, then with addiction C. Like adding weight when lifting. Harder, yes, but you're more ready and would grow stagnant otherwise. Best of lucks with your recovery!
Thanks for the advice- and giving it some serious thought- I do agree with you. My junk food and drinking habit is minimal, so I did quit them when I started the 90 hard mode regimen. So far, I feel great, besides a headache and a few stomach aches. As for the smoking, I'm going to take my time by getting more acclimated to this new, NoFap lifestyle that I pursued. Once I feel a bit more centered, I'll take the smoking addiction on. Thanks for the encouragement!
@Mike DD Definitely. I've quit booze during my strongest Reboot. It helped a lot with seeing clearly and being more empathetic. Plus, as a dear friend once told me, you can't replace a vice with other vices. They blend into each other and leave you completely gutted. So, my advice is try to change your thought process as well. Giving up negative thinking is also a corner stone for me. Hope this helps