Benefits - Before vs. After a relapse

Hey everyone, I've relapsed after about a 130 day streak a few weeks ago, and I think this is a great time to compare the benefits at the end of a 4-month streak versus what I experience now.
The benefits and changes have arrived slowly and gradually for me, so "hitting the bottom" suddenly has helped me appreciate them better.
Warning - this will be a long post, so go get a coffee and sit back

I should also note that in this post, I am talking about the benefits of the whole NoFap lifestyle, not about stuff that just happens because you don't jerk off. Most of the effects are mostly results of other lifestyle changes like working out, socializing, eating healthier, exercising, and learning new stuff. One positive thing makes you feel better and gives you the confidence and energy to start the next one, but it still all started with NoFap and its first confidence boost.

I would divide the benefits into two categories:
- The shorter-term ones, that suffered greatly with the relapse but also didn't take so long to appear.
- The long-term benefits I still experience, which are however usually more bound to lifestyle.

Let's start with the "temporary" group:

1. Boosted immune system - I've been running during the winter when it was freezing, I've been meeting sick people, I've had covid and none of it made me really sick, I've been feeling great and healthy. This was especially cool for me since I've used to be a sickly child, always sneezing. After the relapse, I had got a sore throat for a few days and I have had a runny nose since then. It's getting better though.

2. Better skin - It started looking much better after some time. I could notice more acne after the relapse.

3. Voice - I am learning to sing and my voice got gradually deeper and nicer. I could hear it jump higher after the relapse, my singing would get much worse (perhaps more due to losing confidence than something physiological).

4. Brain Fog - It has been overall easier to concentrate, focus on a task for a longer time. In the days after relapsing, I'd procrastinate for hours, although I feel quite sharp again by now.

5. More Energy - To go out with friends, help out family when they need something, or to work out. I've obviously had some flatlines and times when you just don't feel like doing anything over the reboot, so I didn't really appreciate this until after relapsing. I have felt more tired afterward, annoyed to do anything, and weak during the sport, just like before noFap. I've had to use all my discipline to get back on track, fortunately being active gives you the energy back.

6. Attracted to Women - Before the reboot, I haven't really noticed normal girls, I didn't have the guts or motivation to go and talk to any. Why would I, if there are supermodels on the screen waiting for me? After a month or so, I would finally appreciate just how beautiful is a normal girl on the bus or one jogging in the park.
This would be one of the biggest changes in the week after relapse, I didn't feel much toward girls again, I'd just think about the boobs I've seen on the screen. Terrible feeling, I can't believe how easy it was to forget about it during the reboot. This was definitely one of my favorite benefits.

Now for the "long-lasting" group:

7. Social Anxiety - It went down soo much, I'm also more excited about any social activities. I used to be the guy who wouldn't go out with friends because he has "other plans" (to sit home and fap), now I invite people to hang out. I still feel this way, although it took some effort to deal with the hit my confidence took with the relapse.

8. More Masculinity - Getting more facial and chest hair and more muscle. Obviously more linked to working out and eating better, but I wouldn't have started with that without NoFap... This is long-term stuff, even if a relapse influenced it, I wouldn't have noticed yet.

9. Female Attraction - What you've been all waiting for I honestly didn't believe this could work, but I've seen some really cool stuff, from noticing that female friends are attracted to me to girls smiling at me in the public out of the blue. The stories of girls approaching me at parties would deserve a separate post.
Guys, females can sense if you feel like a winner living with a purpose and they like it.
I'm not sure if this one belongs to the first category or the second, I haven't had the time to find out. I've definitely lost some confidence after the relapse, but I know I am still a better person than before NoFap and the relapse can't undo a few months of a healthy lifestyle.

10. Enjoying the little things - Just feeling euphoric about seeing a lovely bird in a forest, enjoying a delicious meal with others or really feeling the emotion in a song. Great stuff that happens when you don't fry your dopamine receptors 24/7.

11. Knowing yourself - The best for the last. I can't stress enough how great it was to decide and say things like "What I want in my life..." or "What kind of person do I want to be..." Just knowing that you can change for the better while accepting things about you that you are happy with and proud of. That is the best part of this journey and I have certainly only seen a tiny part of the long path of discovery ahead.

There you go! Those were most of the changes and benefits I have experienced over the reboot and I am more than excited to go and get all of them back. This post actually represents the bright side of a relapse - it lets you appreciate what the reboot gave you and reminds you how terrible things were before. My reboot is, of course, far from being over, and I am going to stick to the resolution for much longer this time.

Stay strong guys and all the best!

 

@Perseverance2021 Hi, I would say I felt crappy, foggy and didn't feel like doing anything for two or three days. But forcing myself to be active made that go away quite fast, and having a few friends around who wanted to go out helped a lot. The brain fog disappeared gradually over the course of a week or two I think.
Like I've said, I have still felt (and feel) the long-term benefits, maybe except for female attraction. I haven't experienced that since the relapse, which might make sense since my confidence went down considerably and I have spent most of the time studying in a lockdown.
The last changes to the better I've noticed are that my runny nose went away about a month ago and my skin started looking about as good as during the streak after like 40 days.
I'm sure you will get better soon! The recovery gets faster for each streak you've already had I just can't stress enough how important was to stick to my "healthy" routine and habits even if I didn't feel like it. How much can the relapse hurt you if you keep on going out, studying, working out or whatever you were doing?
Have a speedy recovery and stay strong bro!