I've been on NoFap for 180+ days now. The journey started off good, I got really good results but after 90 days. Some of them were feeling confident, better concentration/focus, more time and most importantly ability to keep away from PMO. Now it is not as difficult to abstain as my first couple of weeks. Guys, believe me only the first one month will be difficult but later on you will learn to live without PMO. But do I not get urges to PMO? Yes I do! but it is comparatively easier to deal with the urges. The main motivation factor in my journey so far is the results. When you start feeling them you will want to continue.. The major risk factor is when you start justifying PMO is OK. Porn is OK or Masturbation without porn is OK. Those thoughts can potentially cause a relapse. Another thing I found is- in the beginning of my journey, even though I did not masturbate, I kept edging. Edging is when you jack off without ejaculation. I learnt that it was normal to do it in when you start NoFap. Edging keeps your dopamine levels elevated as well. That is almost like watching porn for hours without ejaculation, the only difference is that porn is running in your imagination and your hands are busy. So I decided to stop edging. Finally I did, its been 45 days since I last edged. But honestly stopping everything (porn, masturbation, edging) all at once would have been practically impossible to me. I think going without PMO and later stopping edging was kind of doable. My current challenge is not to edge for at least 180 and see the results. It is amazing that you can experiment on your self and you can see results by just not doing something. PS: forgive me for the typo's or grammatical errors if any. This was a quick post.
Thanks for sharing this story. I am just beginning, and I occasional feel like it wouldn't be so bad if I edged, for just a little bit. Since I have started I haven't done it, but I have definitely thought about it. But hearing how much better your recovery is after not doing so definitely helps. Keep up the good work!
I agree fully with these two thoughts. But, then, you go on to say something that runs right across what you have just stated. You said you were edging! Perhaps you were unaware at the time, but edging is considerably more damaging to the brain than simply masturbating until you cum. What concerns me is not simply the effect all that edging had on you. But the fact that you are virtually advocating edging as a way to build up towards doing NoFap. Yet every time you edged, it was a relapse. Think about it.
I don't think edging is same as watching copious amounts of porn , edging and finally masturbating when you find the right scene. The level of intensity is different. Again I am not trying to say that Edging is OK here. I was not cognizant of it. You are right edging is pretty much relapsing.. that is why I reset the timer. However to me quitting PMO was a great deal, now I am working on quitting PMOE. I am sorry if my post was advocating towards edging. EDGING IS BAD.. JUST AS BAD AS MASTURBATION or PORN..