Depression a symptom of Nofap?

I would definitely say that depression is the number one side effect for me, although it didn't really set in until I got much further into my reboot. I'm also single and I think that PMO and a few other habits that I quit recently were my ways to escape loneliness. I also noticed that my mood can go from good to bad almost instantly and without warning. Latlely im starting to feel like I'm losing my mind with worry and anxiety. I fear that I might end up alone. I just keep telling myself that I'm healing and things will eventually turn out well for me. It's all we can really do, just allow time to heal us. In the mean time, it really helps to practice healthy habits like improving diet, exercise, meditation and connecting with others whenever we can. Hang in there brother. You are not alone.

 

Hi Mickey,
Depression is caused by several factors which all contribute to create a particular situation in each of us.
In my case, it's caused by genetic predisposition , bad environment and some traumas occured in my youth.
We watch porn because during the orgasm, several "happiness" molecules are released in our brain, such as serotonin and opioids. Dopamine is release before that, to remind you that a certain activity is worth doing.
Depression may be caused by a lack of these neuronal substances, and if the main way to get those is by watching porn, when you stop it, you can understand why you feel so down right now. I can totally relate.
So my advice is...you can't just quit, it's not enough. The struggle will be unbereable, unless... you give your brain other reasons to release dopamine.
This is the real challenge man..it's not just about quitting PMO, it's about developing new habits, change our lives, gradually rewiring our brains. Find something else worth doing. Give your brain other reasons to release dopamine.
I'm trying my best to find something that works for me...I think this is the key to overcome our addiction. Think about it, I'm sure that when you'll find , the path will be waaay easier, and porn desire will be annihilated.
Hope that was helpful, take care

 

Hey man keep pushing on, After the first month your moods should hopefully start to level out if you are anything like me. I found the first 2 to 3 weeks where the hardest in terms of feeling down last time around. In that time i suffered really badly from low mood, lack of motivation and quite a lot of anxiety (not all the time but still quite freqently) but if you can get throught that first month i'm really certain you will see things pick up, I think all that is happening is you may be flat lining and your brain is in deep with drawl. You need to give it something new to reward it with such as go see a movie, read a good book or go for a walk, Anything you enjoy will do!

Today has been one of those days in which i just felt numb as well, I feel like i have no interest in anything and doubts have been creeping into my mind such as what is the point of NoFap (stemming from the fact i've just entered my first flat line of this streak) But i put myself here in the first place, I'm to blame to over stimulating my brain to the point the only thing it now finds rewarding is pmo. I have to take my medicine and work through this. I'm going to force myself to go out and see solo at the cinema tonight some times when we feel like this we have to do anything we can to snap our self's out of it.

 

I'm also 41 and single.

I think there are two things to consider.

1. When we stop PMO we loose the source of pleasure (and sometimes it's the main source of pleasure), so it's natural to experience depression because of this and this is why depression is one of the common withdrawal symptoms.

2. PMO, as any other addiction, is self-medication tool. It masks our underlying problems and when we have an addiction we tend to ignore these problems. After we abstain from addiction all our masked feelings, fears and pains comes to surface and we have no choice except to deal with them in one or another way. There is no 'rosy glasses' anymore.

I don't know if depression during reboot is temporary, it's very personal and depends from our personality and life we live. For me abstaining from PMO made the depression worse, I feel bored without porn and couldn't replace the lost pleasure with other comparable activities so far. It also removed all the 'noise' from my underlying problems and I got lots of anxiety and depression when I finally started to face them (loneliness, the fear of death and illness, abandonment).

 

The vicious cycle that PMO is.

 

This is all true, it's kinda like baptism by fire when your start NoFap. All your fears demons will come out and there's no PMO safety blanket to help you.

Especially if you have underlying problems, like depression, OCD etc.

Where Nofap helps is that give you a clear mind to do things that will benefit you. For me I finally went to therapy for my OCD to help stop the compulsions.

Keep going and make healthy choices that will help you in the long run.

 

Definitely! When you stop fapping, you will feel a lot of emotions. I remember in my first streak, I was shocked on how much my moods changed. Totally a wake up call on how PMO addiction really is like. It does get better in time