I joined this forum to share this very experience. I was on reddit earlier and I am on Day 56 and the journey here has been full of ups and downs. The downs include frequenting incel forums and capping 13 times a day(yes that is indeed possible). The ups include getting a girlfriend when pre NoFap I had hardly ever talked to a girl before (Age 25). No sex yet but that will certainly follow I am sure. The confidence that Nofap gave to be more social was amazing. It essentially showed who I really was - someone who I could admire and look up to in my fap days but couldn't imagine being. To those who are doing this to get a girl - you will understand that is not even the tip of the iceberg - the restructuring of your entire mentality (assuming your addiction was strong) is where its at - nothing is the same. Trust me on this - nofap is fighting a battle with big players - industries that won't survive if you succeed - pharmaceutical and porn. I will give a brief timeline and list the benefits subsequently: First 5 days: Tough but an intense event (my best friend got his first girlfriend, not a no fapper btw ) made me completely jealous initially but gave me the momentum needed to stop with the 10 year habit which led to my ruin in every way - professionally personally everything. The momentum carried me through this period. Day 5-15: Hardest by far. Had to make use of nofap forums for motivation and remind myself of what I would lose if I fapped. But some benefits shone through like a beacon to help my nofap self beat the fapper zombie in the argument. Day 16-30: Relatively dull/event less. No real threat but no new superpower. Signs of stagnation. By this time I started talking to girls though - an ability I acquired early on but had a chance to practice in this duration. Day 31-45: Got signals of girls being fond of me - two specifically, one of which I liked back. Started talking for longer periods with confidence (wouldn't have happened in fap period). Was more or less sure of there being a move from either of us at some time. Day 46-55 : Successfully proposed and went out. Made out in a secluded area after. Nothing else but the big confidence block of never being able to get a girl is certainly gone. Doubts as to my attractiveness I realized were largely artificial - there are so many indicators and everyone can hone on some strength. But certain ideologies prevent us from believing in that and put us in a rut. I am glad I had NoFap to pull me out. I will take the streak till sex/90 days whichever is earlier. List of benefits more or less in order of appearance: 1. Burst of energy 2. Voice gets deeper 3. Changes in appreciation of music/art in general 4. Social anxiety reduced 5. Feel healthier 6. Brain fog gone- as if I became intelligent suddenly 7. Productivity increased. 8. Concentration increased. 9. Interacted with girls without hesitation(Just knew what to say) 10. More intuitive than over think There are many more which I will describe when I remember. These were the most prominent ones. PS: How many changes you notice depends on how bad your addiction was. For me it was absolutely terrible averaging about 3/day for some 8 years then probably 2/day for two more. I had tried nofap earlier and failed but the intense event I mentioned was really a catapult - just fins yours.
Your pre-nofap situation certainly is nearly identical to mine. I am on my 30th now and do realize some certain benefits and hoping to get to where you at soon.
Hey man. I really enjoyed to read your thread. I also feel some of the changes you talked about. For example I have lower anxiety when I am around women and able to talk to them more without hesistation. My mind became my best friend, sometimes. I am accepting it and he accepting me. We are doing kind of a role playing. It is true that no fapping make you more intuitive. But I am not sure about myself because I was an intuitive person before as well. So I don't know. I do believe it made me less overthinker in a way. I am doing more stuff that I want to do instantaniously and less take the time to produce what I want to produce from my mouth.
I am on day 56 right now. The two biggest things right now that I'm feeling/noticing at day 56; the brain fog is almost gone or profoundly better and my speech and words are much more deliberate and precise....better vocabulary, and some pretty noticeable flatlining. I've also been doing a lot more leisurely reading, about 20 mins a day. Wow, I forgot how good reading was for your brain. This website and forums are sooooo helpful and encouraging.
What I’ve realised after 2 years of my longest streak is that this forum is what kept me motivated and encouraged me to keep going. However, I left the forum 2 years ago and tried to battle this addiction in my own after I relapsed and have always been failing but I realised one day that I think it’s because I didn’t have the motivation from this forum everyday so now I’m very confident that I’ll quit this addiction for good