Check in. Damn I have a hangover and I have relapsed so many times when I have that. Not this time I hope. I really shouldn`t drink when I try to quit PMO. Anyway sad to hear about your mother desperate warrior. Lets hope that things get better.
I have struggled a lot with fantasies today but managed to get through the day since I'm away from home. I need to be extra cautious the coming days...
Sad to say I gave in. Shortest streak in a while, nearly 2 weeks. Not good. I've got to do better, for the challenge and for myself. Gonna shower now. It helps since I feel like when I shower after giving in, I'm washing away my "sin" and I come out of the shower with a new beginning. So here's to new beginnings.
Stay strong everybody! Let the positive changes we experience during NoFAP period be the drive to stay on course. The stress, anxiety and negative self talk that drives us to relapse is NOT REAL, it's just that Dopamine deprived Amygdala simulates those bad emotions on our mind's 4K screen (with Dolby Atmos Sound) to manipulate Frontal Lobes thinking into as if it's real crisis. Once you fall for that, the increased stress levels releases Cortisol hormone making the Frontal Lobes to partially shut-down and Amygdala gets to run the show, driving you to PMO. Amygdala is the dumb primitive brain required to maintain your automatic processes like respiration, heart rate control (not beating though, as heart has it's own pace makers), digestion, emotions... etc. Frontal Lobes are more advanced smarter brain that makes us design Rockets and build Nuclear Reactors. It's the Frontal Lobes that should be running the show, but when there is severe stress or when our survival instincts kick-in (like imagined / real threats or imagined / real sex), the Frontal Lobes partially shut down, allowing the primitive Amygdala to run the show. So the next time you are stressed for invalid reason or horny for invalid reason or depressed for invalid reason, remember that IT'S NOT REAL, it's that Amygdala that's throwing tantrums and pressing the lever like that Crazy (actually poor) Lab Rat begging for a dopamine high. I fell into this trap when internet was new back in late 90s and very early 2000s and no one had any freaking idea how much harm PM does to our bodies until 2010 or around that period, when research findings started pouring-in.
I wish you strength to withstand binge effect. Take care. You know the drills. Just stick to it. That's a nice thing
Really informative thread... Guess we need to stop making our brain switch to amygdala and start using frontal lobes for indeed we were designed to shine