Can guys who masturbate without porn or artificial stimulation please answer this?

I agree

 

I totally understand what you mean. But it's difficult to answer that.
They say, with recovery you get back a "normal" sex life, which would include "normal" fantasies. When I say "normal" I mean "normal for you" or "better for you" if you will.

However, what you tell about "realistic fantasies" sounds very healthy already. Although the term "realistic" is a little bit difficult here. Fantasies tend to be "unrealistic", don't they?
That aside, you got it right: the major problem is the porn a.k.a. the dopamin rush that you get through certain stimulants. Unfortunately the more porn you watch the more porn is in your head and you can indeed get your "fix of dopamin" just by fantasizing. Therefor the most efficient way to "reboot" your brain is to abstain from porn, subs, masturbation, fantasizing and maybe sex all together. On the other hand, when you successfully abstain from porn and only masturbates moderately and don't use extreme porn fantasies, then I'd say you're perfectly fine.
Do what works for you! Be flexible and don't be too proud to admit when you're wrong.

 

I wouldn't call it fake news. But one study is just one study. And what did the scientists found out anyway? Does anyone know? I assume they don't claim "X causes prostate cancer" but rather "there's a correlation between behavior X and prostate cancer". So just statistics.
As for me, I don't base my life's choices on statistics.

As for the semen retention question: I respect guys who actually go that road and see where it leads them. But I fear there are many who are just obsessed with this topic and constantly try to persuade others that this is THE THING and absolutely proven to give you superpowers or whatnot.

But what do I know? I'm only a pitiful porn addict using this forum as a tool for recovery. Now I'm in for another take on hard mode. Because in some sense it's the most simple way when you just remove every trigger and prevent chasing effects. But if by chance I can have sex with a lady, I won't say no.
If somewhere on that road I'll be blessed to do real semen retention, karezza or whatever the name, I will try that out as well.

 

Always in 1st person, always from past experiences, always real women and sometimes women that I know but didn't have sex with!
Try to keep it as real as possible.
But first, make sure to do at least a 90-day or longer hard-mode.
Im in this spot right now.
After almost 2 years of no P, and several streaks, I masturbate only to past experiences and women that I know every few days or week.
It keeps the pump working but keeping it vanilla at the same time.

 

So for those that do, what is a good time span between MO? I read a few posts saying a week. I tried a schedule that allowed it on dates ending with 8, i.e.. every 10 days. It worked for a few months, but ultimately was too exact and I started "cheating", by going a day or 2 early and promising to make it up on the other side. So that plan didn't work for me.

 

It's not a practice that I usually do (not my goal) but I can masturbate without fantasizing about sex or some female. Here's my mindset: Usually I'll tell myself that I don't need a female. I reminded myself that I used my freaking hand last time. There was no girl. I don't necessarily need them. It's all in the mind 'cause the penis can't differentiate holes all it does is responding to stimulus. Then I focus on the feeling provided by the grip of my hand and that's it. Mission accomplished!