Update: Reflection On My Strange Advice

Well, it's official. I just hit 30 days of no PMO and god damn does it feel great. But it's not over yet, I'm aiming to shoot for 90 days. But allow me to reflect on what I've done to make it this far.

Now, before I started NoFap, I must confess that I started doing other habits that have helped me in improving my energy, sleep and mental clarity. But starting NoFap still gave me great benefits. The first one that pops up in my mind is the high amounts of desire and determination it gave me to try things. I began to explore a career in writing recently and I have this desire to talk to more people which is insane because I suffered from social anxiety and I would never even THINK of interacting with another human.

How I Started
Back in November 27, 2019, I decided to form a few habits. Make my bed every morning, shower and meditate for 10 minutes. I was doing pretty well at doing this simple routine every day. I used a calendar and marked an X on each day I manage to do those 3 things. The chain of X's motivated me to keep at it because it would hurt me on the inside if I "broke the chain."

It wasn't until December 17, 2019 when I added NoFap to my arsenal of good habits. I've had my days where sudden urges would kick in and there would also be days where I could fly by a couple of days with ease. But I always had that calendar on my wall, showing the amount of X's I had. Playing the game of "don't break the chain" was definitely a big help in making it through the tough times.

But there's another tip I used that somehow worked well for me whenever I got those strong urges.

My Strange Tip To Fight Off Urges
If I had the urge to PMO, I would look up pictures of hot girls. Not naked girls. Fully clothed girls with attractive faces. Once I'd pick out a really attractive face, I would just stare at her eyes, looking deep into her soul. Eventually, I begin to form some sort of connection and I start to feel as if I'm looking at a friend. Once that happens, the urge goes away.


Of course, you should only try this if you're confident that you won't end up MOing.

When I first started doing this, I thought I was just torturing myself looking at attractive faces, but now I like to look at it as a way to remind myself that women are human beings.

Anyway, that's my story. I hope that one of the tips I've mentioned will be of good use to someone else. I wish all of you the best on your paths towards success!

 

An unusual idea, but I'm glad it's working. And the calendar thing sounds sensible.
I will try it!

 

Awesome! I hope the calendar works just as well for you as it did for me. Good luck!

 

I'm a content writer actually. Just recently, I've started my own personal blog where I post advice/self improvement tips in a fun and entertaining way. I'm also planning to post my progress on self improvement experiments (such as the rejection game for example).

It's great to hear that you're also into writing. I've been wanting to connect with other people who share the same interest for some time now. If you want to keep in contact, let me know.

 

Hello everyone!

So, a few days ago, I posted a thread where I announced my 30 day milestone of avoiding PMO. I also mentioned a strange tip that I've used whenever I felt the urges.

For those who didn't see my last thread, my strange advice was to pull up pictures of fully clothed girls and just stare into their eyes. Eventually I would form a connection with them and I start to feel as if I'm looking at a friend.

Recently, I looked around for other people's opinions on whether looking at normal pictures of women was a good idea or not. Some have said that this wasn't a concern unless you decide to MO to them of course. Others have understandably noted that this could slow down the recovery process as you may be giving yourself a dopamine rush just from looking at attractive faces.

But now that I've been doing this for a while, I will share the effects that I've had from looking at pictures of fully clothed girls over time.

The Beginning
I'll admit, the first time I did this, I felt aroused and I could feel my heart slightly picking up speed but as soon as I caught myself feeling this way, I'd just take a few deep breaths.

Changes
It didn't take long before I felt connected to the woman staring at me on the screen. I began to imagine her and I doing fun activities that friends would do. Camping, hiking, talking about life, etc. At this point, I'd still get sexual thoughts sometimes, but those thoughts would go away in seconds and they would be replaced with the abundant amount of innocent friendship stories I've created in my head.

Where I'm At Now
Now, I'm at a point where if I opened up a picture of the girl, I would no longer feel any sort of sexual arousal at all. I still felt happy looking at the picture, not because I was aroused, but because in my imagination, I have spent time going on awesome adventures with this girl. In my head, she is nothing but a great friend.

What I also noticed is that I feel a lot more optimistic when it comes to talking to women. I no longer feel anxious at the thought of it.

Thoughts On My Advice
I don't know if this is due to a combination of no PMO and running simulations in my head, sort of brainwashing myself into thinking that this particular girl I've never met is a friend of mine. All I know is that I feel a lot better now and this odd advice I've been using doesn't seem to be doing much harm. If anything, it's probably helped.

But then again, we're all different so what may work for me might not work for someone else.

Can I also mention how much I realize that this sounds like the loneliest thing I've ever done? Lol. I mean for god's sake, I've made up imaginary stories of a girl I've never met in person.

It's fine though. I don't feel lonely. I am alone a lot but I don't mind it right now.