Tell me about your experiences with Monk Mode

I am going god-mode by quitting cigarettes, pmo and video gaming after 25+ years. I think I am on day 15-20, not sure as I haven't been counting. I have noticed my face doesn't have as much acne like bumps on the left side of my face which is a huge thing to me cause they never went away for as longest I can recall in my adult life. My skin is still very dry and flaky though which is probably a side effect of my nicotine quit but it looks a lot better before my quit.

 

I'd say grow into it gradually and slowly. Longer you're in it, more natural and effortless it gets. I started my reboot journey only by stopping P,M,O and sex (classical hardmode) with added aerobic exercise on daily basis (running/cycling/hiking or swimming). Progression followed when I realized that my weekend drinking got out of hand few months into hardmode so I stopped drinking alcohol altogether. Sugar overeating (mostly chocolate bars) followed soon after so I stopped buying any food with refined sugar in it. Giving up gaming and movie watching came naturally by itself over time as these activities began to bore me to the point I didn't want to indulge in them anymore. 15 months later this minimalistic lifestyle feels natural to me. I don't miss any of the things I gave up during my journey. Listen to yourself and don't push it. Your mind and body will tell you what steps you should take next.

 

It's interesting you have mentioned gaming and movies... I have very similar experiences. I don't watch neither movies, neither TV anymore because I don't find them interesting at all. Everytime I turn my TV on I feel like I'm wasting my time and turn it off after few minutes. During this pandemic I don't have much to do, so I thought maybe playing some computer games could help me a little, but I get frustrated even by watching game reviews on Youtube. I can hardly imagine myself playing computer game, even if I liked it in the past. I'm also not much interested in material things anymore, I'm very indifferent to them. They don't get me any pleasure anymore. Initially I thought this is because my values have changed, but now I start to suspect that this might be some kind of anhedonia caused by prolonged sexual abstinence and the lack of dopamine in brain. I don't live any sexual life the last few years, but sometimes have sexual dreams and I have noticed that I feel much better mentally the next day. My another guess is that it can be related with mental traumas and PTSD. When you get out of addiction you are exposed to PTSD as you don't suppress the traumatic experience anymore and lose the coping mechanism. It would be interesting to hear if other people who practiced 'monk mode' for a long time have similar issues with the loss of pleasure and interest in material things.

 

I'm not sure if I'm doing monk mode.

How would you guys define monk mode?

 

I googled it briefly. In some ways I do monk mode. I practise "no arousal" to quite a large extent.

Although I try not to watch triggering shows etc., I do sometimes make exceptions, especially if I'm watching with others.

I play some video games and enjoy learning about them, but I avoid online games and needlessly addictive games. I like working with computers so to some extent I have an "excuse" to be a little interested in games.

I drink some alcohol but rarely get drunk.

I use this forum, and a similar forum, probably too often for strict monk mode. But I avoid social media, generally speaking. I watch YouTube though (strictly non-triggering stuff. In fact I pretty much never watch a video with a woman in it).

So yeah I probably don't do monk mode. Perhaps someday I will.

 

I'm younger than you and I don't have much experience but I think it may be some kind of spiritual evolution you went through
Long term abstinence means you don't think much about sex nor expose yourself to it, so you kinda lose your interest in it
You don't care about sense gratification, because you touched that infinite pure joy that nothing in this world can make you feel
I notice that too, after a wet dream my interest in sex comes back and I feel clear minded, I really wonder why
I think masturbating every two weeks or so may not be a bad idea, but I don't know what is the truth anymore to be honest, I need to expirment, research still isn't 100% clear
I highly reccomend you reading the book "the coiled serpent"
I'm reading it right now and it's helping me understand sexuality and abstinence and how it affects the person spiritually
I now think hardmode nofap isn't all about dopamine and physical changes, it really is a spiritual way of living and if practiced for a long time one may lose his interest in the wordly obsessions, and in that sense loss of libido may not be a physical problem
Because I find it kinda crazy that some people went like 2 years without masturbating and they still suffer from low libido or ed
Have a good day sir

 

Monk mode is great. I enjoy the feeling of being pure and innocent as when I was a child.