30 days of Nofap fresh report

Hello Fapstronauts

I just signed up and this is my first participation. I have been accessing and reading in Nofap for few months.

Background information:
I'm 30 years old. I'm an academic from Saudi Arabia who earned MA degree from USA and another MA degree from UK. I'm married.
I have been watching porn and masturbating for 10 years now.
I first stumbled upon porn when I was 16. I did not realize it is addictive until recently. I watched Gary Wilson Ted talk for first time in 2019. It was shocking to me when he described the Porn addictive qualities.

What motivated me to quit porn and masturbation:
I experienced fear, severe anxiety, depression, PE, somehow ED, desire to be alone, stress intolerance, brain fog ( my younger brother caught this), confidence damage, short term memory impairment (forgetful), zero pleasure in intimacy (Dopamine receptors not working), inability to sleep without porn, short tempered, hair loss, panic attacks, weak immunity, laziness and social anxiety.
Can You imagine the torture I have gone through when doing graduate studies in US great University when being porn addict! It was a Hell-like.
I got to the bottom of addiction. No genre or fetish you can I think that I did not watch. I have memorized the names of porn stars. when in US, I used to watch porn daily. It destroyed my brain reward circuit. To cut it short, I decided to quit. I thought first that I am NOT a hardcore porn addict. BUT woow

Withdrawal symptoms:
1- Inability to sleep at all the first three days. ( red eyes and yawning the whole day, OMG).
2- Very aggressive and irritable.
3- Depression and anxiety
4- desensitized
5- Desire to stay alone.
6- Intolerance to the slightest bit of noise.
7- Flu like symptoms lasted the whole month still going on ( runny nose, nasal congestion, fatigue, chills, cold limbs)
8- head numbness
9- strange feeling in the brain ( not pain but as if something is moving very slowly or getting smaller)

Benefit so far:
1- increased self-esteem
2- Inner peace and tranquility
3- anxiety and depression improved but not fully disappeared
4- not easily stressed
5- morning woods
6- more motivation
7- browsing US universities websites to look for admission in a PhD program.
8- More confidence and determination to do daily tasks
9- No slurred speech
10- keeping eye contact
11- better sleep but still bouts of insomnia.
12- I can laugh easily.

How did I follow through:
1- Working out ( without exercising, you will not beat craving and addiction)
2- eating fruit, vegetables and honey
3- avoiding loneliness at all cost as it is a strong trigger for relapses in my opinion
4- sleeping well at night.
5- reading favorite books. keep the brain busy in something noble.

I will write another report on day 60 of nofap.

I really hope to reach day 90 soon although I do not think I will fully recover on day 90 but we will see.

In anticipation for your kind words brothers

Professional Academic

 

Thanks brother

I would like to add that we need to keep a note on our smart phone reminding us of porn damages. keep listing these scary things that happened to your brain, nervous system and body to scare youself whenever you have nostalgia to porn. The note helped deter me every time I miss porn.
Also, do not be cheated by sex stories or youtube videos that turns you on ( girls on beach or the gym dressing sexy) as they fill neural pathways created by addiction with dopamine. So, be careful.

I wish all of us success in this endeavor.

 

The answer is absolutely. In fact, there is nothing better to strengthen your immune system than honey.
I suggest Black forest honey ( also called Langnese honey) Or Manuka Honey.
Both are available on Amazon. Manuka is made in New Zealand whereas Langnes is from Germany.
Manuka is a bit expensive but it is four times stronger.
Here is how you take it:
One spoonful of honey after you wake up and before eating breakfast.
Do not increase the dose just one spoon is enough. You can use it daily.
Honey is good to your immune system because it increases the production of white blood cells ( the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses).

 

Thanks for your reply brother.
For stress relief, try the following:
1- Do not study when stressed out as you will understand nothing:
2- walk, or run fast at the gym as this activity reduces stress hormones and get our weak prefrontal cortex which is responsible for managing stress to work.
3- cold shower is very helpful. Direct the cold water to the front area ( area of reward circuit and prefrontal cortex damaged by porn consumption) of your head for few minutes.
4- relax and practice deep breathing
Hobbies:
I love traveling, reading books on politics, linguistics and psychology, working out at the gym
watching comedy shows on TV, Sitting down with a group of close friends to socialize and have fun.
personal goals:
I would like to pursue my PhD degree in the USA in 2021. Hopefully, human beings get over this Corona virus quickly and lift quarantine. This is what I plan for and hope to succeed. I lived three Years in California and Florida. they were the best days in my life. What matters most is to break the cycle of addiction in order not to go back to your bad habits. To me, tedium, stress and being alone in the house encourage P and M.

 

Thanks Reborn 16 for your post and kind words
Porn and masturbation bombard the brain with very high level of dopamine. This is the reason why you cannot focus during reading and you cannot memorize or recall information quickly. The damage is done to areas called prefrontal cortex and short term memory. It takes time for your brain to heal completely BUT the exposure to porn must be ZERO during reboot. I think you should take short breaks after 40 or 45 minutes of reading to digest what you read. The best times to read is either after a full eight hour sleep or after intense workout. Why? because your brain is in a state of balanced chemistry. Good luck with your studies. Up your game brother, you will be successful. Never give up
I think the world will get over this pandemic soon. I am looking forward to my trip to the great United States in 2021.

 

Hello Targaryenn
It is hard to overcome urges if You have just started nofap for the first time. Because your brain is accustomed to a flood of dopamine. You should know first that relapses will happen and take them positively.
The first step in combating the Urge is to recognize the fact that we are all addicted to porn and masturbation. This is a serious problem that must be met with a serious response. Do not underestimate it and think it is easy or negligible.
Then follow these steps brother:
1- You need to find an accountability partner to support you in Nofap community. You cannot fight this addiction alone Because all addicts suffer from weak willpower.
2- micro goal setting. It means putting small achievable goals to beat your addiction. Do not say I will stop watching porn and masturbation for 90 days. This is harsh on you. Just start with a goal of stopping for one day. If you achieve it, reward yourself with something you love e.g. chocolate, video game, shopping etc. then move to one week and one month etc. This is highly encouraging.
3- Start with high intensity work out daily. Walking is NOT good enough to beat addiction. You need running fast, bicycling and weight lifting for longer than half hour. You need to be very exhausted after work out. This minimizes the urge that we all have for P & M.
4- You will have craving for junk food after work out. You need to resist it that and take only healthy food like fruits and vegetables. Remember that junk food reinforces the addictive neural pathways.
5- exposure and response prevention. The moment you have the urge, you must stop immediately and get away. then, walk and take a deep breath. Also, think about something you love that is not porn like best friend, favorite car, most enjoyable holiday you had, comedy show. these are helpful strategies.
6- Cold showers is very helpful to beat the urge.
7- be aware that your primitive brain makes connections between addiction and ambient environment. for example, if you always watch P and M in the bedroom, you need to change furniture there. Make sure your bedroom look different. Just make the place that you use to exercise addiction look different so that your brain does not get triggered.
8- when you go to sleep, put your smart phone and laptop away from you. They should not be reachable by hand. This also helps.
9- Keep in mind that the urge does not take longer than 10 minutes maximum. Then, it disappears gradually.
10- finally, avoid things that lead to an urge for P & M. no alcohol or smoking during reboot. No movies with sexual content (soft porn). No youtube videos of girls on the beach or at the gym or dancing sexy. This will take you back to porn quickly.
11- install internet filters like K9 or Qustodio that block porn sites.
I hope this helps brother. Stay strong

 

Thanks Abdul
Yeah, exercising daily is very good for healthy people let alone addicts. Reading keeps the brain busy in something noble and trains your brain for the period after recovery. Congratulations on reaching day 50, you are more than half way through your recovery. I assume that you no longer have urges for P or M on day 50. They got weaker and weaker. right?
I'm on day 59 today.
Good luck and stay strong brother