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Mental acuity and brain fog

Discussion in 'Porn Addiction' started by seer, Aug 5, 2021.

  1. seer

    seer Fapstronaut

    17
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    Hi everyone,

    I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has mostly resolved cognitive issues through rebooting. I'm currently 5 days without P, M or O.

    For a bit of context, I started using P at around age 12. I used to feel very sharp, then my school performance plummeted from top of the class to bottom of the class within a year at around 15. I'm now 25, studying electrical engineering and I'm really struggling - I have been using P off and on (mostly on) since age 12. I have to read the same page from a book 5 times to begin to understand it. My brain just feels dumb, I remember very little from my classes and I always have this weird dense brain fog. Even in general conversations I feel like I can't articulate things that I actually know a great deal amount. My brain just feels like it's working at half power, 95% of the time.

    I exercise 5 days per week, eat very well (my best friend is a doctorate level nutritionist) and sleep as well as I can (~8 hours, wake same time every day, avoid blue light at night etc.). I have been to a psychologist for 1 year and 'cleared' anything significant with EMDR. No drugs or alcohol. No known medical conditions. All of this and yet I still get frequent comments about looking ultra tired. The only other healthy habit I aim to, but haven't really implemented is meditation.

    I'm interested to hear some real examples of just how much your mental acuity has changed throughout this process. I am aware rebooting can help, but I'm a bit unclear on to what extent. I have read many success stories on YBOP, however, most of them are quite vague, or are from people who have done perhaps 30 days without P. I'm very interested to hear from people who have been a few months without P and have noticed significant changes in memory, brain fog, focus - general sharpness and feelings of reclaiming intelligence.

    Thank you.
     
  2. Sure a longer streak helps, but it's not a sudden shift. 5 days certainly won't do that much.

    Do you have any kind of measurement for either nutritional status (rather than diet - so bloodwork) or sleep? As far as sleep goes it may be as simple as a fitness tracker that has something extrapolating deep and REM sleep. You also didn't say how you feel from sleep and whether you have a sense of being rejuvenated.

    When you say "cleared anything significant with EMDR" are you talking about specific traumatic episodes using the flash technique? Not all trauma is that clear cut, I'm thinking complex PTSD but my general thought here is I wouldn't think psychological work is that easy even without knowing your history.

    So in general I'm saying it is possible to have either or both medical and psychological issues. It may not be huge and/or obvious things but that doesn't mean it cannot impact your thinking. And of course PMO in itself is a largely psychological issue.

    Examples would amount to a story told by the person, basically subjective rather than objective. I would suggest you actually check out older posts by the same person towards the beginning of their streak vs. now and see how it reflects on their cognition. Some of course may not change that much in that regard.
     
  3. Veg plot

    Veg plot Fapstronaut

    Personally I don't think I've experienced any benefits in that regard from abstaining from PM.

    I am still suffering from a lack of deep focus, especially at work which is why I'm still trying to curtail my online browsing and general screen entertainment consumption (unsuccessfully!). I think there's something to be said for training yourself to embrace boredom, so your brain gets more attuned to latching onto and engaging with what you need it to, in your case studying.
     
  4. modernstore99

    modernstore99 Fapstronaut

    For some reason many porn abusers also tend to have ADD/ADHD or anxiety diagnoses. I am not sure if the attention disorder causes the porn abuse, or if the porn abuse leads to attention disorders, or if it's something else that's not totally understood. The point is many porn abusers are treated with ADHD meds and it seems to help them focus on shit they got to handle.

    Might be worth talking with your doctor and pharmacologist about.
     

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