How bad are withdrawal symptoms?

It’s different for each person. My husbands were bad but didn’t last as long as some. He never flat lined either. He was very irritable, angry, restless. It reminded me of someone quitting smoking. We started noticing changes at 4-6 months clean.

 

No

 

It may seem impossible at times.

 

I’ve had withdrawal at various streaks over the years. One time withdrawal felt like dying. My body was ready to jump out of its skin all the time. I was angry and raging and had to do anger management techniques.

Other withdrawals, I just have days where I can barely get out of bed, feel like I want to release and will give anything for that. Those days I just can’t be alone.

 

Yeah that's where it's hard to push, but nofap is all about overcoming yourself imo.

 

Im on day 59. Been PMO 6 times a day for 20 years. I can tell you my withdrawals were bad

Irritability, anger, small things becomes mountains, STRESS, stress is the worse because that son of a bitch causes relapses and bullshits you, makes you feel you will get fired and shit like that, naseous, sad, zombie state, brain fog, insomnia, shivers, regret, flatline. And its non linear.

 

I’ve experienced mild flu like symptoms from quitting pmo like:

Chills
Fatigue
Nausea
Brain fog

I’ve also experienced other symptoms as well like:

lack of pleasure
Turning of stomach feeling
Dysphoria
Etc.


usually any initial withdrawal symptoms are gone by day 25-40

 

Not bad at all if you are calm about it. Just stop craving women. Look into some of the Eastern religions, or any religion really. You are just thinking about porn too much. If you stop thinking about it so much, you won't PMO as much.

 

Something worth pointing out is that flatline and PAWS is essentially the same thing, the two words are used interchangeably by most people within the community. I have been experiencing PAWS for approximately 2 years now, and I had no idea that it could last this long. My symptoms include:

• Brainfog
• Social anxiety
• Headaches
• Low libido
• Desire to be alone
• Anhedonia
• Low Motivation

​

As you progress through PAWS you will find that the symptoms come and go. A lot of people think that once you enter PAWS that it is a constant stream of these symptoms with little to no let up. In actual fact, the symptoms come and go throughout the reboot while getting weaker and weaker the deeper into recovery you go. As I am writing this I am still knee deep in PAWS but it is nowhere near as bad as it was when it first began.

BRAIN FOG
Brain Fog seems to be one of the universal symptoms that most PAWS victims suffer from. At the beginning of recovery, brain fog was a key indicator that I was experiencing PAWS. It is basically like not being able to think in a clear and linear way. Your thoughts are clouded and lack clarity. As a result for me, it made it difficult to perform well at work. I would need twice as much time to lay my thoughts out and think rationally which made it difficult at work. Colleagues could see that I was struggling mentally, and would look at me like I was crazy whenever we had a conversation. It make conversations clunky, and an absolute challenge because I could not formulate my thoughts properly.

Approximately 2 years later, brain fog has diminished greatly and is less of a problem. I found that sleeping at 10:30pm, for at least 8 hours a night relieves the symptom of brain fog. Also avoiding screens is a big help.

SOCIAL ANXIETY
Social anxiety comes off the back of brain fog. By that I mean, not being able to articulate my thoughts (because of brain fog) usually led to social anxiety for me. I would be in a social setting, knowing that I am struggling with brain fog, and that would be more than enough to set social anxiety off. While I have never suffered from panic attacks, for me I would have hot flushes and start to sweat excessively, then I would worry what they would think of me sweating, which would make me even more anxious. It was almost like a merry-go-round that would only stop once I a) walked away from the situation b) ran out of sweat! At 2 years of recovery this is no longer an issue.

LOW LIBIDO
Low libido is the signature of PAWS. Upon entering PAWS your libido will drop/disappear. The further along you get into your recovery, the more you will start to notice your libido coming back. While my libido is low, each time I dip in and out of PAWS my libido rises a little higher. So while I have little desire to interact with a woman, it is there, whereas a year ago my libido was barely existent. If you decide to look at P or fantasize over a woman, the desire will return, even if it isn't as strong as it originally was. My point is; despite being in PAWS, if you poke the bear, it will respond. Therefore use PAWS as a cover to avoid enticing any desires/urges.

DESIRE TO BE ALONE
The desire to be alone is a tough symptom. Its hard to say whether this is a 'sub-symptom' that belongs to anhedonia or depression, but it makes sense to treat it separately. While in PAWS you will have days where you have a strong desire to be alone. This symptom alone caused me to miss Birthdays and even Weddings of those close to me. The best thing you can do is realise that it is caused by a chemical imbalance, and that it is only temporary. Spend time with others. Spend time with your family. Spend time with your friends. Do your best not to be alone.

I would say try to worry about the withdrawals once you reach them. Focus on beating your current streak if you can.

 

This is pretty much what I have been experiencing this last month. It can SUCK and generally lasts anywhere from 1-4 months.

 

I was about 3 times or more a day for over 20yrs. I just decided to stop and my withdrawl symptoms have been pretty bad. Landed me in the hospital the other day with a panic attack but everything checked out fine. Saw my PCP today and told her about my Porn addiction. She was very understanding and they are sending me for more blood work to make sure everything is OK she's is going to refer a counselor. Felt.
good to talk to a Dr. About this.

 

How long did it take for those withdrawals to subside a little. At day 59 how do you feel?

 

There are better and worse days. On better days u will feel like a god. But there are days when you feel like not doing anything and extremely bored. But you just go to sleep and the next day is different

 

Holy sh*t, that sounds bad but it doesn't surprise me. When I start getting past the insomnia/headache part of the journey, I start having INTENSE anxiety and depression. Hope your journey will treat you better soon!

 

Very intense. Scared the shit out of me. The crazy thing was that it happened in the morning when I woke up. I would typically PMO around this time cause every else was sleeping and it was when I would feel the most stressed out. I run a small detail business that is in its first year and the day is typically on my mind the moment I wake up. Im starting to realize that the PMO was making it way worst. I absolutely love driving and cars and over the last year especially pandemic I feel like the love has faded some. I smoke weed as well, but I started smoking about 10 yrs ago because it's increased the PMO feeling. I like smoking but even after a while that started to become a pain in the ass and wouldn't give the same feeling. PMO has literally ruled my life for the last 20yrs. No more. I have a 4 yr old and a wonderful supportive wife. Let me be the example for everyone. Due your due diligence now, get the help you need and don't be afraid to talk to people close to you about it. That's how you'll learn who your real family and friends are.

 

can relate that

and the main thing is stress, idk how to describe it like its different kind of stress when i relapse or at day <7 days but yeah maybe u must experienced it... you know sometime its funny when u discover something new that u never felt before

 

Sorry for late reply: I cant really give a time frame, but better I would say in my 40 day cycle. But better in small ways. Longer happy times. For example initially when I started I felt naseous around 11:00am I probably went home by 12:00 or 13:00. I now manage to do 15:00 to 16:00 at work. Still feel tired sometimes and naseous but definately better. Just be aware you will get those days where everything is fucked, just walk it off. Dont embrace it, just tell yourself its dark now, but the sun WILL SHINE AGAIN, and trust me it always does.