UPDATE: So, now that I'm not masturbating like before (5-6 times a week) for these past two weeks, it's suck major fuckin ass but, what would be the LIMIT of nofap? Like...what would cause me to SUPER RELAPSE? I couldn't fall asleep due to abstaining but, I watched non-nudes (yoga pants) and bated but didn't bust a nut. Would that hinder or void the weeks of abstaining? I told my gf about my addiction which she was understanding about and offered to help me by giving me a bj whenever I needed or had the urge to watch porn. Does that mess it up too? Also, everything is fuckin irritating me at this moment in time. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Has anyone else gone through the feeling of boredom. Nihilism and some/above normal depression while NoFap? IM ADDICTED to porn. (Duh) but have made SOME improvements in my current struggle of it. But now, I FEEL everything that I mentioned above. My addiction to porn got way deeper starting from 21. I'm 34 now and wanna change for sure.
Certainly. Quitting porn or any drug will cause a change in attitude. I'm not a doctor but I think usually, the first emotions are related to loss. Because porn like other drugs makes you feel good. Even if the feeling is fleeting. For years you associated porn with harmless pleasure. You conditioned yourself to love the things you saw. Now you don't have that. So it will feel like you're losing out. For me, porn has been THE most consistent activity I have participated in since I was about 11/12. I don't have any habits that have lasted as long as my porn habit. So essentially a big part of me is changing. I know it's a good change but maybe my body doesn't. But that's just a little bit of what causes depression. That's just the start A big part of why we get depressed is shame. Another is expectation, or unmet expectation. Then there's hormones and biology that can get fucked up (again not a doctor). I was ready to kill myself at points and didn't smile for months at a time while I was really struggling. I didn't want to go outside and I had a negative outlook on everything. Not really tied to any specific reasoning except that I was unhappy and joyless. I couldn't find the energy to laugh at things I knew were hilarious. It was weird. I still find that I have negative emotions about things that never used to bother me. Things related to vanity and self-promotion, self-centeredness, materialism, capitalism etc. can get me fired up. But I see this kind of like progress. At least I can feel/recognise those emotions.
Yes, NoFap makes me bored as heck! But that's good. Check my post here: NoFap makes me bored, but it's good! | NoFap® I am depressed, too! Until right now, I'm still fighting my depression. Your symptom somehow is very similar to me, honestly. Feel free to ask me more, guess I can help you a lot! Cheers!
I actually found the opposite was true for me. When I was watching porn and masterbating regularly I was bored and lonelier then ever. I think it was because with porn I found myself ignoring people and just staying home. Once I got serious about NoFap and the days and weeks progressed, I found myself becoming more engaged with people and wanting to be around them again.
Nice perspective! I'm suffered with social trauma (first time ever I confess it on public). Have making some progress to fix it. That's why I often found myself bored when I've nothing to do. When I was a coomer, I watch porn (fap as well) in order to cope with boredom (that's dumb, I know). Although it's not easy to fight depression and trauma alone.... I can do it. I beat my PMO addiction alone and now had completed my reboot. As long as I'm keeping the positive energy, I know that this social trauma will gone!
Congratulations on beating your PMO addiction. I have not PMOd since Sept 2nd, and am starting to really feel like I beat it too. I 100% relate to PMOing while bored. Over the summer I started journaling how i felt before and after PMOing and much to my surprise boredom was the biggest reason I did it. I was not triggered by some pretty girl, or woke up horny, I was bored and it passed the time. Knowing that now I feel equipped to beat this addiction for the rest of my life.
Agreed! I also found social media can be so triggering (that random girls picture are quite.... inappropriate).Deleting social media apps are help my reboot progress a lot. I also feel lots of improvement after completing the reboot, like not seeing women as sexual object anymore. Anyway, nice streak!
Damn. That's some serious stuff! So far the thing I hate the most is the nihilism that comes about. It scares the shit out of me because it triggers that depressed feeling and it drives thoughts of suicide ( I would never do it) but that shit is scary and I breake down in tears. I know that what I'm going through is because of NoFap because once I start up, it all goes away. What were the steps that you implemented to work on while you didn't fap.
Yeah, I get that feeling of hopelessness sometimes. Like should I even be fighting or just move further down my addiction, dive deeper into bad habits? And I see posts like that around here from time to time. There isn't really a reason to live if things don't get better. That's why we all do the hard things in life, work/school, staying in shape, maintaining relationships etc. We have some hope that doing certain things will bring about something that is worth all that work. If there was 0 chance that you would get a promotion you wouldn't apply for it. That's kind of what I'm getting at. Why live if im just going to be like this forever. No wife/girl, kids, family. Just a shell of a man... When I was really really bad I couldn't connect with any level of hopefulness. I felt that I had made a major mistake with porn, and I was just a porn addict. I didn't think it was possible to change. I can't pinpoint all the activities that helped me regain some of that hope but here's a few things I attribute to my improved state: Finding a job. I was unemployed for a while after covid and that allowed me to wallow in self-pity and dive deep into negativity. Idle hands/mind is the workshop of the devil. I really believe that. Connecting with close friends and family. People who care about your health and wellbeing, not just people who care that you are available to hang out. Just talking for 30 minutes about nothing can be therapeutic. Going outside. Honestly get some sun. See faces. Walk around. If you're like me you're inside all day, and that's how the sick and incarcerated live. Finding a challenging hobby. Work on it till you see noticeable progress. You'll generate some positive emotions just by doing that. For me it's guitar. Get some professional help for your mind if necessary. Don't be too proud. Try a couple of sessions w a shrink to see if it's helpful. Or you can go the religious route read the bible, koran, other stuff. But the trick I learned is that you can't be too hard on yourself. That's basically the only advice a therapist will give you but it helps to talk to a real person. The entire goal here is to work on improving yourself for selfish reasons so you can look back and say yeah I'm making progress. Maybe check out some Jordan Petersson vids. I often come here to get advice from people on this forum. If they can break habits and turn their lives around, so can I. I'm still struggling. If I wasn't I wouldn't come back to this site. So everything I just said might work, might not. But I hope it helps you.
Just seeing that other people have/had the same issue as me right now makes me hopeful. All you guys hete have been a wonderful help. ❤️
Yes, boredom, ennui, depressive feelings, nihilism, and more is all a part of recovery. It's another angle altogether that the addict self may take, especially if he sees one progressing and while his usual temptations and urges aren't working. It's just a ploy to get one to fall again - and then one feels those depressing things for real, and for real reasons having fallen in the pit, whereas before a fall, it's just a ploy or illusion. The illusion does lift off, though, after a while, and clearer skies prevail, especially when the addict self realizes that the imposed malaise is not working either. Hence, in recovery, be a man of all seasons. It's never about moods or feelings, but being a straight arrow and standing firm through all weather. A day of joyful experience awaits, until the clouds temporarily threaten some again thereafter, but not forever. Best wishes!
Have you experienced the depression, and how long has your addiction been a thing? How Ling did your depression last if any?
Yes, depressive feelings, but not medical depression or anything so severe. Downcast feelings through the struggle of recovery and then relapsing - that kind of thing, and sometimes when recovery seems boring - de[pressed feelings can emerge as a temptation to relapse -- but none of these things prove to be long lasting -- it always blows over, even if it repeats some other day.
