There's light at the end of the tunnel (and it's AWESOME).

Hey gang,
Just wanted to come in to the success stories thread and add my own two cents - today was a major milestone for me, and I hope it'll help any of us who are still struggling to commit even harder.
(Just as a warning, this post could potentially trigger you if you're more sensitive to thoughts about P. I'm not going to be gratuitous, but I think you'll see why it's necessary as you read through.)
The reason I originally joined this forum was because I was suffering from pretty severe PIED. I was given the chance to sleep with a woman I had had a crush on for literally years, and in the clutch - well, you can guess.
After that, I really started to take a hard look at my lifestyle and the choices I was making on a daily basis. I had been M-ing almost daily, often more than that, for the better part of a decade. My tastes, predictably, had gotten more extreme, and my behaviour in the bedroom was getting aggressive and out-of-character. I was more interested in P than in girls I was dating. I looked into NoFap and into the subreddit, and decided that it was time to quit M cold turkey, and to stop using P at all. I was changing into someone I didn't like or respect, and my sex life, which was a part of my life I had previously taken great pleasure in, was shrivelled and pathetic.
I am now past 40 days with a relapse. I am aiming for 90 as a minimum, but I'm also not planning on stopping. 90 is just the starter goal. What happened earlier today was that I achieved the entire goal I'd had when I started this journey, and I now find myself more motivated than ever.
For my own goals, I decided that sex with real people would be allowed - just no M or P. My reasoning is that since my ultimate end goal, at least on a physical level, was to cure my PIED, there shouldn't be anything wrong with pursuing healthy sexual relationships if they came up. Last week, I met a woman on Tinder (normally it's a bit of a trigger for me, but I've been feeling confident lately). We hit it off, and after two dates with very minimal physical contact, today she came over and we had an incredible (and incredibly physical) time.
I won't go into details, but the important part here is: I MASSIVELY exceeded my own physical expectations. There was still some mental anxiety, but my PIED was nowhere to be found - not the first, the second, or the third time. It was like winning an Olympic medal in my own head - I'm sure this sounds like I'm exaggerating, but seriously: I was SHOCKED. Finally, I could be proud of my own physical prowess, and finally it was matching up with my mental sexuality and sexual identity. Up until now, sex with anyone who wasn't a longterm partner would result in exactly 0 progress. It would be embarrassing and demoralizing. This was amazing, and she let me know that she agreed with that assessment many, many times both in person and via text afterwards. I feel incredibly healthy, in the best sense of the word.
If you had asked me 40 days ago what today would have looked like, I would have come nowhere close to this. For those of you still struggling with this, or wondering whether the long-term potential benefits are worth putting off the short-term pleasure, I just want to say: Yes. Good God, yes. You have no idea. Be strong, stick with it. You'll surprise yourself just so long as you stay at it.
Good luck! I'll be right here with you.

 

Sure: I'm 26.

 

I really do feel awesome - and better knowing that I'm helping someone else. The best part is that the more of us there are who succeed, and who can spread the word about our own successes, the more effective the inspiration of NoFap will be. The success stories on this website were a HUGE part of what inspired me to commit, and I'm so glad to be a part of that movement.

 

I have to admit, after my experience with the woman in question, I deactivated it, and I think I'll keep it that way. Everyone's experiences with things like Tinder or OKC are different, obviously, but for me I find that it just keeps me keyed up in a negative way. Every match I get sparks thoughts of S in my mind, whether or not there's any remote chance of it. And that, in turn, makes me think about P/M. I think I agree Engedi1's post above. Whether I like it or not, it DOES keep me in a weird place, both emotionally and in terms of arousal.
The experience I had with it was good, and I hope to eventually go back to it with a clearer mind. But for now, it raised too much temptation for me to keep with it. Like I said in my original post, I don't have a problem with real women and real interaction - but the mental state I was starting to re-enter was too much.