panic attacks

Push through brother. Get rid of all the addictions first. Get yourself clean. Then if there are still problems, take care of them one by one. If it feels like something more immediate and severe, get help from a doctor ASAP.

 

I am currently going through the same thing. I look at it like PMO what i used to "treat" the first signs of anxiety or depression. If i was lonely, I would pmo. If i was stressed, I would pmo. etc. I wouldnt handle these problems head on, I would just ignore them and use pmo to releive the pain.
But now I don't have pmo to use to "treat" these things. So, untreated, they get worse. quickly.
I would aslo add that pmo not only treated these problems, but made them worse. making me fall deeper into despair and lonliness.
So to answer your question, I would agree with everything the above fapstronaut said. I would also suggest to take time for self reflection and try to find the root of your depression and anxiety. Take it slow, and remember to control your breathing.
But i'm totally new to this, so take my advice for what it is.

 

I've done somthing similier to you with even more substances as far as going cold turkey all at once. If I could go back I'd "tapper" off of things slower.

So yea I thinking cutting both cold turkey set you off but since you did it i don't think reintroducing dipping will do you any good.

We are more delicate then we as men want to admit. Drs when they prescribe substances don't take you off cold turkey so I think it's best to cut done and let your brain adjust a little IMO

 

you got to push through this.

 

Hold through, I have experienced exactly the same ! After quitting, I had unbelievably panic attacks, out of nowhere! Plus extreme depressions, full of tears, whole nights!

Your brain is recalling all your memories from the past, and this hurts.

But this goes away. It is like walking through a tunnel, and there is light out there.

And believe me, stay tuned, and soon you will feel a wonderful miracle. You will finally get rid of your fears and depressions. This is wonderful.
The price you pay now is worth the quality you will get.

 

Hello @l33andrewl33,

It is for sure not irreversible! And the flare ups subside over time. They are becoming milder and shorter, and one day they come not back at all. In my case it took around 18 months since I started with dedicated nofap until I noticed a very strong freedom from depressions.

The important step is that you are abstinent, and at the same time that you lean new behaviour.
The main keys are:

• Abstinence from PMO - Stop the old behaviour.
  
• Socialising - connect to other people in a healthy way (not only partying - seek for exchange and become a leader, ask for help, and help others)
  
• Working - Do things which give true meaning to your life; which activity makes you truly happy?
  
• Relaxing - Hold your body in balance, and thus, your mind.
• Be organized - Set up routines which hold your life in check. Do regular cleanup and don't let the mess pile up.
  
• Experience new things - for example, learn a language, a music instrument, painting, go travelling, do new sports, go dancing. Your brain is hungy for new things, it deteriorates if you are always doing the same old stuff.

I started with nofap in January 2014 at age 41 (!), with tremendous first great results, but also with relapses, and with two times of extreme attacks of depression and panic. then in Nov 2015, I noticed the first time that I had 5 weeks without a single day of depression. And since that time, it became better and better. There were flare-ups, but I had held through, they very every ttime milder and shorter. Today, I am pretty sure that I am fully done with it. This summer, I had a mild flare-up in June and one in August. Nothing else.

 

I also quit tobacco and porn/masterbation the same day. I had horrible panic/depression just like you described. It was so bad I thought I was literally going to end up in the hospital.

This was 109 days a go. I have gotten a lot better (depression is almost totally gone). I still have anxiety almost daily but I am going to therapy weekly and they are teaching me tools to deal with the anxiety.

However I am still having sex with my wife about once per week. I think this is slowing down my recovery, the next day after sex is always a bad depression/anxiety day. You guys think I need to quit sex for a while?

 

First of all, I hope that the sex is good and pleasant for both of you!
If yes, then it is a great bond between you and your wife.

My experience with depressions is this:

• Sex makes you objectively exhausted, and you need a rest. You need 1-2 days until you feel balanced again; and even more days until you feel "sexually recharged".
• When you are tired, then depressions are triggered easily. But this is not only connected to sex. It might be connected to any other state of exhaustion, also.
• The depression itself is only a pattern. It is stored in the brain, mostly during childhood, and your brain can recall it. But basically it is totally separate from sex. However, a state of exhaustion can TRIGGER the depressive pattern. So when you are tired, then your brain is more likely to recall the pattern that leads to a depression.

Now what to do:
You should handle depression separately from sex.
Of course, since Sex can trigger the depression, then abstinence can avoid it. Also, abstinence will make you more balanced.
But you can also learn to handle the early onset of a depression. For me, it helped the insight that a depression is only a memory recall of a stored pattern. Since I understood this very clearly, I am not overwhelmed anymore by depressions. Therefore, when I feel a slight onset, then I already know that it is only a pattern, I can then let lose, and the pattern goes back to normal.

Today I can have sex and depression does not come. In fact, I'm really free from depression. I'm 44, and I was living with depressions since my childhood. It is one big step forward.

 

Maybe you can try having sex without ejaculating. I used to have a girlfriend who we had sex quite often. At some point, I began to feel really tired and my motivation went down. I got depressed after I ejaculated either with her or by myself. That's when I decided to begin to have sex without ejaculating. Did you know that we can have orgasms without ejaculating? I found this book and it really helped me out!

https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Orgasmic-Man-Sexual-Secrets-Should/dp/0062513362

Some of the exercises involve masturbating but there are others that don't.

I suggest you give this a go. After some practice, I was able to experience subtle and strong orgasms without ejaculating. It takes some time and practice but is definitely worth it.

Good luck!

 

That's a good advice, I can recommend it.
It's really possible, but it needs some training.

Alternatively, you could try "Karezza". this is verynice prolonged sex where you reach no orgasm at all - you basically do sex until you get flat again

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

Did either of you experience anxiety/depression the next day after O when you were re booting?

 

Yes of course. And having an orgasm is not rebooting. I only go for hard mode. It's the best experience you can have. You become a rock solid person.