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FlatLine Advice??

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by RossMakerss, Jun 13, 2017.

  1. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    Hey! Just recently I had abstained from porn and masturbation for a week. After this week my penis felt dead and looked kinda smaller, this made me go back to porn and masturbate to basically see if my penis was working lol. During this my erection quality would constantly change from 90% down to 50% and back up again. During ejaculation I also felt a strange pain on the shaft or head of my penis.

    I'm just wondering, was I in flatline? How long will it take before I get my sex drive back because at the minute, I feel no need to masturbate and my penis feels dead and weak

    Help me please, thanks:)
     
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  2. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    There is no set time that a flatline will last, could be a week or it could be <six months. The thing that you have to realize is that if you don't confront it now you will only suffer more and prolong the next flatline. You may experience multiple on your journey as well. The only way to end it is to go through it without pmo. Otherwise you are do for a longer harsher one when you finally do confront it. Doing pmo is only increasing the damage already done to your brain. You have to give it up FOREVER. It may sound harsh but you have to realize it and deal with it before anything improves in the slightest. It will work though and one day you will look back and thank yourself while enjoying your new capacity to appreciate life in every way.
     
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  3. Stopping bad habits
    In my previous article Breaking the habit tonight i gave many effective advice that can help people stop bad habits however some people come and told me that they return back to their old habits after quitting them for a long period of time.

    A friend of mine has stopped smoking few months ago and each time we meet she says that she misses smoking so much and she keeps telling me how everything reminds her of smoking and how she can't forget about it. My friend didn't know a very important concept that anyone who wants to stop a bad habit should know which is anchor removal.

    How to stop bad habits
    After developing a new habit every time you do it your mind will associate it with the situation that you are doing it in. For example if you started smoking for the first time while spending a good time with your friends then smoking might be associated in your mind with good time.

    When you smoke right after eating, smoking gets associated with that period of time and so you will feel like wanting to smoke each time you eat. When you smoke while being stressed smoking gets associated with stress and so you will feel like smoking whenever you become stressed.

    In my book The ultimate guide to break any bad habit i explained how anchors can be the main reason that prevents someone from breaking a bad habit. if the person learned how to break these anchors he will surely get over the bad habit.

    Anchors and stopping bad habits?
    If you kept smoking for 10 years then most probably you developed hundreds of associations that will make you miss smoking every time you remember one of them. When you decide to quit you will crave for smoking every time you remember one of those associations and that's why you might be finding it hard to stop the bad habit.

    The good news is that If you ignored these associations or anchors and moved on without responding to them then after a short period of time these associations will weaken and you wont miss smoking anymore. For example if you stopped smoking and ignored the craving you get whenever you feel stressed then after a short period of time you won't feel like smoking when you become stressed.

    Why does it take a long period of time to stop a bad habit?
    Because you have developed hundreds of associations in your mind that are connected to the bad habit getting rid of them all will require some time. That's why breaking a habit gets easier everyday you don't do the habit because more and more associations get removed.

    This is the same exactly that happens after breakups. In the beginning Everything reminds the person of his partner because of the associations that was formed. In my book, How to get over anyone in few days i explained how ignoring these associations can make you forget your old partner as soon as the associations are removed provided that you don't strengthen them again by listening to romantic music, by thinking of him or even going to the same places you used to go to together.

    Whether its a bad habit or a break up you must understand that you will suffer for a while until those associations weaken and then you wont find any problem in getting along with your life without even remembering that habit or that person.
     
  4. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    Give it up forever?? How do all my friends seem to masturbate regularly without an issue but when I do it my penis feels all limp and dead? After a week of not watching or masturbating my penis felt dead as well AND looked smaller. Was I entering flatline at that point?
     
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  5. IwillRestore

    IwillRestore Fapstronaut

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    Yes, that is flat line. I think it will usually pass after one-two weeks. You have to keep going after that point. I know there are a lot of temptations and reasons to give in, but there are a ton of reasons not to give in. Please try and keep it going when you reach that point. It takes about 6 months for a full reboot and you should be completely free of your flat line by then. Hope this helps!
     
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  6. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Yes you were. I'm going on 8 months no pmo. I had the same exact thing for several months early on and it was a living hell. Then I came out of it and felt better than I've ever felt in my life for a month or two. Female attraction clearer head, looked better physically. Then it happened again I woke up into another flatline, another living hell but slightly better than the last with a shorter duration. I won't be surprised if I hit another. My pied still isn't cured but I have seen signs of improvement at times that I've never seen prior to nofap like getting an erection from dancing with a girl. Before that I only ever got an erection with a girl with her death gripping me. It's a long process and any amount of pmo is enough to undo months of recovery. As for your friends.. first off you don't know if they've experienced signs that they're on their way to sexual dysfunction. They probably don't know either. It took me not being able to get it up the way I wanted with porn before I ever questioned it. They could have loss of attraction to a single partner, objectification of women, escalating to rougher/kinkier sex, loss of sensitivity, loss of enjoyment in everyday tasks, brain fog, delayed ejaculation, longer refractory periods. You could have conditioned your brain deeper than they have during puberty. They could have slightly different neoroplasticity when it comes to their sexual conditioning therefore you developed it before they did. They aren't in the clear and we don't know much about pied and porn induced dysfunctions. One thing we do know is that if you have started to develop a sexual dysfunction from it the only way to recover is to completely cut it out of your life for good and it will still take awhile. Save yourself the future pain and suffering and stop now for good. Do your research as well don't just take my word for it. Go to yourbrainonporn.com, watch Gary wilsons ted talk the great porn experiment, go to yourbrainrebalinced.com, rebootnation.org, and check out gabe deem and Noah church's stories. There is science behind what I'm saying and plenty of antecdotes of young men with sexual dysfunctions that recover after 6 months to 2 years of abstinence. Erectile dysfunction rates in young men were 2% two decades ago and are now 33% the only variable that has changed is the development of high speed internet porn.
     
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  7. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    Thank you so much for such a detailed response! Looking at your advice I have decided it definitely is time to stop porn and masturbation altogether. I cannot wait until I get my full erections over thought and not porn back, morning wood back and an attraction to girls again because at the minute my libido is non existent. Thank you again and I hope you a good recovery.
     
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  8. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    Thank you, I've decided to stop masturbating and porn altogether from this point on, I know how hard it will be but I won't give in.
     
  9. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    You probably aren't one of the worst cases since you are 19. Many people on this site would give the world to have found this information at your age. You could literally save years of your life by cutting this out of your life at your age. I'm 24 and could only imagine where I'd be now if I knew this 5 years ago. Good luck, if you are on this site you already know what you have to do on some level. There is no life worth living being a porn addict for the rest of your life. If you want to really enjoy life and conquer your dreams, be the best version of you that you can, and get the girl of your dreams someday, then this is your first and biggest step to doing that.. and the most important step too.
     
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  10. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    I actually made a mistake during the sign up process, I'm actually 17. & yes, I know what I have to do thanks to you:)

    P.S I have a girlfriend and I find it super easy to get aroused with her
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2017
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  11. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Awesome my friend, 17 is even better. Good for you, I fell in love at 17 for the first time and the relationship fell apart due to pmo. It took me 6 more years of failed sex and failed relationships to realize what was happening. You have such a bright future and a head start on this journey. A 17 year old doing nofap.. just wait a few months and watch the changes start coming, your friends probably won't even recognize you. You will be impressed I promise you.
     
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  12. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    Aw man:( I feel so bad for you, I hope you're recovery is a quick one from now and that you get back to your very best!! Will having an orgasm by my girlfriends doing affect my recovery? I find it easy to get aroused with her. We have not had sex yet and have no plan to do it for the next few months.
     
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  13. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    Also start working out if you don't already, take cold showers, and improve your diet if it's not what it could be. These will only improve the benefits you will get and increase your willpower. Over time with this and nofap you will start to see major improvements in your life.
     
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  14. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    I would give it a little while, I can't say for sure, it is definitely not bad like pmo. It won't worsen your condition but it could send you into flatline or slow down recovery. All of the time spent with your girlfriend is beneficial to you though. I would hold off maybe 90 days but listen to your body and don't force anything. If you feel genuine libido that is a good sign that you can progress with her. Everyone is different though and it will take trial and error to know for sure what works for you.
     
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  15. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    I have a good diet thanks to my mum and I do try to stay fit as I play a lot of football and train 2/3 times a week. Thanks to you I have realised that no libido, sex drive or urge to masturbate is a good thing! Me and my girlfriend will take things slow.
     
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  16. hej0g

    hej0g Fapstronaut

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    Hey guys, just reading this I'm wondering why a flatline is "living hell"? Surely a flatline is the best thing to get during nofap because then it's easier to abstain from PMO'ing? @Hisself
     
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  17. RossMakerss

    RossMakerss Fapstronaut

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    Yeah very good point, I can speak from experience when you are in flatline you are scared your penis is broken and you are scared from the lack of sex drive. That is what made me relapse so everything would go back to normal. I thought what you are asking myself then I read this and understood -

    "Are you about to start NoFap for the first time? Be forewarned! Somewhere in your cerebral gray matter it is waiting to descend and consume you. For some, going without porn for just a week can rise it from its sleep. For us who have used PMO since our earliest sexuality, it takes bit longer because our problem is deeper. For myself, 3 weeks into this streak I lost the wonderful powerful sexual energy that I love about myself. I became like an old man. An invalid. And it terrified me.
    What is the flatline? The flatline is your body wanting porn back. The flatline is the part of your brain that has enjoyed bathing in delicious dopamine for years on end. It's the part of your brain that is parasitic. It takes and never gives. And it loves this arrangement.
    The flatline doesn't give a shit about you. The flatline cares about one thing and one thing only: relapse. It wants you to freak out, to feel afraid, to run back into the arms of visual pornography, to check and make sure your dick still works, to end this horrible discomfort at any cost. And in the relapse, to take up the addiction again.
    The flatline is devilishly smart. It says this new NoFap practice is fundamentally scary (and it is). It wants the old you back, so it punishes you by giving you the sex drive of a 90-year old (and it will). And interestingly, the flatline is half right. If you run back into the dopamine-drenched arms of PMO, you will feel good again. Your brain will feel that good fire again. You will feel "normal" again.
    But the flatline is a liar. What it doesn't tell you is this: a significantly better you waits on the other side of this discomfort. And by willfully entering into this struggle, you will come out of the other end feeling whole again, but as a new person who is far sharper, stronger, and more emotionally connected to the world than you have ever known. Believe this: unbelievable riches await you beyond the flatline.
    You must not fear the flatline. The flatline is the mind-killer. The flatline is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
    We will face our flatline. We will permit it to pass over us and through us. And when it has gone past we will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the flatline has gone there will be nothing. Only we will remain.
    Stay strong and courageous."
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2017
  18. hej0g

    hej0g Fapstronaut

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    Thanks for the reply!
    Jeez this feels like I'm Odysseus and I'm facing different challenges along my journey, the Flatline is the Lotus-eaters trying to lure me in :eek:
     
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  19. Hisself

    Hisself Fapstronaut

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    I'm at work now so I'll have to be brief and return later. In short many people use pmo as a coping mechanism for other problems in their life and don't realize it. I did this and when I gave it up my problems hit me like a ton of bricks. I never developed good habits to cope with problems in my life so when pmo was gone and the flatline hit I had all of the usual flatline symptoms, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, existential loneliness, brain fog.. and a shitload of personal problems over the years that I never dealt with and also lack of education on what a flatline was and whether or not it would ever end. Not everyone will experience it this severely. Just educate yourself and realize you will come out of it a better person. Oh yeah and little dead dick isn't much fun either.
     
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  20. hej0g

    hej0g Fapstronaut

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    Wow, I didn't even realise that was on my horizon. Thanks for the heads up Hisself, I'll keep an eye out! At least when I reach the other side I'll be able to really deal with problems in my life, probably even problems I don't even currently realise I have.
     

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