Fapping decreases your intelligence!!!

I just noticed this with playing Planetside 2.
Before my relapse i was leading platoons, taking care of logistics, and still kicking ass.
Now I am just another scrub, barely able to survive, scared to look around the next corner, making mistakes left and right ..

 

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I agree with you to a certain extent, Ace. I think lots of people just feel better that they're doing something positive, and that improves the outlook. I believe that I t's not a placebo, per se, but a change in mindset. People are making an active change in their life for the better, and it is allowing them to feel good about themselves, often subconsciously in ways they don't even realise. I've always been told that you can't see the true benefits until you've had a full reset and, although I've not had one yet, I can feel the changes happening slowly.

While I didn't get the initial positive feeling, I know many do. This process is different for everyone, though, so it would be foolish of me to say that just because something happens for one person, the same happens to everyone. But I do believe that the outcomes people see at the end of it all are very similar.

As for intelligence and learning in particular, once the initial surge has gone, then I guess it becomes easier to concentrate and read, depending upon how bad your brain for is. Mine has been pretty terrible, and is still not totally clear, but that's from 17 years worth of fapping. I have heard cases that have resolved much quicker than mine.

 

I don't know about the causes, but from my limited experience I'd say that abstinence helps with thinking in comparison to fapping regularly and/or excessively. Often, when I fapped for a few times in a single day, I would experience a "numb" brain and I wouldn't be able to think with any precision or clarity. Of course, no such problems when on NoFap. In my case the increase in brain power starts becoming noticeable around day 10-15 of NoFap.

But there also could be other reasons for better thinking, not directly related to abstinence, for example more or better sleep due to less time being wasted on PMO.

 

I have to disagree about the placebo for some cases, there is definently a negative physical effect on your brain chemistry when you relapse. I've had experience with a lot of different substances and my last relapse was totally more then placebo. I also think that the relapse get's worse the better your run is, because your body is no longer use to it. I've had relapses a week out and didn't notice much of a difference, but once I had two decent runs of a few weeks, the first relapse didn't notice any difference again, but the third one when the most progress was being made has been too intense of a hangover for me to even want to PMO.
I'm not saying my case is true for everyone. I'm just saying for me it negatively impacts my dopamine receptors in a noticeable way.