Feeling far worse after 1 month NoFap

Once I can masturbate normally then I want to do a totally reboot of nothing period but the longer I hold out from prone the sooner I can masturbate via my hand.

 

Thank you very much for this comment, this is probably my favorite comment ever. It gives me hope, I thank you so much.

So, do you think simply abstaining from pmo is enough for our brain and body to heal? Are things like computers and music or binging tv shows bad enough that it will not allow us to fully recover? I feel like if we do things like binge watch tv shows, our receptors will never get to 100% when we watch something that is not exciting but enough to release excess dopamine that we can only get to, let’s say, 95% and once we get there, the difference is so minimal that we can’t ever get to 100%. I hope all this makes sense.

 

No problem. We're here to help each other. Complete abstinence from pornography (and probably masturbation) should be enough to normalize damage to nerve cells/neurotransmitter receptor sites. This certainly takes time, and a lot of it. I would agree that heavy technology use is never a good thing, but moderation definitely won't hurt. Even binge watching your favorite tv show doesn't come close to what porn can do. Porn is a stimulant, capable of activating a motherload of excitatory neurochemicals in your system. Please be aware that going through this detox can be very unpleasant. PAWS is not uncommon. Depression and anxiety/panic can be overwhelming and debilitating, you may even find that you are unable to function because of this. But it definitely helps to know that (serious) withdrawal symptoms are to be expected in case of serious addiction. Once you've been addicted, you'll always be very sensitive when it comes to certain subjects, but as time goes by, you can definitely expect to experience a change in impuls control. Complete recovery from serious porn addiction can take up to 1-2 years. Also, don't be discouraged if you don't feel a lot of change after 90 days. There's definitely light at the end of this dark tunnel we're all in, but the key to recovery lies in complete abstinence.
Hope it helps.

 

This process takes longer than people think.

 

Dang I love talking to you, you give me hope, thank you!! Yeah I don’t feel much change from month to month, maybe I need half of years :/ so brain fog and shit memory is all part of the process? I will feel joy as I once did? Be more present? Be happy again?

Have you researched on this topic much? You speak like this is nothing new to you

***Edit: hey! I’d also like to ask, what do you think about peeking?? So, I had a wet dream, for the first time in like decades I think so it’s my first or second ever, then the next day I had strong urges to orgasm again so I peeked, not at direct porn but images on 9gag. Well, I peeked for like a minute then stopped and came to my senses. But after I felt all my mental symptoms getting worse and I don’t know if I would’ve been better today if I didn’t peek a few days ago. Idk if it was real or placebo but can a minute of peek really do this? How far back does that put me?? How do you feel about peeking?? I’ve read that it takes like 56 days or so for the delta fos-b to start breaking those pathways, so if we relapse before then, those pathways never break?! So that means a peek screws everything?? But then again, those are just pathways, not our receptors? But those pathways hijack our reward system?? I don’t know, just thinking :/ what do you think about all this??

 

The symptoms you describe can definitely be caused by withdrawal. And yes, you should be able to experience happiness again, if you're out of that withdrawal stage. Depression is probably the most typical withdrawal and even dependency symptom. Even when you're still addicted and abusing pornography, life often seems hard and miserable. Something just feels "off", but it's hard to understand why. If that sounds like you, porn can definitely be the root cause. In my opinion this feeling of dread is caused by the dopamine flood involved. Other than drugs, not a lot of things can cause the same high as pmo. So you definitely start enjoying life less. Simple things become hard work. At this point it's not uncommon to experience anhedonia, laziness and exhaustion. Porn just sucks the life out of a boy/man. The spilling of the fluid gold, sperm cells, containing life's very essence, only adds to this. The happiness one experienced as a child is often replaced by feelings of frustration, lethargy and depression. To make matters worse, the addict often isn't aware of these problems as being caused by porn abuse, so the behavior is often not corrected in time. When he finally starts seeing through porn's empty promises, it's often too late to escape withdrawal. This is all just personal experience I'm telling you here, but I know for a fact that I won't be the only one who's felt like this. Unfortunately, withdrawal is often the hardest part of the addiction. Hellish suffering often replaces ultimate pleasure. It's karma at work. A hard, but valuable lesson. I think for many, it's the hardest thing they've been through.

Porn is like any other drug, dependency quickly sets in. Thanks to the emerging information and websites on this matter, I've indeed done some reading. And my findings have only confirmed what I've long thought. The experiences shared on here have so much in common, it's become impossible to deny that porn can cause problems and affect lives. What happens with porn addiction is that you mistake pleasure for happiness. When you've been through puberty addicted to porn, your brain actually thinks the more or less constant dopamine flood is normal. As I said I'm not a scientist, so I'm not really sure whether this flood of neurotransmitters causes an increase or decrease of dopamine receptor sites (among others), but this rewiring without a doubt does result in withdrawal once the source of addiction is dealt with. Would like to add that dopamine is only one of the chemicals that are known to play a role in addiction. Sex and stress hormones are all over the place as well. Plus, there are so many chemicals present in the human body, scientists haven't identified them all. The point is, pmo addiction will mess up the nervous system regardless. Knowledge is one thing, feelings, listening to what your body is trying to communicate, is another. It's these feelings that will result in motivation and an ending to the cycle of addiction eventually

Peeking definitely isn't something you should be doing. You'll only reinforce the addictive thinking and behavior. If you've experienced withdrawal symptoms severe enough to interfere with your life, sooner or later you'll realize that complete abstinence and complete riddance of addiction is the only way out of the misery. We simply weren't made to grow up looking at porn and masturbating as much as possible.
If you've had a wet dream, great. Notice how constant masturbation has prevented you from experiencing this. For what it's worth I had my first one at the age of 24, when I finally first managed to go without porn for longer than a month. Masturbation or wet dreams, which do you think is a true sign of good sexual health? I'm sure you've guessed it. A strong subconscious mind is far preferable to the frustration and weakness porn can bring.

If you ask me, anything sexually that isn't real, but a product of fantasy, should be avoided at all costs. So no videos, no pictures. It seems hard at first, but it can be done. Motivation is everything. It's moments of pleasure vs. a well-balanced and happy life. I believe there's more to life. How many of us have really lived life to the fullest? Sex in the first place, should involve love and bonding. It should involve real-life, as should most of the things you do. You just can't get that from a screen. If you think about it, pmo addiction really is a form of self-abuse.

Bottom line: porn just hasn't any valuable place in life. It's a den of darkness, in which nothing can flourish. Think about it. When a plant or a flower doesn't get enough sunlight, it doesn't seem to flourish. It's the same way with porn. When you spend a lot of time in that darkness, you just won't yield any real fruit. There's a huge spiritual component to this problem that is often overlooked. We're more than just bodies, we're energies in the first place. Let the universe be your guide.

Peace out.

 

I'm trying to go for a year hardmode, but I am thinking more realistically 2 years :/

Man, I really dig what you're saying from how poisonous it all can be to the value of semen to fantasizing and to our bodies being energy and the rob of our spirit, it drains us.

I like your take on this and I wish you well on your nofap journey. Thank you for your help and showing me the candle so I can see. Goodluck man!! Hope we all SEE the truth one day!

 

Don't put a pressure on yourself. Just try to do it one day at a time. Expects a lot of set back and relapse and tries to learn from your failures.