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It Depends On How Long

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by Deleted Account, Sep 1, 2018.

  1. I have this theory that the longer you've looked at porn the harder it is quit porn. So someone who's been looking at porn for 10 years will have more relapses than someone who's been looking at it for 2 years. Also the longer you look at porn the longer it takes to completely rewire. Like if you've looked at porn for 15 years it's going to take you at least 15 years of abstinence for you to be completely rewired.

    What does everyone else think?
     
  2. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    You’re right to a degree, but it doesn’t take you an equal amount of time compared to the length of your addiction to completely recover. There’s a general rule of thumb that for every year you’ve been PMOing, it will take two months of abstinence to recover. So if you’ve been jerking off to porn for 15 years, it is going to take at least 30 months to rewire.
     
  3. Eesh! It's going to take me literally 7 years! Let's hope that rule of thumb only applies for so long out.
     
  4. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    How long have you been PMOing?
     
  5. Uncomfortably Numb

    Uncomfortably Numb Fapstronaut

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    My theory is that it depends on how long (%) a person has been doing the modern style of porn consumption i.e. fast internet porn where numerous different genres and scenes are easily viewed.
    For example I have viewed porn for 30 years but only 33% of this is fast internet porn (previously video or magazine)… however a 20 year old male may have consumed a full 100% of his porn the new way???
     
  6. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    You’re right, this is a factor too. Someone who’s been PMOing for 35 or 40 years is going to have a different set of rules that applies to them, because obviously a majority of that time was not spent on a laptop looking at fetish sites. However it is also my theory that any form of excessive masturbation, with or without porn, is overstimulating the dopamine receptors in the brain and therefore creating a myriad of issues. If you’re getting off to fantasy, whether that’s to a video on your screen or to an image in your head, you’re releasing dopamine. And for those of us (and there are many of us) that have fapped multiple times a day every day for years, even if porn had not been as big a factor in that addiction, the rewiring of the brain would still need to take place in order to recover from the constant dopamine release that excessive masturbation is responsible for.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2018
    Clean Plate and Deleted Account like this.
  7. 35 years.
     
  8. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    That is a long time, but it doesn’t mean you can’t recover. Frankly though you may be in for a considerably long recovery due to the length of time you’ve been addicted to PMO... unfortunately that’s just the reality of it. But that also reinforces the fact that it’s crucial that you stop now and start your journey to rebooting as soon as possible.
     
    Deleted Account likes this.
  9. Address007

    Address007 Fapstronaut

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    I don't think that's a good estimate. I've heard of so many successful 90-day reboots. So they only jerked off for 18 months? No way, most have done it for 5+ years.

    It's different for everyone. But the majority will successfully reboot within 180 days
     
    Bman101 likes this.
  10. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    I’m sorry to say it but you’re wrong if you believe that. There are so many cases of rebooters taking well over a year before they recover. Yes, there are many cases of it taking less time, but to say “the majority will successfully reboot within 180 days” is simply not being realistic. Someone who has PMO’d for five years is also going to recover much sooner than someone who’s been doing it for over fifteen. And there are many that fall into the latter category. Look up PAWS. This is a very real thing that many longtime addicts experience after abstinence that can sometimes take up to two years to subside.
     
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  11. Abetterbrain

    Abetterbrain Fapstronaut

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    Of course. The brain works on pathways that are build through repetition. The more you act out a habit the more ingrained and strengthened the pathway becomes.
     
  12. Address007

    Address007 Fapstronaut

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    There are no studies that look at how long it takes for dopamine sensitivity to return to normal after years of abuse, even for drugs. You have any evidence to support your claim?

    I'll admit I dont have any to support mine. I'm just speaking from all the anecdotes I read. I rarely see someone not recover within 6 months unless they're substituting nofap for other unhealthy dopaminergic activities (playing crap load of video games, eating lots of sugar, doing drugs like coke or molly).
     
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  13. Address007

    Address007 Fapstronaut

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    I shouldn't say rarely. But I see it less often. Hence why I say majority should recover within 180 days
     
  14. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    Again, look up PAWS. I’ve seen many fapstronauts suffering from this. I’ve also come across just as many people personally that have been on NoFap for over a year or close to it and are still experiencing withdrawal symptoms. You seem to have the opposite experience as far as the individuals you’ve come across. This does not disprove the fact that many 15+ year PMO addicts tend to recover much slower than younger addicts that have not been addicted as long. It all comes down to the intensity of the addiction and the length of it.
     
    Address007 likes this.
  15. Ezpz

    Ezpz Fapstronaut

    There are a lot more factors than just how long you looked at porn, although that is probably one of them.
     
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  16. Moon Shot

    Moon Shot Fapstronaut

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    I agree with @Ezpz, there are several environmental and genetic factors, as well as those we haven't completely understood, that have a hand in this addiction, so I wouldn't say that it depends solely on how long. I think calculating every 1 year of PMOing for 2 months of recovery as a rule of thumb isn't very accurate- If we're counting months and years, why not days and hours? An AP of mine, a teenager, spent 9 years PMOing, but 8 hours of each day on average was dedicated to watching porn, and his taste in porn got increasingly twisted and intense. Does that mean that someone else who has PMO'd for the same duration of years, will require the same 18 months of recovery?

    An addict that comes from a family of alcoholics, drug addicts and porn addicts may have a more difficult time recovering than another addict who doesn't have that kind of history.

    Personally, my goal isn't a 'full recovery,' and I don't think that a full recovery is actually possible. I think we tend to lose site of the journey, the process, and focus on the end goal, though I'm not saying that anyone here is doing that. I think, as an addict, we need to accept that. It's my perception that an ex-addict is always susceptible to returning back down that path, and I stand testimony to that.

    What can we do? Only one answer: keep recovering.
     
    Bman101 likes this.
  17. Isn't that like saying someone who's trained for 180 days for the London Marathon will win it? No winners of marathons train for years to achieve success.
     
  18. Ezpz

    Ezpz Fapstronaut

    I am almost at 180 days myself and im still going through PAWS. Im no where near rebooted and i know that.

    Some additional factors that may effect recovery time: Diet, exercise, genetics, other habits (any other addictions), how you spend your recovery time, social relationships, if youre sexually active, your environment, your job, your stress levels, how often you used on any given day, what sort of material consumed. All these factors and more can play a role in recovery.
     
    Clean Plate likes this.
  19. Dagger323

    Dagger323 Fapstronaut

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    I said “general rule of thumb,” as in it seems to be fairly consistent with the experiences of many fapstronauts. There are obviously going to be exceptions, and no one here is an expert on this subject as this is a topic relatively obscure from the medical industry. However if people are looking for a general idea of how long it might take them to recover, I don’t think that rule of thumb is that bad an idea if it helps certain individuals cope. Also, I disagree about full recovery not being possible. This very much depends on what your definition of full recovery is. There is always going to be temptation for any former addict, be that a rebooting PMO addict, recovering alcoholic, former obese food addict, etc., and thinking otherwise is ludicrous. If your definition of “full recovery” is for someone to never experience urges or temptations to indulge in their former addiction ever again, then no, recovery for any former addict of any type of addiction is completely impossible. However, my definition of full recovery is for an individual to reach a point where they have quit their negative habits, healed from any physical/mental symptoms that were a direct result of their addiction, and developed the ability to overcome urges and temptation when it arises. In that sense, I wholeheartedly believe full recovery can absolutely be achieved, and has been achieved by numerous individuals I’ve come across.
     
    Bman101 likes this.
  20. Moon Shot

    Moon Shot Fapstronaut

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    Then let's agree to disagree, since I explicitly stated:

     

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