P.A.W.S. - what are they, cure, duration

Fenix Rising

Fenix Rising

Fapstronaut
Maybe this will help someone who's done +90 days reboot and is asking himself why he still feels like shit. Congrats, you've made it, welcome to the PAWS club! :)

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." - Nelson Mandela

P.A.W.S: What are they and how to get rid of them (eventually)

Common symptoms: 1. Depression, 2. Anxiety, 3. Insomnia 4. Mood swings (F... I experience all of them already:()

Cause: Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, Adrenal gland imbalances and some other stuff (first video)

Cure (help) : Diet, Exercise, Pushing yourself forward, patience, *counselling *if needed

Duration: 6 to 24 months in general

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome what you need to know:

What is post-acute withdrawal syndrome?
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I have a question to all the guys who have passed couple of months mark and experienced PAWS. How long did it take for you to get rid of them if at all?

I know 6 to 24 months is general rule of thumb, but all the therapists refer to opioid and alcohol abuse when talking about PAWS. Is there a difference?
I was thinking about it and it seams logical that PAWS caused by binge PMO addiction could be shorter, because we don't insert foreign substances into our bodies. Or is my thinking completely wrong here? I'm grasping for hope here, depression, anxiety, insomnia, headaches backpain and joint inflammation are killing me right now. I couldn't do 10 push ups today, when I could easily do +30 just 2 months ago. I can't imagine experiencing this hell for another 20 months.
 
Fenix Rising said:
I'm grasping for hope here, depression, anxiety, insomnia, headaches backpain and joint inflammation are killing me right now. I couldn't do 10 push ups today, when I could easily do +30 just 2 months ago. I can't imagine experiencing this hell for another 20 months.
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Man I can really understand you. Even though I'm just day 9 again, it's really hard for me atm. I just hope that the withdrawal symptoms go away some day, cause I can't see my self being able to keep away from P, if this stays the same.
 
arkad1 said:
I don't remember exactly, hard mode till day 170, then started havung sex, then masturbated about 19 times from february and watched porn 2 times in the last month.

Paws stopped at day 220 more or less
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220 days is not so bad. So it lasted around 8 months for you, just like the man in the first video? I hope it's true for me too. I can deal with it for another 3 months.
 
Hey thanks for posting about the withdrawls. Ive been addicted to porn for about 15 years and had anxiety issues off and on over the years. Now ive been trying to quit and the anxiety has been brutal. Im hoping it will get better. I see a councilor and im on day 46 today so hopefully the anxiety will start to decrease soon.
 
Fenix Rising said:
I have a question to all the guys who have passed couple of months mark and experienced PAWS. How long did it take for you to get rid of them if at all?

I know 6 to 24 months is general rule of thumb, but all the therapists refer to opioid and alcohol abuse when talking about PAWS. Is there a difference?
I was thinking about it and it seams logical that PAWS caused by binge PMO addiction could be shorter, because we don't insert foreign substances into our bodies. Or is my thinking completely wrong here? I'm grasping for hope here, depression, anxiety, insomnia, headaches backpain and joint inflammation are killing me right now. I couldn't do 10 push ups today, when I could easily do +30 just 2 months ago. I can't imagine experiencing this hell for another 20 months.
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Hey, we spoke recently in my thread,


I do not fucking get why the paws is like this either with porn addiction.

I smoked weed heavily for around 7 years (quit 8 years ago) and the paws from weed lasted a year but the majority of it was gone at the 6 month period.

I got addicted to opiate painkillers when I injured myself, used them heavily for 2 years ( haven't used them in around 6 or 7 years ) and the paws from that was like 6 months then fully back to normal.

I've quit smoking cigarettes several times and the paws is gone after around 3 or 4 months .


I literally have no fucking clue what makes porn different when it comes to paws.
 
whysolong said:
I literally have no fucking clue what makes porn different when it comes to paws.
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One would think that PMO PAWS would be shorter than any substance abuse, but it doesn't look like it. I was feeling quite well, then I went off my vigorous daily aerobic exercise routine for 18 days and BUM, I was hit by one of the worst depression and anxiety episodes to date. Plus insomnia, night panic attacks, joints inflammation, headache… Two days and 4 hours of aerobic exercise later (running and fast uphill walking till exhaustion) and I'm OK again. This is clearly an indication that my brain still suffer from dopamine imbalances or deficiency. Once my brain gets the fix of happy hormones mood and physical symptoms go back to normal. It leaves us no choice but to stay disciplined all the time or suffer the consequences, I suppose.
 
Fenix Rising said:
One would think that PMO PAWS would be shorter than any substance abuse, but it doesn't look like it. I was feeling quite well, then I went off my vigorous daily aerobic exercise routine for 18 days and BUM, I was hit by one of the worst depression and anxiety episodes to date. Plus insomnia, night panic attacks, joints inflammation, headache… Two days and 4 hours of aerobic exercise later (running and fast uphill walking till exhaustion) and I'm OK again. This is clearly an indication that my brain still suffer from dopamine imbalances or deficiency. Once my brain gets the fix of happy hormones mood and physical symptoms go back to normal. It leaves us no choice but to stay disciplined all the time or suffer the consequences, I suppose.
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I've learned that doing intense exercise or even just exercise that elevates the heart for long periods of time is really bad while you're in paws, you take triple the amount of time to recover.

You're better off doing yoga or something that doesn't tax the nervous system.
 
whysolong said:
I've learned that doing intense exercise or even just exercise that elevates the heart for long periods of time is really bad while you're in paws, you take triple the amount of time to recover.

You're better off doing yoga or something that doesn't tax the nervous system.
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you're 100% right and this is sad, just goes to show how fucked up we get when we experience PAWS, it's like our world turn upside down!
 
my flatline has been lasting for 2 years and 4 months, to this day..
I've known two guys here who also have had/ are having 2 + years flatline, another guy 19 months
maybe porn withdraws are underrated, they may be as worse or even more worse than some drugs out there like cigarretes or alcohol
 
Freeddom_Taker said:
I'm close to 10 months and this week is hell for sure. Lay on bed most of the time since last week. Parents asked me what's going on but I still don't have the courage to let them know the truth.
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Hey brother im on day 48 and lots of anxiety and just dont feel good. Also dont have it in me to tell my parents. Just continue to take it one day at a time is all we can do
 
Casey54 said:
Hey brother im on day 48 and lots of anxiety and just dont feel good. Also dont have it in me to tell my parents. Just continue to take it one day at a time is all we can do
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When I'm healed I'll let them know. I have age to start my own family and right now I can't let pmo take away all my essence man. Congrats on your 48 days pmo free man and continue the path!
 
Younameit said:
my flatline has been lasting for 2 years and 4 months, to this day..
I've known two guys here who also have had/ are having 2 + years flatline, another guy 19 months
maybe porn withdraws are underrated, they may be as worse or even more worse than some drugs out there like cigarretes or alcohol
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Do you ever wonder if this is really paws or if you are just depressed and these are symptoms of depression?

I'm not doubting you or questioning if what you are going through is real, I only ask because I remember when I did a 10 month streak last year I stopped believing that this could be paws related which is why I fucked up the 10 month streak.

As someone who is a former drug addict I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt substance induced paws and withdrawal symptons are a hell of a lot worse than nofap paws.....HOWEVER the the length of time nofap paws goes on for easily makes it far far far worse than substance paws/withdrawal. I would easily choose 6 months of a unrelenting crippling nightmare as apposed to 2+years of nofap paws with basically no help from experts or concrete info

I have read 2 stories of a guy who recovered after 18 months and another guy who recovered after 2 years. The rest of the people who have been on nofap for a 1 to 2 years are still recovering.

This is why I keep saying we need to see more 3 year reports before we can start understanding this a lot more. In many ways the guys who have been in flatlines for a year or more are actually pioneers in gathering data and information for people in the future for a better understanding of porn induced paws.
 
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whysolong said:
Do you ever wonder if this is really paws or if you are just depressed and these are symptoms of depression?
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I do believe preexisting unaddressed depression/anxiety is often mistaken for PAWS. I know I suffer from depression and when I'm disciplined enough to follow lifestyle steps to help with depression symptoms, PAWS subdue or even go away for some time. I'd say that if you still experience PAWS for over 500 days, you should think about possibility of having underlying issuers other than PAWS.
https://jamesclear.com/new-habit
 
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Altruism247 over at yourbrainrebalanced was still getting better at 30 months away in withdrawal, scary but if that's the case the shows how much damage we've done using porn over the years.

I have been in a flatline (sexually) for the best part of 7 years. When my porn use ramped up I suddenly lost libido at 17. I have felt glimpses of it return recently. There was a 20 month case recently on reddit who came out of flatline and many other case over the year and half mark and two years who are in flatlines.

From my own perspective I think we did do serious damage. The anxiety was nothing short of hell over the years and after 9-11 months it got better, and it does get keeping better. I believe it's like a burnout of some sort as well. Also I dont argue that we have underlying issues as well that's why many of us turned to porn. I know I have self esteem issues etc.
 
I mean can you imagine the studies that show porn use correlated with cocaine in terms of dopamine spikes and imagine some people who were edging for hours every day. Or people like me who had short sessions but ejaculated several times a day for YEARS. It's no wonder why I and many other experience benzo like withdrawal symptoms. @saneagain from the last time I spoke to him was over two years from an intense couple of months of a breakdown using porn and ended up with two year withdrawals.
 
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