Guys help me, I am on day 19, I am glad I made it this far but here is a thing: I am just sitting in front of my omputer for like 5 hours straight today and I just don't want to do anything productive at ALL! Is this because my brain doesn't know what is happening and is just confused?
This is likely what we call the Flatline. Without it's normal dopamine kick of porn, your brain decides to kinda shut down a lot of your "happiness", "productivity", and "horny" chemicals and pathways, leaving you in kind of a rut. I can explain to you all the reasons behind the Flatline and what you should expect, but the professionals on Your Brain on Porn put it better than I ever could. Check out these rebooting/Flatline specific articles below, and then check out their Porn FAQs to see if any other questions seem relevant to you. rebooting basics page What does withdrawal from porn addiction look like? I quit using porn and now I feel worse. Is this normal? HELP! I quit porn, but my potency, genital size, and/or libido are decreasing (the Flatline) Why am I feeling so sad about giving up porn?
Man, I'm right there with you (though I'm on day 11). Interestingly, I feel like I've been in a flatline of sorts for the past 3'ish years (even though I've been using PMO over this time). I've had no desire to do anything, no drive or motivation, no energy, no interest in women, sex, or relationships, no interest in socializing, etc. It hurts to say but the only two things that really provide me any kind of joy are video games and playing my guitar. I'm hoping that this can also be explained by porn causing dopamine desensitization. In that sense I'm not really sure how the past 3 years will differ from the flatline that I might be experiencing now (or will experience); it's hard to imagine how things could be much worse than how they have been for the past 3 years. But right now, nearly two weeks into nofap, I can tell that things are different. Video games no longer bring me the same amount of joy they once did. I notice myself getting easily agitated while gaming and uncharacteristically angry (I broke my spacebar a couple days ago for example). I don't know if it's all in my head or if perhaps I really am going through some kind of physiological/neurological changes right now, but things seem a bit different. Despite that, I feel that what I'm doing is good. There is now a purpose to my suffering, which there never has been, and having that purpose makes it easier to bear.
