Why some men are not feeling any benefits from NoFap

Well i think there is way to many variables to give as definitive answer.
I mean, leaving aside spiritual practises and semen retention, the purpose of nofap is to get rid of porn addiction.
And addiction fucks with your dopamine system and takes away some time from you, depending on how severely you' into it.
Plus a lot of people have their addiction either as a symptom or a cause of some mental health issues and many start to do stuff like working out, being more self-conscious, having feelings of achievement when they're able to overcome the urges and therefor more motivation.

Both of these guys you described seem to already live a life many on here a striving for, or at least not that many issues with lack of purpose, motivation, self-worth and on top of that no addiction that drains their dopamine levels an a regular basis, so of course there wouldn't be these "benefits" that someone whos been living solitary in his little porn cave for years would have.

I for one feel like shit right now, but I couldn't say if there is any correlation, or if I would feel any better or worse without the abstinence.
I guess I'm mentally more stable right now, which would make sense but energy wise I'm on an all-time low atm.

 

I’ve noticed on my current streak that I only feel the benefits at random times. It’s not a constant feeling of euphoria.

But I’m also not very motivated while writing this. Nothing that cool seemed to come from this streak yet, at least in terms of some miraculous life event or anything.

it’s more so like I’m living the exact same life except I am more stable emotionally, have a better memory, don’t need as much sleep, have more feelings of “awe of existence”, better interactions with people, better body health, higher confidence.

you know what, actually I guess there are a lot of benefits I’m feeling.

if you just simply look at external things like an increase in money or getting a girlfriend, then I have gained nothing. But my inner world is noticeably different, almost like how a computer runs better after getting rid of the viruses off it

 

Not sure that I can contribute much to the answers, but perhaps I can give evidence in support of the question.

I've never been a porn addict. I believe, however, that I have been addicted to sex. When my wife and I were separated, I went into "monk mode" as most here might call it, and did total semen retention for over six months.

I noticed no benefits of semen retention. Mind you, I've never had ED, so that was a non-issue.

Here's what I felt during my time of retention:

-- Lonely, craving for companionship
-- Tired/fatigued
-- Insomnia/disrupted sleep cycle
-- Brain fog
-- Moodiness/strong emotions/melancholy (could cry again--something not experienced in many years)
-- Epididymal hypertension (blue balls)--fairly severe, to the point of mild, but constant, pain/ache for extended periods
-- Hypersensitivity to women's attractiveness (undesirable for a married man)

No, I was not objectifying women, but felt attracted to them more than usual. The brain fog, insomnia, and fatigue may have had another cause. Because of the timing of events, I cannot be certain that they were solely related to semen retention.

Less than three months prior to my wife's departure I had recovered from covid-19. I have since learned that covid-19 has been known to cause heart problems, insomnia, and depression, potentially setting in about six months afterward. I had all of that. So was it the retention, was it from covid, or some combination of both? I don't know.

What I do know is this: I did not enjoy the retention experience for the most part. Towards the end (after about 3-4 months) I began to sleep better and I did begin to enjoy a sense of independence as I'd never had since married. I also began to feel some spiritual benefits. But physically, I recall no specific benefit worthy of the effort.

 

I can relate to this thread. I'm a 21 y/o male, day 60 odd and experience absolutely no benefits.

 

Just my opinion but I think when porn addicts are starting a NoFap journey some of them are thinking I'll go 90 days and everything will be perfect and I'll see all these amazing benefits on day 90. I'm somewhere in the 50-60 day range of NoFap and can say I don't feel like I have super powers or anything but noticed I am more outgoing, more social, wanting to be around people more, and overall in a better mood every day. All benefits from NoFap that happened over time. When I was watching porn, I was happy staying home and not seeing or talking to anyone. My point is that my changes were subtle and happened over time so looking for some great benefit to happen on a certain day did not happen for me. And if I was not aware of the changes that occurred over time I would probably say the same thing that I had no benefits of NoFap.

 

I see nofap the same way I see steroids in bodybuilding. When steroids are used along with weightlifting and high calorie dieting, incredible bodybuilding results are achieved. Using steroids by itself wont do anything; you wont gain any muscle by only taking steroids and not lifting and dieting.

You can't just do only nofap and expect big changes in your life - but if you do it along side something bigger (like self improvement, sport, business, etc.) you will have an incredible edge.

note: I'm not glorifying steroids. In fact, I think its cons strongly outweigh its benefits. I'm just using it as an analogy.