Hi community, first of all merry christmas to all of you, hope you’re doing fine I wanted to ask something about withdrawals first I experienced some of them (anxiety out of nowhere, episodes of depression, sense of void, derealization) and wanted to know how long will they last and if I’ll come back to normal once they disappear Then I have another question: when will fantasizing on other women become possible again? Cause if a little sexual thought occurs now I try to suppress it scared that withdrawals will intensify if I indulge in those thoughts during my reboot but when can I do it again with no consequences? How do I know I’m cured and can healthily fantasize on women like all people do without fear of compromising my reboot? Hope i’m being clear
Withdrawals can last days, weeks, months or even years, everyone is different but a lot will depend on your history with porn. Fantasising can be done post reboot but you probably want to be careful with it. I would raise the question though - what is the point of fantasising? Sure it can feel good but do we benefit in any way from it? As for how you know when you're healed, well you know yourself best so only you can really know for sure. Some obvious physical markers though would be consistent morning wood, libido returning and erections back to full strength. Extremely vivid dreams are also another common one. The mental side is a little harder to gauge but people have often said it's like a lightbulb moment where you just suddenly feel better/happier/more confident/more clarity of thought etc.
Well sometimes you see a girl you really like and a lil bit of fantasizing is a good thing, it builds tension and leads you to action towards the goal of meeting/knowing the girl better doing in between withdrawals anyway can be dangerous so you’re saying withdrawals will end definitely without coming back in waves?
Typically they will come back again for long-term rebooters, you especially run the risk if you have sex too soon which is a mistake many make. Personally I would advise that once you're out of the flatline/withdrawals(whatever you want to call it) then I would wait a further 90 days and assuming you haven't slipped back into another flatline by that point, only then would I look to start trying to reintroduce sex again, slowly.
Yes but assuming I won’t have sex or watch any erotic content, will I come back to my normal self? Without fearing the possibility that withdrawals will come again out of nowhere
You should do but no one can know how long that's going to take. It's common for withdrawals to come in waves. Like I said, if they pass and don't come back for 90 days you can probably consider yourself past the withdrawal stage. For most the withdrawal stage will last a matter of weeks but many report symptoms persisting for months and for the severest cases; 1-3 years.
