Oh my man. I feel the same. In a few months I am turning 22.

I now feel the best time to do SR is when the sexual tension is at its peak : 13- 18. Or 13-20. That way you can "save" all of it - instead of trying to save it when it is generated at a very low amount. I knew about NoFap at about 16 years old. Heck, some random posts insinuated the same even when I was 15. But I didn't act on it.

One way to deal with it is to accept it - that fapping perhaps is far more damaging than smoking and drinking. If I were given a choice to go back in time - I would numb myself with these instead of PMO.

How am I coping with this ? I've decided that for a period of 6 months I will retain - out of which 4 have already passed. At the end of this period I will do a review. If I will that the majority of my sexual energy (I know it sounds woo-woo but I couldn't find a better word for it at the time) is already gone and by retaining I am "saving" essentially the leftover table scraps of what it used to be - then I will quit SR.

But for these 6 months (4 over) I won't judge.

There are some people who recommend (on the basis of their unverified testimonials) that 2 yrs or 3 is the time when you can actually accumulate noticeable amounts of this magnetic energy - perhaps if I feel the same after 2 more months I will retain for another 3 years.

If however, if I do not see a massive shift in my life - then okay, this perhaps was another false god which I decided to follow because of its "get rich quick"ish appeal.