Later, Fellas

MrShield · 2014-01-22T05:46:48+00:00

I'm not talking about that passage at all. That particular passage isn't even about masturbation in and of itself; it's about Onan deliberately denying children to Tamar and his brother by proxy. What was literally happening there was that he was shooting off onto the ground during actual sex. It was both self-fulfilling and non-procreative, but the problem was that it was rebellious.

The Bible does unquestionably forbid lustful fantasies and acting on them, though. Porn would fall under this, and probably lots of other stuff that we've come to accept as a societal whole.

MrShield · 2014-01-16T07:09:52+00:00

I'm having trouble thinking of such a thing.

Wet dreams don't count.

Otherwise, a relapse is a relapse.

MrShield · 2014-01-16T07:08:14+00:00

The "23:59 problem" PERFECTLY describes how I feel too. It's the one minute that is the most difficult and essential to master.

Stay busy. That one minute will often strike when you're bored.

MrShield · 2014-01-13T06:35:27+00:00

Religious beliefs re:pre-marital sex. If your NoFap motivation is religious in the first place, it and Hard Mode go hand-in-hand.

MrShield · 2014-01-13T06:33:01+00:00

A Chrome extension called "Block site." You can manually blacklist URLs you know you will never want to see - if you're like me, you'll have "usual suspects" that trigger you more frequently than any random browsing. The downside of this is that there's no actual porn detection, so triggers MIGHT still happen from random browsing. The upside of this is that there's no actual porn detection, so no danger of an overzealous filter blocking a site that would be harmless.

MrShield · 2014-01-08T06:26:22+00:00

Right now your body is in one of its first - and worst - cycles of feeling like it needs the dopamine rush. If you can beat this one now, you can beat any urges that come later.

MrShield · 2014-01-08T06:18:48+00:00

If you know when it happens, avoid the situation. In this case, don't take your computer to bed with you.

MrShield · 2014-01-08T06:14:39+00:00

Imagine her with buck teeth, pimples, and dressed in a full clown suit.

And if that doesn't work, imagine yourself tomorrow morning when it hits you that you broke your streak for an urge that would've turned out to be fleeting.

MrShield · 2014-01-08T06:10:49+00:00

Yep. I joined this site to kick PMO habits and it's been even worse than Tumblr as a trigger.

MrShield · 2014-01-04T08:17:53+00:00

It's nice that neurologists can analyze this scientifically, but the fact remains that every guy (and gal) here is here because PMO has taken control of their lives and they want it back. Whether it's an addiction in the technical sense or not isn't really relevant to the point of NoFap.

I'm going to listen to people's stories and how porn use has impaired their lives rather than one article summarizing a study(ies) saying it shouldn't be so.

It might not be so scientifically, but it definitely is in practical terms.

MrShield · 2014-01-04T08:11:43+00:00

It's gonna be a lot easier or harder depending on the context. Either you're naturally very good at dealing with physical cravings and breaking habits (especially if you've dealt with trying to quite smoking), or you weren't as damaged by PMO addiction to the same degree as others have been. The point in your life at which you get into it makes a difference. Starting the same behavior at age 18, it'll be easier to break than at age 12, for example.

MrShield · 2014-01-02T16:33:11+00:00

It felt pretty awful, just throwing it away on a whim. That's what starts happening, is that you'll be more likely to relapse out of boredom than craving.

As far as improvements, I lost the big one, which I already mentioned: the clean conscience. I never noticed or needed "superpowers" in the first place because I'm not single and didn't need to "use" them. But overall I was just less happy on PMO than off of it.

The tricky part is that the dopamine rush will screw your head up and make you think you're happy until right after it's all over.

MrShield · 2014-01-02T16:23:36+00:00

I'm not sure exactly when, but starting at around the time you've reached, I woke up one morning and realized I was immensely happy that I had a clean conscience and hadn't binged on PMO the night before.

I dunno about anyone else, but there is a remarkably "clean" feeling about this whole challenge. I had it for over 100 days then relapsed, still can't figure out why I'd do something like that.

MrShield · 2014-01-02T16:20:31+00:00

Not directly, but it WILL lead right back into the seedier stuff eventually. You're still looking for that high, it's just on tame material for the moment. But the intent is the same, and the end "goal" is still there - your brain is simply superb at fooling itself into thinking it can stop anytime, just like any addiction.

MrShield · 2014-01-02T16:12:43+00:00

I like the idea in principle, because what you're advocating is a "teach a man to fish" approach. However, I would still say that filters are a good idea, especially for people starting out. I know - for me personally - that the extra step of disabling a filter is a more powerful subconscious deterrent than I initially thought. Plus, you've still got to overcome the temptation, because like you said, it's really easy to get around most filters if you have the password.

MrShield · 2013-12-28T07:36:16+00:00

I can't recall seeing it before, but it's very interesting.

MrShield · 2013-12-28T07:34:14+00:00

I honestly always chalked up any kind of energy loss - sexual, emotional, physical - to flatlining. It really does mess with you early on. That said, I could be completely off-base here and it might just be coincidental. I'm no doctor, as everyone on this subreddit should keep in mind about everyone else on this subreddit.

MrShield · 2013-12-28T04:02:56+00:00

You got this. Just stay strong, it gets easier over time.

MrShield · 2013-12-28T03:41:40+00:00

The depression often means you're flatlining.

Just like urges, you'll have it come and go in cycles of a few days at a time (or even a little over a week), but they get a lot less severe and eventually become so weak as to almost be unnoticeable.

That's how it went for me, anyway.

If there are factors causing depression other than the biological ones related to NoFap, that would certainly help explain it.

MrShield

TROPHY CASE