P.A.W.S. - what are they, cure, duration

I have tinnitus after quit pmo is this normal?

 

A quick update from me on recovery:

Like most people in recovery, I have been putting up with anxiety for quite some time now. While it is not as bad as it was originally, it is still there. For the last few months, my GP has been recommending trying beta blockers. To explain briefly to those who don't know, beta blockers basically prevent your body from releasing cortisol or adrenaline which are the same stress hormones released when we PMO. Cortisol and adrenaline essentially push your body into the flatline.

Lately I have been wondering if anxiety on its own really can push and keep us in the flatline. So I decided to try taking beta blockers to see how exactly it would effect my recovery. I took a 20mg tablet of propanol and here is what happened:

PROS

• I felt really calm
• More energy
• Libido RETURNED!
• Morning Wood & Spontaneous Erections RETURNED!
• Able to be Social
• Sleep was deep and restful
• Strong vivid dreams

CONS

• Somewhat Robotic Emotionally
• Brainfog mostly still there
• Eye Strain
• Light Headache

The first thing I noticed after taking the tablet is that I felt calmer. It took approximately 15 minutes for the tablet to kick, and with the anxiety gone, I naturally had the urge to go out and do something. For the last few months I have been skipping out on the gym. What I realised is that this was heavily down to the anxiety. The anxiety has been so thick that it just drained my urge to go. Usually I would only be able to manage 30 minutes but had no problem doing a full session.

A few hours later it dawned on me that my libido was returning. It did not return immediately but seemed to gradually rise as the day went on. I found that with the return of my libido, sexual thoughts also made a return. I would be sitting down doing something and find that the sexual thoughts would be so strong that I would get an erection. This kept on happening throughout the day. The only thing was that erections still were not at 100%. They seemed to sit at around 65-70%.

With more energy and my libido back I found myself on the phone and messaging others for hours. Usually my phone would ring and I would do my best to ignore it, or at best, answer it and have a very brief conversation. Basically the need to socialise came back.

When it came to sleeping, I was able to sleep at a good time without staying up and having to put something on to get me to sleep. Sleep it self was very restful but also my sleep felt like a movie. It felt like I spent 8 hours dreaming vividly, which is something that does not happen for me usually. In short, sleep was MUCH better than usual. Upon waking up I felt a bit groggy, and still had the usual fatigue but maybe not as bad as usual.

One of the cons I noticed when on the beta blocker was that I had that robotic emotion. That feeling where conversations feel artificial. It was like I had anhedonia again, I was not totally numb but I was close to it. Conversations just felt robotic and I found myself doing that robotic fake laugh because I didn't have that depth of emotion. So I think the choice is either a) anxious laughs or b) robotic laughs via beta blockers.

My ability to think and process information may have been slightly better but for the most part brainfog remained. For the latter part of the day I experienced a bit of eye strain. I have felt this strain before, earlier in my reboot. It wasn't terrible but it was annoying and lasted towards the end of the day through to now as I write this.

To summarise, beta blockers are the real deal, and I would like to quickly thank @fortissimoBlues for his recent insight on them. However for me I don't think they can be a long-term solution. I think if I had an important event, interview, social event for example I would consider taking them. But my worry is that by taking beta blockers regularly I would be blocking the natural flow of anxiety through my body.

In short, I think this is good proof that anxiety really can keep you in the flatline if you experience it heavily enough. However I also think that the anxiety is coming from somewhere. The anxiety is an emotional stream that has to be released for some of us as part of recovery.

Final point, I know not everyone experiences heavy anxiety as part of their reboot and so this is for anyone experiencing strong anxiety, or other emotions. I am hoping it can help in some way.

 

Mostly, but nothing you would be treated for.

 

Yeah "masturbation is healthy", " do it as much as you want to", "People who do nofap often get prostate cancer. Nofap is danerous" or " nofap is just placebo". Yeah, we have been lied to. Big time.

We've heard it all before. However, it is my belief that with the advent of VR porn, we are going to see millions of guys facing hardcore symptoms connected with their PMO addiction very quickly - in their teens or early 20's. And there is no way how that could be ignored anymore by the majority of our society. I've recently read a study that concluded that VR games are at least 400% more addictive than the orinary games. And I believe that the same applies to VR porn.We are lucky to have left this world when we did. Seriously, what the new generation of PMO addicts has coming is almost unthinkable. So let us be glad for leaving the PMO world when we did.

Tony, Red Moon, OhWhen, Mentor, me including and many others are getting better. I believe that we shall see new powerful success stories in 2024. Let this year be the year when we put up the work.

Also, yeah in last couple of years we haven't seen many success stories around here connected with the more severe cases - guys going through the longterm PAWS for years. But look at the gang now. We're on it and we are getting better. There are number of people here in this thread relatively close to potential recovery. So I am optimistic. We are the pioneers and millions of people who come after us will be reading all of your stories, they will be hungry for every single word that you wrote here. So make sure that you share the important stuff with the gang.

Yes I too believe that by supplementing whatever you're not helping yourself in the long run. At the same time I understand that when you're so screwed going through all these endless withdrawals, that it is good to know there is something you can take to alleviate the symptoms when you face some extra demanding social responsibilities. I mean some high level anxiety event. For me it would be Tongkat Ali - one of the drugs that I've tested to help me going through extra demanding situations. And yet I try hard not use it at all and live as clean as possible. Because that is not the answer. Anything that doesn't belong into your system and makes you feel better, will only make your journey unnecessary longer. I know that much after 4 years of doing this.

There are guys in their mid 20's from time to time on the forum who shout I'm the worst case ever - nobody has ever had to go through such a hell I've been through. O.K., it is possible. How could I know that it is not? At the same time it would mean that these guys are actually shouting - I've been the biggest wanker ever. Personally that is not the competition that I'd like to win. But whatever, I try not to judge.

I only know that I escalated to worst of my fetishes already in my teens. I'm 40 and I started to PMO at the age of 12. I was actively PMOing for quarter of a century before. And based on my memories I moved to edging in my early 20's, which means that I was edging for at least 15 years. I actually didn't need to masturbate for many years. I wasn't really touching myself anymore. I "evolved" to something easier, "better" and I was able to continue with this for 30 hours at times. There was no need for release. I felt like I hacked masturbation when in fact I was very much hacked by it. And of course without the release I was never satiated. It never ended.

I have been working all these years when going through all these crazy withdrawals. If I didn't work, I would end up homeless. And I'm teacher who loves his job and who is loved and respected by his students, I mean most of the time. There has been so much brainfog, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia and more. I remember some of the most extreme moments when I have no idea what I'm doing there, what I'm supposed to say, feeling terribly incompetent. And yet you've got so many eyes on you and you have to manage the situation, you have to push through. Sometimes I feel like the biggest actor, biggest liar, totally fake. But if acting is the way how to push through, I'll take it. This is not an easy game to play but it is totally worth it. There is no way back now. You know it, I know it. I stay optimistic. Those who have nothing to lose have everything to gain.

 

Keep up the good fight guys, hold the line !

 

I have never read a PMO addiction story like this. We are almost the same age but you are way ahead on reboot time.
Seems crazy what we can do to take the addiction even further. Edging for hours on end and you didn't even need to O anymore. Mate I can't imagine what is going to happen when AI - VR - Porn combo arrives, this is going to be brutal for the youth of the future, and we already have low birth rates in a lot of areas of the world...

 

Further proof that there is no such thing as chemical imbalance.

 

When the anxiety (a lot of stress) goes away, all the other symptoms go away too.

 

So anxiety is caused by a chemical imbalance, which is caused by long-term dependence on pmo.
The fact that the mentor muffled a malfunction in brain chemistry is evidence of a chemical (hormonal) imbalance in the brain due to pmo. And this imbalance gradually returns to normal (the sensitivity of the brain is restored)
Let me give you a comparison: the car was in an accident, its wheel fell off, because of which it cannot drive.
You say: there is no such thing as a wheel falling off. There are concepts of an accident.

 

How is it that when you prevent adrenaline and cortisol from being released, you have more libido and energy? Beta blockers only prevent you from having anxiety attacks.

 

Because the body is a whole interacting system.
High cortisol - low testosterone.
High prolactin means low testosterone.
Low adrenaline and cortisol - high dopamine.
These are all interconnected components.
Changing one thing affects everything. And then as in the chain.
There is nothing separate.
I'm trying to explain this in a simple way, in general, study how hormones affect states. This will give you the full picture.
High levels of cortisol, adrenaline and dopamine cannot be normal.
High cortisol suppresses dopamine and serotonin.
And what is the reason for our high cortisol?
Because of the low sensitivity of the brain.
This was all explained by Gary Wilson, whom we have all watched and read 100 times. Moreover, you have been rebooting for 4.5 years.

 

Are any of you getting weaker as time is going on? I've found that no matter how healthy I eat or how well of a lifestyle I live I just end up getting weak and weak.

 

Do you exercise? Nofap is not going to make you strong all of a sudden.

 

Yeah I do stay healthy. I'm thinking I could have some sort of health problem. Could this really be paws? I've been eating so healthy and trying my best to walk and lift things, I do chores and everything. I just keep getting weaker and weaker somehow. Also I'm losing weight. Another symptom is constant hunger.

 

Hey

Does any of you suffer from severe physical and mental exhaustion? It’s not tiredness that leads to sleep. It‘s exhaustion.

I spend 90% of my day lying in bed. I can‘t even sit at the computer. When I try to sit at the computer or on my bed, I feel a huge urge to lie down. It‘s not a joke.

I feel no desire to do anything. Just lying on my bed and stare at the wall or scrolling on TikTok and Reddit.

I have no mental energy to do anything. Can‘t even watch a movie. Can‘t follow a conversation. Can‘t read a book. It‘s not a joke.

It feels like my brain is severely exhausted. Body is completely exhausted too.

no energy left. it‘s very strange.

I can‘t even write this text while sitting on my bed or at the computer. Writing this while I am lying on my bed.

no reduction in symptoms last month. let‘s see what happens this month.

 

severe physical and mental exhaustion are the symptoms that i feel most.

 

it feels like all the stress and anxiety over the years comes out of my body. don‘t know how to describe it.

 

my whole body feels very weak