I went a period of 3 weeks with no PMO and experienced some awful withdrawals but they eventually stopped. Nevertheless, I masturbated twice (once a day for two consecutive days). I'm now back on the wagon again. But should I expect to experience withdrawals again? I've still successfully resisted porn.
My experience is that withdrawals will happen again even after 3 weeks, which seems to be what many call a gravity well period, the initial ditch that many/most are stuck in (1 to 21 days) before they start getting out and climbing the true ascent of recovery mountain with some shields now built up against the inner addict. But, even when relapses occur at 40, 50, or 60 days, withdrawals can still happen, but in those longer streaks, the mind is starting to rewire better and one is starting to truly live more clean days between relapses than ever before - which is always beneficial the further you can push your recovery days. And, you can put it this way, wherever or whatever causes a relapse, your addiction will know to try that the next time to get the same satisfying result for the inner addict. You have to defy a particular temptation or downward possibility for your brain to now rewire against it and for the addict to consider it a useless temptation.
Unfortunately withdrawals will not go away until you quit cold turkey both porn and mastubation. I have tried masturbating without porn in the past but I would always end up watching porn in a few days somehow. Withdrawals will subside eventually if you don't give up and that is the whole point of the journey.
