Here are the goals I made for myself to ease into rebooting: Soft MO once every 7 days Abstain from P entirely (this will count as a relapse) Repeat until counter reaches 90 days and decide what to do from there This was because my focus was on abstaining from P and excessive MO. But here's the question, do you think I'm cheating myself? Thanks for any advice!
No not at all! Before starting nofap I would masturbate 3 or 4 times a day and this was my way of holding back on it.
Personally, I would cut MO entirely as well. I'll explain why, but if you think slowly getting yourself off of it by doing it once a week will work for you, then maybe you can give it a shot. I fell into the "MO without P" hole thinking that MO wasn't necessarily bad and P was the real problem. The problem is, however, that you're still activating those same pathways in your brain that is tied to PMO. You're walking right up to the edge of the cliff and toying with sinking right back into your PMO addiction. You may be able to hold off without P for a while, but MO is absolutely a gateway drug. You're going to want something more before long. It may be far more difficult to cut MO and P, but your chance of freeing yourself in the long run may be better. At least, that's what's been working for me. Ultimately you're a different person and you have to find what works for you, but I hope you'll at least think about stopping PMO altogether. Best of luck!
What a helpful response, thanks so much It is something to consider. But say, somewhere down the line - maybe a few weeks in - I end up fancying the idea of MO in a healthy kind of way. I'm not sure at this point whether I would restart my reboot because of that. After all, I think I'd still be making as much process. I don't think my goal was ever to completely abstain from MO but instead to stop it from being a compulsion. It's something to think about, thanks for responding!
Your plan is what you make it. Just make sure you don't cheat yourself. If your results are not what you expected make a better plan and work it. Don't give up
Thanks, that's a good point. Haven't put it into action yet because I haven't reached that 7 days. Trial and error is key, I suppose.
If you do fancy MO down the line, I would still be wary. Even if you think you're in the clearest mindset you could be in, you may still be fooling yourself to get a hit of dopamine. I've made that same mistake before, even posted on this forum asking if MO without P was really all that bad. Someone told me I was fooling myself, but didn't believe them. Ended up relapsing. If internet P didn't exist and the novelty we experience wasn't a thing, I would say MO without P is not all that bad. But times have changed for the worse in this case.