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

I don't think it's correct to say that these variables don't matter at all, KO.

Very few on Nofap develop PAWS even if they do exactly what we did and relapse intermittently after quitting so you have to ask yourself why that is? It seems that there's a very clear correlation between a history of edging and ending up in this thread, almost everyone in here has admitted to using porn that way. If you use porn "normally" then maybe PAWS isn't possible.

I agree with your overall view in that we're here because of kindling, that tallies with my experience and I too believe that three months may well have been enough but sadly we're not at that point anymore. All we can do now is learn from it and stick it out.

Gary didn't talk about kindling but he did say that intermittent binging is dangerous and can cause greater addiction-related brain changes. I think that's pretty much what we're seeing here.

 

My view is that we're these nofappers that actually made it to recovery. A lot of the others either quit nofap (no longer believe in it) or believe that they have some sort of mental illness. Even now if you see on the Nofap support groups so many can't go past two weeks of abstinence. I only experienced paws once I started to abstain for longer periods. So yeah, most people are still very addicted and this pmo thing is horrible for your health. Pmo recovery is probably one of the most time taking recoveries out there, also one of the worst (in terms of symptoms and struggles).

 

I am afraid of some of your posts on the forum, where you hint a little that you can cause irreversible damage to the brain in general... I won't survive this..

 

@Mr.Tony great job. One year, remarkable!

 

I believe PAWS is a silent epidemic, and way more humans have experienced and do experience it than we can know, not knowing it's withdrawal. I mean, how many times have people gone to the doc and been prescribed some fucking hell pill, if not a cocktail of different ones? If the withdrawals can make us suspect we're suffering from organic disease because the symptoms are so visceral, how many people have been fooled the same way and gone for medical attention and been put on drugs for a supposed illness when in actuality it was just withdrawal? PMO is even more ubiquitous. I know this is my bias speaking, but it's insane to think about...

Bear in mind that none of us knows for certain if whatever damage we've caused is irreversible or just a temporary breakdown. We are all merely speculating. To give you my perspective: I have read dozens of success stories from people who quit PMO and people who quit other drugs, and pretty much all of those have one thing in common, which is that the authors claim to feel healed or normal. That doesn't sound like irreversible brain damage to me. Maybe there are small residual issues, and some people will only feel 90-99% healed or so, but if that is the case maybe even that will go away with time. And maybe healthy living is a factor, or other illnesses are causing the remaining symptoms.

I think if anything is going to stay with us forever, it's the memory of how good PMO felt the first time, not the symptoms. That is what we need to be aware of. We must never fall back into the pit.

 

Congratulations, Tony! I'll keep fighting it as well. I'll be at the 365-day checkpoint soon enough.

 

Haven't seen a more uplifting man than you! You really don't give up and it has inspired me

 

Dude, don´t you know ? Mr. Tony is Snake, Solid Snake.

 

Yeah, I've been thinking this for a long time. I know at least 3 people off the bat IRL who I'm 99% sure are in some level of PAWS - people who have weird long term health problems (primarily fatigue), and who I also know well enough to know a bit about their sexual lives, to connect the dots. I have thought about reaching out to each of them at some point, but... I'm not prepared to accidentally nuke that friendship and expose myself as an addict in the process.

For a long time I just thought I had chronic fatigue syndrome. Looking back I'm amazed (and angry with myself) for not making the connection sooner. So I also have my own bias here, but I think it's a valid question to ask - just how widespread is PMO induced PAWS?

In terms of the brain damage issue, the view I take is this: I've watched several people of my parents generation die from / with dementia. Often it is linked to how they lived their lives - drinking, smoking, exercise etc. They may have reached 80 just fine, but then the final part of their lives is horrific. I hope we all make a full recovery, but my intuition is that for me (and therefore most on this thread), even if I make a full recovery on the face of it, my health in old age could still be affected. As Bessel Van Der Kolk put it: "The Body Keeps the Score".

The lesson? As well as working to a full recovery from PMO, learn as much as you can about brain health and general health, and really look after yourself.

 

does anyone have heart pain after relapse?
like your heart feels heavy ?

 

Not quite, but I sometimes get a racing heart when I'm in the act of relapsing, like when I'm watching porn or something. Seems to be worse if it's fetish porn. I've always put that down to anxiety over what I'm doing.

 

Really been struggling these past few days. Ever since I broke my 300+ day streak in mid 2019 it's been hell trying to get anywhere near it. I got to 100+ days a couple times if I remember right and a few months here and there as well, but even those were a while ago. With how long I've been doing this I'd expect to find it easier but if anything the older I get the harder it becomes. I don't know whether I have PAWS or not but either way, I'm tired of feeling the way I do for as long as I do. It's like I have bipolar disorder or some other mood disorder or something, except, just like one of the guys above me said, that's probably the withdrawal. I feel really demoralised and after I post this I'm turning my laptop off for a bit and am going to do something else until I feel safe enough to come back. I hope everyone else is doing better.

 

Guys I'm really starting to doubt paws. I have read about it and researched so much but I just can't believe it lasting this long. Also my main problem is tiredness and I don't think it's the same for you all. There are things that make me believe it's paws, like the nervousness (I had on pmo days) or my weird behaviors around women. I just need assurance that this really is paws. I don't want to wait this long only to find out it was something else. I don't want this journey to be wasted so I'm looking for solid proof. As for it being something else, I got my blood tests results back and I was cleared of anything big by my doctor.

I really do hope this is paws, I want there to be reward in my suffering. I want to feel the bliss of recovery and hopefully get my purity and the best version of me back.

 

Tell me all your symptoms and for how long did you watch porn ?