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

I can't do anything either. And nowadays I can't even form sentence and I forget things mid sentence then remember like two minutes later.

 

Better to do in hard mode? Isn't harmode the only way?

 

It is not a stupid question at all.

Not everyone will experience PAWS syndrome. I believe a persons childhood/adolescence can determine if someone goes through PAWS, or recovers without having to experience PAWS symptoms.

For the large majority of rebooters, a PMO addiction allowed them to hide from their reality. Stressed? PMO. Horny? PMO. Angry? PMO. The problem is that eventually the result is dysregulation or imbalance of the nervous system. So when they finally decide to stop PMO, they are faced with all the unprocessed junk that they used PMO to avoid.

So in short, the longer a person uses PMO to cope with the difficult parts of their life, the longer the recovery will be.

 

It is an unpopular opinion, but the feelings of depression and anxiety are positive. The job of porn is to numb negative feelings by bringing pleasure. I would go as far as to say that the worse you feel emotionally, the quicker you are likely progressing.

Keep going.

 

Thx for your answer!
I have to say that i was using PMO even more often when i was relaxed than when i was angry or depressed. Actually when i had big stressed i usually felt motivated and as able to quit PMO for a while and go back to PMO when felt relaxed. Often i used PMO as a reword when things went well for me. So, as strange as it might sound i do not associate using PMO with negativity but rather with positive situation. crazy?

 

That is interesting to hear, so PMO was more of a reward for you? If I can ask, how often would you decide to PMO?

 

how long it may last?
There is another problem I see here.
A lot of people suffers from depression/anxiety and uses p..n as a "healing" pill that works for a moment. When we go for hard mode we still are left with depression/anxiety that might be here confused with PAWS. Healing from depression/anxiety itself is very brought and might take years.
What do you think?

BTW - i think that learning to avoid/stop sexual thoughts is much more important that one might think. When we eroticly daydream body spike our dopamine in a second. I believe that a person who is doing No PMO needs to know that erotic thoughts, daydreaming, lusting are also a big problem and can not be use as a safe valve.

 

This is what i think, however i might be mistaken with it. 35 days ago i had hugely stressful day that gave me a "turning point" when i started "monk mode" and decided to become religious again and ask God for help.
The worst was Jan-FEB 2024: several times a day. I complete ruin my work duties. Before with less frequencies. But when i travel it was almost always PMO in the evening in hotel.
general i do PMO with various frequencies since years. More in last 10 years.

 

thank you!

 

Worth noting that this thread has been noticed in the "outside world" - has anyone else seen this?: https://medium.com/@tgof137/ive-bee...addiction-and-recovery-this-year-3247b22fecda

 

"It may be an obsession, a compulsion, a habit, or preoccupation but it's not an addiction."
This is what one comment says under that article. People have no idea what they are talking about.

4 years ago when I started with nofap, I actually had no idea that I am addicted but the severe withdrawals soon set me right. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer of the article is addicted as well. He's calling porn harmless and beneficial. These people really don't have anoclue.

Soon enough with the advent of VR porn and VR gaming the world won't be able to live in denial much longer.

 

You are right, but it's not their fault. We are pioneers in this area. I've mentioned this to various psychologists and psychiatrists, they don't know what I'm talking about, complete dismissal of information. It's not on their text books so they don't know. Even more because we are talking about masturbation and porn, to a lot of people this is laughable.

Unfortunately this is not a good look on this issue and is gonna have to get worse before it gets better. It's going to have to be so obvious that people can't ignore it and start to take it seriously. Like Kierann said VR Porn and VR gaming are gonna cause so much damage. But so it's our human nature, until it doesn't hurt enough we don't take action.

 

Day 201 of no PMO. I experienced a PAWS reduction over the past two days. During the last two weeks I had a massive depressive episode that almost took me out but still here by God's grace.

My new plan to reduce PAWS symptoms: walking 25 miles (40 km) every week. Moderate aerobic exercise seems to help with the PAWS symptoms.

Keep coming back to NoFap my brothers! Staying together and helping one another is the only way to stay clean from PMO that I know of.

 

One question for fellow long-term PAWS sufereres - Hypothetically speaking, when you relapse - how long does it take you before you see how much has been lost and where you are now? I always thought it was like the second week which shows me the harsh reality after the unnaturally elevated hormones subside but I'm really not sure. Thanks

 

Totally agree on all these points. I would say though that I have seen a psychologist here in the UK (on the lovely NHS, believe it or not) who not only did take my situation seriously, he also has another client with similar problems. There are also psychologists in private practice here in the UK who are starting to specialize in this area, but they cost a fortune. To be clear, these are people who see porn addiction as a real thing and a serious problem, not so-called sex-therapists who peddle the usual "sex and masturbation can only be good for you" BS.

At the end of the day though I haven't come across anyone who can provide meaningful / medical help for PAWS. The best thing, by far, is prevention, and for this you need to know that you have a problem in the first place, and for that, you need to understand that it is possible to wack off so much that you can make yourself very unwell. And no-one, at least in the public mainstream, is willing to go there.

So, is it time to set up some kind of advocacy group to warn people of the impending doom?