Is NoFap pure placebo?

If it is then it's the best placebo ever available. Will you hate the placebo pill that makes your headache go away?

 

Many fapstronauts talk about "brain fog" and lower levels of mood and energy before beginning a reboot, which then gets better and returns in a relapse, specially during a bing. It's been proven a lot of times and I believe there's more than just anecdotal benefits to it.

That said, you could be perfectly right about the commitment, and there's indeed a psychological effect in believing yourself in control of your animalistic needs (at least in control over MO). That control is never 100% real since you can't control urges, triggers or cravings (you can't get aroused at will), so there's some placebo in that mindset.

But if so, then PMO itself is also placebo. It's placebo pleasure to avoid facing a real person you feel attracted to. Or to escape from problems, loneliness, depression and anxiety. Life is choosing your poisons man. You can try to experience it for yourself, do a challenge and see how you feel, keep your hands away from your crotch or go back to it, whatever you decide freely. There are some NoFap nazis in the community that will try to give you the spiel but it's like everything. Probably not everyone will benefit from stopping PMO, but there are some who will, many who did in the past, and there should be a place to help them achieve a better life.

 

It's not placebo. I believe it's about semen retention. It gives you energy. I do noFap only bcs benefits, a lot of them.

 

There is certainly things that get better for example my brain fog vanishes after a few weeks of no PMO. I wouldn't recommend to take every success story completely seriously. You can use them to build up strength to fight the bad habit called PMO but after all the most "benefits" you only see when you start have to work on yourself.

 

It's a combination of semen retention, good spirit and increased willpower

Semen retention is most important. You're literally retaining your essence. You're capable of creating life and instead of wasting it like so many others, you bring this energy with you everywhere you go. People are attracted to this, it can even be felt from far away

The spiritual angle is another thing... you're trying to be a better man each day, trying not to sin. You're avoiding temptation and you're resisting a very strong urge. Even if you fail occasionally, what matters is that you get up and try again. Doing this also brings tremendous willpower, and once you build this willpower up, it can be used in other areas too

I recommend anyone who is skeptical about NoFap to give it a try. A long streak of retention feels amazing

 

It really does depend on what you actually want to get out of NoFap. For addicts like myself, NoFap is the only way I can feel like myself and genuinely push towards self improvement, if I try to commit to doing things while also binging to porn I dont have the energy or the motivation to do so, weaning doesnt work for me so cold turkey is all I can do. Off the top of my head I'll list just a few of the things that I have accomplished/gained since I started NoFap in January:

. Improved energy levels and motivation. I used to sleep in every day I could, and never be bothered to do anything beyond play videogames, now I am up at 9am almost every day and out on a walk where I clear my mind for the day ahead. I am able to do exercise without tiring out as much, I'm slowly becoming more fit and physically capable.

. Improved appreciation of "real" women and of genuine interaction. Extended streaks make me realise that most (not all though to be fair) pornstars are ugly and that porn situations are perverse and warp your mind to the point you cant appreciate the beauty of real women you see every day. Since starting NoFap I've never felt more like a hot blooded man any other time in my life; and I've been single the whole time!

. Erasure of porn induced shame and porn induced fetishism. During my darkest days on PMO I would watch extreme porn that would shame me, make me feel low, and make me addicted to kinks and fetishes that were totally against the genuine me. Now after 6 months of on and off streaks, I more or less know what isnt and what isnt a genuine part of my sexual psyche, I've stopped the onset of HOCD, and am more confident in myself because of it.

. Improved self respect, ability to shut down bullshit in my work and social life. I used to be timid and hide behind a stupid persona that I wore like a mask, I spent too much time around people who brought me down and were good for nothing, I accomodated people at university who would then later betray me, I was insecure and would tolerate being pushed around. I dont do that anymore, I dont let people fuck with me, I dont let people treat me like shit, its made people be wary of spending time with me but I feel all the better for it, I realised those people were not truly friends and its allowed me to shift focus to true friends without feeling bad for people who didnt give a fuck about me.

In conclusion, do I think this is all a placebo? No, I dont, theres nothing anyone can say that will make me believe that giving up PMO wasnt one of the best, if not the best, decision I've made in my life so far. I urge you to try your own streak and see for yourself, its not for everyone but it certainly was for me.

 

I'm glad to be of help, I do genuinely believe that NoFap can help people, even if it offers only mild benefits. The only potential issue is falling into the trap of believing the OTT hype, believing that NoFap will give you superpowers and turn you into an alpha male in a stupidly small amount of time. I've been doing NoFap on and off for 6 months now and my ultimate goals are closer than ever but still far away, realising this has made it easier for me to stay committed, I know I'm working towards something and it gives me reason to keep going.

 

Thanks to you for taking the time to post and read man, I know for sure those were my reasons to start in NoFap as well. This is a broad community with many different people, interests and goals, but if you have a clear idea of the goals you want to achieve, I'm sure you'll end finding your "tribe" of like-minded people. Glad to have you on board!

 

In the end, who cares if it's a placebo? Does that even matter?

I think the only real question we should be asking is "Does NoFap work?" And the broad consensus seems to be a resounding "hell yes it does."

 

I agree with your position. I feel people who are severely addicted to PMO need to do NoFap because they have so much jacked up their lives and brains that they can't be anything they want to be.

Others like me I feel use porn as outlets and are addicted but Afflicted. I just wrote a post about this. This addiction is like alcohol or smoking or any other addiction. Some can handle it and not let it ruin their lives. Others can't. Porn is not good. I never will agree that it is. But killing and starving your sex drive just to gain superpowers isn't for everyone and. It everyone needs it. Most people that feel superpowers just come back to normal functioning. They don't become alphas or superheroes. But to them, they feel boss.

I feel for me I don't need to not ever PMO again to feel like a winner. I'm focusing on cutting out porn, extending my times between release, being a closer Christian with God, and other aspects of life. Getting to a certain number of days doesn't automatically make you healed. I want to get rid of PMO. But maybe I'm a person that doesn't need to abstain. Just control. Maybe we all do just need to control it. I don't believe in never releasing yourself ever again. Maybe one day I'll feel that way. But for now, if I commit to what I said above I'll be fine.

NoFap is still a great tool and I feel it's a worthwhile goal for people who feel they need it. I'm just simply saying that I don't think everyone has to do NoFap to get to where they want to be. Porn is a consensus that is bad!! After that, we each write our own opinions.