48 Days NoFap: The Highs & The Lows (Sucess and what to expect)

Intro

01st June 2017 was the day I decided to make fundamental changes in my life to overall become a better and happier person. My biggest challenge is/was NoFap and today after 48 days I had my first relapse. This is a reflection on the changes I have noticed during the journey as well as what to expect plus any advice and tips for your first 50 days!

(Note: before NoFap I would PMO around 1x-3x a day and now, at the age of 25, had been doing this since I can remember (very young)).

The Journey

After essentially becoming bored of P I decided that 31-May-2017 (49 days ago) was the last time I PMO. Beginning 01-June, this was what I experienced:

Day 1-4

For me the first 4 days of NoFap went by unnoticed. I had become bored of porn and did not feel any interest towards doing anything at this stage.

Day 5-9

This was by far the hardest stage in the NoFap journey for me. My body realised it was no longer receiving the dopamine rush and the withdrawal I experienced genuinely made me believe/realise that porn acts on the brain in a similar way to drugs. At work I wouldn't be able to concentrate, I would be thinking obsessively about porn, more or less shaking, not being able to sit still etc.
This will be one of the most challenging times and the best way to get through it is to focus on not letting the thoughts into your head in the first place (if that happens then it's already too late, move onto the next stage). If you are experiencing intense thoughts then visit NoFap immediately and begin to read other people's success stories!
I found this by far mitigated the urges I had.

Despite the urges, I noticed much higher levels of energy and confidence - it is vital that you channel these urges into something productive - especially working out/sports! Take up active hobbies, especially ones that involve other people, socialise, do anything and everything you can at this stage to be around others - do not sit still in your room by yourself!

Day 10-25

This period was my 'flat-line'. Essentially this was the exact opposite of days 5-9. I lost all urges and basically felt asexual. At this stage, the heightened energy and confidence I noticed earlier decreased to maybe slightly less than before I took up NoFap.

This stage is basically your body re-calibrating itself after experiencing large, sustained hormonal highs with no relief. It over-compensates and thus you experience sustained hormonal lows.

At this stage you have no urge to M, however the lack of interest in sex can trick you into forcing yourself to watch porn and M to prove that everything still works!

It was the beginning of this period that I visited a brothel (my first time doing so) during a weak moment. Needless to say the experience was thoroughly unsatisfying and I felt great disappointment - but I hold no regrets as it is all a learning experience.

What I also noticed during this period was that the only urges I would receive would be from contemplating more extreme porn that I had watched in the past when 'vanilla' porn had become boring (another example of how porn acts like drugs, you begin to crave more extreme versions to receive a similar high).

Despite holding no attraction to these scenarios in every day life, I was attracted to the taboo nature of it and began to question myself, which dented my confidence.

Day 25-30

This period was when I began to notice myself settling. I experienced a 'wet dream', however I was actually still awake! Just by laying down and having intense imaginations I was able to climax and it was insane.
Despite this, I noticed around this point that I no longer craved watching porn and found my attraction to women begin to heighten and my sexual drive return to normal.

Day 30-47

By this stage I would almost consider myself cured. Porn is certainly a thing of the past for me now, I experience no cravings and I began a sexual relationship with a new girl. One thing I usually always struggled with when beginning a new relationship was performance anxiety - but despite feeling nervous I absolutely found it easier to 'perform'.

Day 48

Today I relapsed stupidly for the first time. Another weak moment, however I see it (again) as a learning experience. I believe I lulled myself into a false sense of security as I no longer craved porn so that when I did come across something that appealed to me online, I allowed myself to cave.

Reflecting on it now, however, I do not believe it to be a significant set back for me. I do feel that I am around 70% cured from PM, I didn't experience the 'chaser' effect and I don't feel myself at risk of relapsing again (if anything this served as a reminder not to take my eye off the ball).

Ordinarily you should restart your counter in this instance, but for me NoFap was never about reaching 90 days. This is a permanent change in my life and so I am now abandoning the counter altogether.

Main Benefits

There are several overriding benefits that I have experienced from NoFap.

1. Happiness. In combination with other positive changes, I discovered that the absence of continual M and P in my life along with the hormonal fluctuations that come with it have helped make me a significantly calmer and more stable person. Generally I feel on a high nearly every day and I attribute a large part of this to my abstinence from PM.

2. Changes in sexual attitude. A massive change occurred in my attitude towards sex and women through NoFap. Porn exacerbates the physical element of sex and abandons the emotional connection involved.
As a result, I have noticed in my new sexual relationship a profound emotional connection with my partner. I am so much more mentally involved and in tune with my partner and sex has become a lot less about trying to scratch an itch.

Furthermore, my interest in sexual fetishes and promiscuity has greatly reduced and 'vanilla' sex with a valued partner has begun to hold much higher value to me.

Conclusion

Going forwards, I intend to be wary of PM traps and continue in my new PM-free life.

If you are considering NoFap I absolutely, unequivocally recommend it - it will change your life.

And if you're considering relapse - take this essay as reason to keep going!

It will get so much better, you just have to keep going.

Thanks for reading,

Synthexes