Can Someone Explain the changes in the Brain?

Do not give in to the urges, they will fade away eventually with time. I have been trying to be on this new adventure since June 2016. I have not watched it since then but the complete abstinence has been a true struggle. Now, after my last relapse in December things are looking up. It is not the longest streak, 44 days or so so far but this second one has been much more rewarding and successful. Keep up the fight.

P.S. Back in September I had a major episode of aural migraine during the reboot, the most horrific moment I believe during this journey. Stay strong and embrace the pain.

 

Pavlov's dogs and Skinner's mice are good places to start if you want to look into cognitive behavioral aspects of this.

It's loss of a stimulation that provides a physical rush very similar to the ones produced by Schedule 1/Class A opioids.

You're putting away an easy way to flood your system with a lot of different neurotransmitters that are associated with emotional contentedness, general happiness, and comfort.

A great point of NoFap is that this asceticism that causes us to seek our pleasures elsewhere. NoFap won't directly be making changes to your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. The different modes of thinking and doing that you pick up will ultimately alter your mind and hopefully help you towards the results that you were looking for.

It is pretty grounded. Ever had a shitty day and figured you could just go home and jack it for a while before going to bed? You're not going to let yourself do that to cope anymore.

 

Simply put, when you PMO, you adjust the software in the reward center of your brain, which works with a variety of feel good neurochemicals such as dopamine en serotonin. I'm no scientist but that is what I know.

When you abstain from PMO, your brain will want to balance itself. The easiest way for your brain to do this is by trying to keep you doing what you've done all the time: PMO. The brain is always looking for balance. So when you take away PMO, it releases stress hormones to somehow give you a sign that you need to take action. Even though there's no actual treath your brain/body will give you anxiety by going in to some sort of survival mode. This is where anxiety and depression come in. It is a phase you need to go through but this will take time. Please understand that this is not a life-threatening situation but that you must ride it out, abstain from ALL PMO and give the body the chance to adjust. Your brain and body can't adjust overnight this will take several months at best.

Your brain will always try to look for balance, if you abstain long enough it will go back to baseline. Understand this and you will do anything to get rid of your bad habit. Help your body don't put stress on it any further.

 

Hey Zen

Don't worry yourself too much about the flat-line. You're quitting something cold turkey. Expect a little shock to your system, and embrace it as a sign of change. It's for the best!

I've read a couple times that habits take at least three weeks to form. What I was talking about in my post was changes to the mental processes and perception that will need at least a couple of months to form.

Give it lots of time. I don't know how long you've been using porn and masturbating to it, but it helps to compare that with the amount of time that you've committed yourself to NoFap.

 

Yes I did. I developed an anxiety disorder. Panic attacks, agoraphobia, all can be consequences of your brain trying to rebalance. It is extremely important that once you are in that withdrawal stage, you avoid PMO all together. Your goal should be to never do it again. In the end it's not worth what you are going through buddy.
Take care.

 

BTW some words of courage you can and will be okay again IF you see it through things will get much and much better
Not only mentally, physically too. Your conscience will be pure, you won't be ashamed or feel guilty and you'll be happier. Nothing to lose, much to gain. Go for it. Eventually you won't even want to go back to using PMO.

 

Hi, glad to help, I'm not there yet but I do notice improvement. To me it's definitely PMO-related because the panic attacks were way worse on day 1. However everyone responds differently in withdrawal so you may experience something totally different. You will feel it though. If you abstain completely things will get better. I know how you feel, there's some sort of vibrance in your head that seems to be gone when you are in withdrawal. You get nervous and anxious all the time for absolutely no reason. I have to be honest with you it can take a while to get really better and feel calm again. You have to be willing to give up on this habit, and it's best to plan to never going back to using especially if your addiction is/was quite severe. Be prepared, willing to live without it and you can be assured that you will feel like your old self again sooner or later. But don't make the mistake thinking you're okay and then PMO again. This will keep you stuck even long term if your addiction got the upper hand. Freeing yourself involves commitment, discipline, endurance. If you feel like you can't do it on your own seek an advisor. What helps for me is understanding and living life according to Scripture.
take care

 

Btw your mindset is good! You can and will get there, don't let the temptations surprise you should they come.

You'll get there buddy. All you need to do is believe in yourself. I know how hard it is to go through this.

 

You are 100% in flatline. I can attest to it from personal experience. When I first started, the first month was the same as yours. Felt amazing after a week. Felt like shit after that only getting worse close to 30 days. Lost pleasure from everything. No motivation. Depressed. Anxious etc.

If you stick with it and observe your recover. Even by month 2 you'll notice significant benefits. However it requires 3-6 months for the most significant benefits to clearly be noticed

Check out my " month to month plan for NoFap success post" and start there.

Best
Mateo

 

Its been 3 years and I wanted to know how things went for even tho I'm not sure ull be here and I have exactly the same withdrawal symptoms as you it's like my whole perception of the world changed but I still have some hope for the future I just need some support

 

So just as an FYI, if you click on someones profile you can see when they were last active on the site. Zenpool hasn’t been seen since Nov 2017 so I don’t expect he logs on anymore.

As for what you are experiencing, I always recommend people on this site see a doctor or mental health professional first and foremost but as someone who went through severe withdrawals when I first quit PMO, daily panic attacks that sent me to the ER frequently and even landed me in a psych hospital for a week, I can attest that things improve with time and abstinence. It is not a fast process though, and relapses slow it down even further.

Kicking this habit is the hardest thing I’ve ever undertaken and for many on this site it is a demon too strong to slay but if you can try to spend as much time in the “Success Stories” section of the site as that always gives me hope for what the future may hold if I am strong enough to get there.

Good luck and stay strong brother.