"Intermittent porn use" explains a lot. Have a look, if you haven't already!

Thank you for the link. That describes my pattern of behavior pretty well.

 

I've been thinking a lot lately about whether or not I'm better off now than I was before I joined nofap. Apparently I'm not.

 

my pattern is similar.

I'd forgotten about this video. thanks for the reminder.

The point he makes about an intermittent pattern causing less desensitization is interesting, though: the intermittent pattern may possibly lessen the issue of genre escalation. Or it may not. Who knows?

It may be as addicting, but I still have to think that intermittent use is better than constant use - unless the intermittent use is more binge-full, in which case, all bets are probably off.

Certainly when I have PMO'd after a streak, the first one is so quick, I want to do at least one more in order to "enjoy" it. In my most recent relapse, I ended up doing it 3 times within about 12 hours, which is much more often than my pattern before NoFap.

 

Geez! Thanks @IR254! This really does explain why I have had problems getting rid of addiction for many years! This part of the puzzle had escaped my attention and I have learnt much from the video and the article. Because I was brought up in a strict Christian household, the intermittent binge describes my behaviour exactly. I feel foolish. From children to adults we have been in such ignorance about the harm we were unleashing on our impressionable brains.

 

Thank you for this thread man, really. I am in the same boat like you are: Trying to stop PMO since 1,5 Years now, even reaching as high as 80 days but then failing miserably in multiple PMO sessions. I relapsed every day for 3 days before my last relapse.

It makes so much sense. I can feel the benefits of NoFap clearly and it would not be wrong to say here that NoFap changed my life in many positive ways. But I would say that I became an intermittent porn user. At one point the urges would become so strong, so intense, I would do one mistake and mess everything up.

Actually, I also escalated to "darker genres" per se. In my case I was not using "normal porn" at all, rather I would fap off to other videos. Recently I got more cravings for watching "normal porn". I did not watch vanilla porn though yet, but I watched things similar to vanilla porn, especially in my last relapses.

It makes so much sense. If I think back now, I gradually favored more and more genres which come closer to "vanilla porn". I think back now and before I started using I would not have found that such things would have been enjoyable, that is for sure.

Thank you for sharing this important piece of information.

 

I would feel good at watching porn once a week instead of multiple times a day. This video gives good insight.

 

Reset your counter bro. Then we can encourage you based on what is actually happening. Come on, work with us recoome.

 

Yeah, this is a good point. For some, darker genres means extreme things, even illegal things! But your escalation is totally different because your starting point is - for most people - very mild. We could say, therefore, 'it is all relative'. Your starting point would be regarded by most as mild p/subs. But you found such things insanely stimulating. We all have individualised journeys with this stuff. But anyway, this information shows the effect of binging when we relapse.

 

Thank you for this insightful post!!

 

Seriously... thanks so much for this thread!!

exactly what i needed to hear now.. 3 weeks in the challenge/reboot that went mostly flatline and yesterday and today my urges and cravings are rocketing.
another thing is- it took me ages to figure out im an addict exactly because I was intermittent user ("i can quit whenever i want"). sometimes not by choice but by chance- traveling, living without privacy.. whatever.
another thing is that in the past few years i went to many vipassana retreats 7-10 days long (definitely recommended) that surprisingly contributed to the illusion that im not compulsive porn user as those retreats are held in celibacy. many times when i came back home from those retreats i PMed like crazy. even if during the retreat it wasnt an issue but arriving home and all it triggers.. many times i couldnt even wait a day.

thanks a lot ! important thread indeed.

 

Thx @IR254
that was what I needed and very accurate to my state.

If you have something similar do not hesitate to share with us!

 

This. Since coming to NoFap, I've relapsed 3 times, always back on in less than 24 hours. But that most recent 24 hours of relapse - whoa, that was surprising.

 

This whole entire thread is spot on. In my experience so far, I'll get some half-baked clean time (most was around 20ish days) and then next thing I know I'm doing some extra creepy shit. I'll usually binge like hell, have a crazy orgasm, and then be so damn sore from this period of absence to a binge that I'll compulsively watch porn for days straight afterwards (sometimes months) before I realize that I've completely fucked up. I'm usually doing this because I'm EXTRA sore and so I rationalize, "an orgasm would help this and it might even be unhealthy to not to" but then I can really only get a good stiffy from watching porn. Then I just get stuck in a loop. Tricky stuff. It's really become worse than when I started this process, but I'm gaining awareness about it in order to fight.

I also want to comment that this is the same way that I use to drink, and it explains my retarded addiction to alcohol and drugs. Thank God for Oxford House.