Real Benefits Vs. Placebo

I still have my lazy moments. But I'm forced to get off my ass, b/c I'm no longer dealing with PMO. I think my confidence came from deep within. After a few months, I realized that facing my fears had created a shift in my perception. After experiencing personal freedom, I was anxious to show others that this is attainable. Actually having something to offer others was where my confidence came from, I think. I have seen people claim to experience super powers after a week or more (or even less). But I attribute this to what I call "Nofap fervor." Kind of like the religious fervor you see in the jailhouse. lol Like my friend, Andy Dufraine, you will have to swim through a river of shit to get to the bar of soap on the other side. Swimming is the key, though. I heard this the other day and I think it applies to Nofap: " Those who do not move will not be aware of the chains that bound them."

 

@Lumberjack-off-Man First of all, I want to nominate you for best pen name in the place. Lumberjack-off-Man. Hilarious. I have hours a day that I don't waste in front of a computer looking for new, never-before-seen porn. I don't have brain fog. I have more confidence because I know I won't go back, ever. I will never put those chains back on. Do I love porn? I sure as fuck love the dopamine high it gave me, but I hated the fact I became its slave, that I had to have it every fucking day. Now, I don't need it, don't want it, and don't abuse it.

@Phibz , I like the Andy Dufraine quote, and that is exactly what any one quitting porn addiction will have to do. The dopamine reward system that gets abused by non stop sexual thoughts via porn does not want to get fixed when we quit. That part of our brain loves the abuse. That is why it is an addiction and not a passing fancy. The swimming metaphor is good. What Phibz is saying is: you just have to keep going. Everyone here who is quitting: be quitting when you wake up; be quitting when going through your day; when your day is total shit, total anxiety, totally fucked up, remember, you are quitting. When you get home and are alone with the computer, remember, you are quitting. When you go to bed at night, remember, you are quitting. Keep swimming.

 

I agree on the motivation and on the increased energy.
I also noticed a better mood in general, because I successfully fought a bad habit.
And I am willing to try and change a lot of other things now that I know that it is worth it (drink less alcohol, work out more, study, pay attention to life and everything that comes with it).

 

What a great OP... I fully agree with the follow ups too. As mentioned everyone is different and quitting is an ongoing decision for the rest of our lives. Dopamine itself and an O puts us into a place where the world disappears for a fleeting moment. Honestly, there is nothing better than sharing that with a loved one in a committed relationship, shared as a gift. Then it takes on a completely different purpose. You bond to a person and relationship.Porn perverts that into an escape from reality.

I think anyone quitting the habit has to at least feel a bit of pride and encouragement. Plus your thoughts are focused on other activities. Honestly, I can attest to the brain fog... also the dopamine drowzies. Ever fall asleep immediately afterwards? In fact, it is a new way of perceiving the world around us.

Regarding placebo effects... what one feels is real whether it is or not. For example if someone has a panic attack, I assure you it is real. Is there any danger? not really. So even the placebo effect counts to some extent... "As a man believes, so he is."

I fell off my chair laughing at the Andy Durfreane quote because it is so true. Also anyone who has a 850+ streak showing on their counter has my complete admiration. I made a bad decision to fap after 140 days from some well meaning friends who I respect. Still it was my choice. So off to another 140 and beyond.

I do notice the difference in many ways... some are quantifiable (wow, I didn't spend 4 hours last night edging)... to those that are elusive (I remembered to pick up the dry cleaning). Bottom line I think the real benefit getting ones life back by not having a to feed a monster you hate.

Cheers to all - HF

 

Here are my realites on day 66,
1- No more negative self-talk.
2- Feeling more confident and powerful.
3- Definetly a deeper more charismatic voice.
4- Staying calm easily in stressful situations.
5- That famous attention from woman. ( this shit is still very surprising though)
6- Enjoying music a lot.
7- Standing up for myself in those moments when I was pmo'ing, I wouldnt.

 

Lumberjack...

you might hate me by my voice did get lower.
Even my SO noticed it. I swear it's true.
I doubt that everyone would experience it, but in case it's valid.

I do agree with your comment though... sooner or later reality does matter. It's like someone saying "I can fly!!!" The law of gravity will put an end to that placebo.

 

I'm within the 3 weeks mark I believe (maybe longer, don't pay much mind to it) and I can tell you the main benefit is the return of regular dopamine levels (or at least more sensitive anyway), the reason being that little things slowly start to effect you far more than before.

Oh and I have had a couple of women strike up a conversation with me, a little bit unusual but felt good nonetheless.

 

Im at 40 days and I feel normal and my sex drive is increasing every day.
When I was at day 81 I had the strongest erection in my life, I could feel the sperm fill the tube of my dick lol.
Trust me. Its worth it.

 

The high expectations might help some people continue their no PMO streak, and they'll definitely have some of the results that are commonly listed. I think weeding out what benefits are real and which are fake is a huge task. The brain chemistry for each person is different, so the results will always vary. I think it'd be better to tell new members that results may vary and to take things with a grain of salt.

 

I think the reality is that the evidence for the benefits of nofap is always going to be largely anecdotal. It's not possible to do a double blind study like you can when you're testing a drug, or something like that.

-Increased energy or lack of grogginess
-Boost of confidence
-Better time management
-An increase in motivation

I've noticed all four of the effects you listed since I stepped away from a near daily PMO habit. But, that wasn't the only thing I changed in my life - I'm eating way better, exercising more, making a real effort to spend my time productively, etc. So it's difficult to discern how much of the positive effects result from what exactly.

But overall I'd say there's no doubt that it's been beneficial - whether it's placebo or not.

 

Sorry guys, just got to say that the dude in shit from the Shawshank Redemption is called Dufresne! Silent 's' - OK?

 

This is an interesting proposal @Lumberjack-off-Man. I am going to post here because my situation, while not unique, adds some other considerations into this discussion. This requires that I give you a quick overview of my health issues.

• Recurrent depressive disorder aka major depression - I have little motivation but acute social anxiety
• Borderline personality disorder (BPD) - I have chronic feelings of emptiness and difficulties with self-esteem
• Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) aka chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) - I require bedrest throughout most days
• Diabetes type II - my blood sugars can get unstable which causes brain fog, confusion and sluggishness etc.

I am diagnosed with many more disorders besides. But just these four are sufficient to nullify the areas of benefit that others speak of. So, I have felt no improvement at all. All I can say is that I don't masturbate to porn like I used to.

 

Not necessarily. I would surmise that the deeper voice is an extension of greater confidence and possibly also attention from females. As I gain confidence generally (nothing to do with nofap), I do notice that I use a lower deeper voice. I don't believe the voice 'developed' in any physical sense (it was there all along), but my choice to use it is born out of confidence, awareness, and learning what it means to be a man. Other voices that I use have their place as well, but simply put, they are less effective in our world. Slower speech, a deeper strong voice...yields more success for a man. The connection to nofap here isn't very tough for me to see and it is more than what I'd call a placebo.

It is hard to find benefits that will apply to all rebooters simply because it puts you on ground that is semantically difficult to defend. Nonetheless, in the interest of discussion, I'd say anyone completing a long reboot will develop or will need to exhibit:

• Patience
• Discipline

and will necessarily gain some sort of perspective from it that is likely different than their prior lives. Those were some of my main goals heading into reboot. There is also the simple notion of experiential education that happens sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously that is likely beneficial to all who participate.

I think it is also a good idea to introduce the notion of causal nexus to the discussion, especially when it relates to placebo effects. I believe causal nexus does a good job at explaining why some of these 'placebo-like' benefits are actually related reasonably to nofap. And for the record, I love using placebo effect to my advantage. I'd also agree with the OP that at some point it 'does' get very absurd with some of the claims that we see. It can be off-putting when I read so many things that people are sure of when in fact there are often many possible causes distinct from nofap and those possibilities are not given due consideration.

 

Oh libido is the biggy for me, you become far more sensitive to dopamine.

When i used to PMO i became so desensitized that i would be bored in bed with a sexy lady.
Now i get a rock hard boner at the smallest of things.

 

very interesting conversation...

I wanna add 2 more real benefits:

- I started bolding -> that definetly stopped if not reversed a little
- I now cherish life . Its hard to explain but its very real. Life is a miracle , I know that now
Going through hell (PMO addiction) and lifting myself out showed me that.

Love you all

 

Are you saying that NoFap helped to stop your hair loss? What was the time frame for achieving this? Thanks

 

Hi noexcuses,

well I seriously started Nofap in April - and right off had a very long streak (200+ days) - I just had a (little) slip about one week ago but
am back into the game.
In other words, I believe my hormones are in a normal balance by now.

Dont get me wrong, I dont talk about miracles but what I noticed is that I have to go to the barber more frequently and my hair dont look
as thin anymore.