For strarters, i need to note that i do not have such a long streak without any relapse. Most that i did was 90 days totally clean, and it ended. I would like to talk about what to expect, what to not expect and give you some motivation.
I have started Nofap in february of 2024, from what i know it was thursday 15th. That makes it exactly 569 days today! I did not even realise that i was practising it for so long. So, was it worth it giving up this big pleasure? 100% it was.
First i want to talk about realistic expectations. Nofap really changed the course of my life. Giving up porn and masturbation granted me greater vision of real life, becouse suddenly, i was not living in a fantasy. I started being invested in things i used to love, i had more time, my brain-fog, which i didnt even know i had, was gone. With this, i started facing alot of negative emotions. Its not like they suddenly appear out of nowhere when you give up porn, the difference is that now you have to face them instead of medicating them. Be ready for that. This said, it is important to realise that just giving up porn does not heal you. It gives you more energy, time and clear mind, which you need to use against it. You have to build new habits, be with people, eat better, sleep better etc. This change of lifestyle really gives you the benefits. Becouse PMO habit also comes with poor lifestyle. „Nothing changes, if nothing changes“. „Porn habit cannot be destroyed, it can only be replaced“
Summarizing this, real benefits of Nofap are:
– more free time
– more energy
– better sleep
– clearer mind
– more motivation
– clearer skin
– if religious, then you come closer to God, becouse you give up sin
What should not be expected reagrding Nofap? You should not expect your journey to go as youtube videos say. Talking from experience, i was so dissapointed when day 90 came, and i felt the exact same as on day 1. Why is this? Becouse my lifestly did not change. I was still binge watching youtube and tiktok, eating junk food, didnt move much, had poor sleep etc etc. Basically hiding from my addiction. It was only when i realised i have to change my routines and give up not only PMO, but also my poor lifestyle, then i saw change. 30 days felt like 100, in terms of progress. So no, streaks do not matter. Do not count your days with the hope of benefits just appearing out of thin air, rather make the days count.
Relapses
Relapses, setbacks, resets or however you want to call them, is when one does the behaviour he wants to give up. For us addicts, relapse means the end of the world. I always take my mistakes way too hard, and with Nofap it was no different. Every relapse hurt me, it hunted me. I took those relapses so bad, i thought i was not making any progress at all, always reseting it to 0. In my life, i had around 20-25 relapses (not exact number), that lefts me with 540+ clean days. Holy shit. If i wanted to make big streaks only, i would be dissapointed. Not getting further than to day 30 most of the time. But from bigger picture, i am winning. That is about 95% of the total time clean. That is a huge decrease in porn usage, compared to 2023.
Do not beat yourself for relapsing, instead celebrate your victories. Never give up. Nofap is not destination, its journey. Relapse is not fail, giving up is. You might have hundreds of relapses before you reach the finnish line, but eventually you will be free. Do not aim on huge streaks, aim on fullfiling your days to maximum and huge streaks will come naturaly. Your progress does not vanish becouse you watched porn one time. Nofap is 100% worth it.
Some motivational quotes (will update this in the future):
„If youre fighting, youre winning“
„It is not the one who slipped who failed, but the one who slipped and stayed on the ground“
I am writing all of this with hope that i can help atleast one person break free. That would be the ultimate win for me.
Age 19 – “A porn habit cannot be destroyed; it can only be replaced”
