Foreigner
Bluelighter
I've gone a year without masturbating before. I didn't notice long-term gains. All the gains were short-term. The biggest drag for me is the prolactin release after orgasm. It kills my motivation, energy level, and lowers my health in noticeable ways. It takes a day to recover. But I'm noticing that now that I'm exercising more, taking care of nutrition, and taking herbs and supplements to enhance my body, there isn't so much of a prolactin drag. I tried cabergoline for a while and it countered the prolactin, but I didn't like the side effects. Then I found out I was not consuming enough calcium, and that lowered the prolactin greatly when I corrected it.
A lot of the things nofap claims are unproven and I did not experience at all. For instance, it did not make my hair thicker. I've been progressively balding for years, nothing stops it but DHT inhibition, which is the opposite of healthy.
I enjoy the mental clarity of abstinence, the groundedness, and the extra energy. But I attribute those to low prolactin and higher dopamine (they have an inverse relationship). Prolactin's other name is dopamine-antagonizing hormone. We need dopamine because it creates reward anticipation, which motivates us to do things in life. Prolactin counters that. I suppose it makes sense because if men didn't have prolactin release after ejaculation, they would not stop trying to have sex and probably ignore every other survival requirement.
I don't think all porn is toxic. I think porn is preferable to conjuring one's own thoughts. When masturbation is finished, you can close porn. A thought form lingers, like SS said.
I agree the porn industry is dying. It's because of Christian organizations disguised as ethics boards. I sometimes wonder if the nofap people are just religious people in disguise, or some other special interest group trying to undermine men. They can be quite fanatical.
What abstinence taught me is that sexual activity when there is excess energy in the body is okay. If you have a raging hard on that won't go away then it probably won't matter if you jerk off. If you have to force yourself to get hard then some kind of compulsive thing is happening.
For me, tantric practice makes way more sense than nofap. Sexual arousal can be channeled into healthy energy. The nofap people don't seem to care about that. They promote not getting aroused ever. I appreciate abstinence as a means of dealing with addiction. My ex bf was a sex addict and before he met me, he was abstinent for 6 months. He needed a reset. For the general healthy male population, I think masturbation and ejaculation are healthy when done in moderation. Tantric practice is also why I can't hookup. The energetic connection with strangers is too random. I would much rather masturbate than be with some random guy.
A lot of the things nofap claims are unproven and I did not experience at all. For instance, it did not make my hair thicker. I've been progressively balding for years, nothing stops it but DHT inhibition, which is the opposite of healthy.
I enjoy the mental clarity of abstinence, the groundedness, and the extra energy. But I attribute those to low prolactin and higher dopamine (they have an inverse relationship). Prolactin's other name is dopamine-antagonizing hormone. We need dopamine because it creates reward anticipation, which motivates us to do things in life. Prolactin counters that. I suppose it makes sense because if men didn't have prolactin release after ejaculation, they would not stop trying to have sex and probably ignore every other survival requirement.
I don't think all porn is toxic. I think porn is preferable to conjuring one's own thoughts. When masturbation is finished, you can close porn. A thought form lingers, like SS said.
I agree the porn industry is dying. It's because of Christian organizations disguised as ethics boards. I sometimes wonder if the nofap people are just religious people in disguise, or some other special interest group trying to undermine men. They can be quite fanatical.
What abstinence taught me is that sexual activity when there is excess energy in the body is okay. If you have a raging hard on that won't go away then it probably won't matter if you jerk off. If you have to force yourself to get hard then some kind of compulsive thing is happening.
For me, tantric practice makes way more sense than nofap. Sexual arousal can be channeled into healthy energy. The nofap people don't seem to care about that. They promote not getting aroused ever. I appreciate abstinence as a means of dealing with addiction. My ex bf was a sex addict and before he met me, he was abstinent for 6 months. He needed a reset. For the general healthy male population, I think masturbation and ejaculation are healthy when done in moderation. Tantric practice is also why I can't hookup. The energetic connection with strangers is too random. I would much rather masturbate than be with some random guy.
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