My journey in abstinence I believe has come to a certain point. I feel that it’s only right to share my experiences with everybody, while simultaneously consolidating my own thoughts on the subject.
For starters, I’m a 16 year old male who began PMO at 11, which is an important factor to consider. The teenage brain, impressionable and lacking foresight, is especially affected by PMO addiction and it’s negative effects are amplified as time goes on. Getting out of it is more difficult as well for a teenager. I began NoFap around June of last year, trying it as some passing effort to achieve something I was not aware of. I only ever made it to three days, and for the next few months, that was the trend. I would fall in and out of PMO cycles, until about the beginning of this year, where I began to make progress on my streaks, reaching my longest streak of 18 days. At one point or another, I decided enough was enough, and on March 31st, 2015, I PMO’d for the very last time.
Now, I hate to be a advocate of superpowers, for they do not exist off of PMO abstinence alone. Superpowers come from the mindset created by NoFap. The willpower and self control built by weeks of combating PMO translate into mental strength, which manifests itself in extraordinary accomplishments unrelated to PMO. My own experience attests to this rather well. In the weeks before March 31st and in the months after, I have accomplished the following:
Dropped my 1600m (outdoor track) race time from 6:01 to 4:57
Scored a 5 on my AP European History Exam and nothing lower than a 94 on my final exams
Began dating a girl and am now in a relationship with her, my first relationship
Honor roll for all four quarters of this grade
Hired for and completed my first job, a store manager at a summer camp
Organized and hosted a party with all of my good friends
Would some of these things have happened regardless of Nofap? Perhaps, I cannot really tell. I sometimes wonder if I’m just maturing well and if NoFap really has anything to do with it. It certainly has improved my mentality when it comes to running, and it most certainly has had me come out of my shell some in regards to social relationships. My girlfriend as of now has turned down many guys in the past, but for some reason accepted my courtship. Academic achievement has probably improved only somewhat due to PMO. I can tell you this, that my mental composition, willpower, and outlook are far different than a few months ago. Where I used to crave relaxation, excess junk food, long hours playing video games and internet browsing, I now pursue running, Scouting, social relationships, academic achievement, reading, and above all, happiness.
It’s important, I feel, to discuss with your friends and whoever you feel comfortable talking to PMO and PMO addiction. I’ve brought up the subject to many of my good friends and most of them dismiss it as me joking and pseudoscience. However, one of them I have profoundly affected, and I have seen similar greatness in his actions recently, coming from obscurity. It’s crucial, once you have the wisdom (knowledge+experience), to be a guide to your peers, so that the community can improve, not just you.
The reason why I choose now to write this is not due to any kind of date or milestone in my journey, aside from 4.5 months, but that’s coincidental. Yesterday and today I have been seriously considering returning to normal MO, as nature intended for man. I feel that my own capacities for self control and discipline have evolved to such a point that I can control passing urges and can avoid pornography and any other stimulants. Naturally, I need a sexual outlet, as a teenager who cannot reasonably have sex. I’ve been containing it for the past months, but that’s only to get rid of the dopamine addiction. If I can avoid compulsiveness and enjoy the experience, I could begin a lifelong healthy habit. Shaming sex and sexuality is not healthy, but neither is indulging in it. Having experienced both extremes, I feel that it’s right for me to begin the right path, which is moderation and balance.
LINK – 138 Days – Reflections
by ApHuX
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