Is porn dialing down humanity’s pair-bonding program?
- Read the many self-reports from other forums below this post.
- For those who like science: Studies linking porn use or porn/sex addiction to sexual dysfunctions, lower arousal, and lower sexual & relationship satisfaction
Introduction
Today’s media equates “sex positive” with zeal for orgasm. According to this formula, the more orgasms we demand, deliver or procure, the more “sex positive” we are. This makes Internet porn and sex toys, with their ability to override our normal sexual appetites so we can orgasm when we otherwise could not due to satiation, the most “sex-positive” inventions in all of human history. Or does it?
This definition of “sex positive” rests on a misunderstanding of how intense stimulation can potentially numb the pleasure response of the human brain. It also discounts the gifts of flirty exchanges, and human touch exchanged with a trusted mate. Given that affectionate touch and enduring relationships are generally positively associated with increased wellbeing, these omissions are especially unfortunate.
For reasons that lie at the heart of evolution, our brains are extremely responsive to today’s super enticing versions of food and sex, such as junk food and Internet erotica. Alas, more is not better for some brains; it desensitizes them. This is why many of us are obese and/or furiously fertilizing our screens—yet feel more dissatisfied than ever. Recovering porn users describe their experiences with desensitization:
Imagine if you were on an extreme rollercoaster for 10 years straight. Then you get off the rollercoaster and have to make do with the swings at a children’s play area. After 10 years of extreme rollercoaster riding, you won’t be able to obtain any kind of buzz from the simplicity of the swings. You have become desensitized. Porn ruined my appreciation of and responsiveness to normal sexual acts, and masturbation to porn ruined the sensitivity of my penis so that the gentle caress of a lover was barely noticeable. It was so used to being pounded with a sledgehammer that when it came to being tickled with a feather, I didn’t even notice. Unless I felt something pretty hard and heavy, it simply didn’t register.
Feeling so emotionally numb to every girl I’ve dated also caused me to doubt myself. This led me to suspect that I was gay. I am not. Once my brain started to heal, I became much more interested in all girls.
Biology not morality
Long before the Internet, the father of modern sexology warned of desensitization. Alfred C. Kinsey cautioned his photographer Clarence Tripp that, “As soon as we get you to photographing sex every day and paying attention to sex right, left and center, pretty soon nothing will turn you on, nothing in the area, nothing visual will turn you on. Because you’ll lose all those sensitivities.”
For the same reason, Kinsey counseled his staff to “Be cautious with sadomasochism because the human body adjusts rapidly, and so levels of pain can escalate rapidly.” [James H. Jones, Alfred C. Kinsey, W.W. Norton & Company (1997): 610] Unfortunately, many of today’s experts have forgotten Kinsey’s warnings, which were based on his personal experience. They teach only, “If it feels good, do more of it.”
In fact, however, desensitization is having a major impact today. The more some people rely on cyber erotica, the more frequently they may feel the “need” to climax, and the more extreme material they often require to get the job done. For many, erections also grow weaker. Escalation and youthful erectile dysfunction are often signs that someone is inadvertently numbing the brain to subtler pleasures.
I sold porn on the Internet for over 10 years. It ruined relationships and led me down a dark road of heavy use. I became totally desensitized. I remember when certain acts were taboo or at least non-mainstream. These acts are now part of most mainstream productions.
Desensitization is an addiction process related to a drop in dopamine sensitivity. Nora Volkow MD, Director of NIDA, explains:
Once the brain becomes less sensitive to dopamine, it “becomes less sensitive to natural reinforcers” such as the “pleasure of seeing a friend, watching a movie, or the curiosity that drives exploration.”
Tragically, the now-less-enjoyable pleasures often include the rewarding feelings of human touch and close, trusted companionship. This is how extreme stimuli can indirectly interfere with our innate pair-bonding tendencies—causing dissatisfied unions.
Becoming restless in your relationship due to too much porn use isn’t a character defect. It occurs because too much stimulation causes physical changes in your brain. These may be gradual, but for some, the introduction of highspeed porn is the turning point for radical desensitization:
Highspeed porn changed everything. I began masturbating more than once a day. If I didn’t feel like masturbating, but wanted to relieve stress or go to sleep, porn helped me get aroused. I found myself looking at porn prior to sex with my wife because she just couldn’t do it for me anymore. Delayed ejaculation was a huge problem: I could no longer orgasm from oral sex and I sometimes had difficulty with orgasm in a vagina. I masturbated after sex with my wife because I couldn’t get off any other way, and sometimes even masturbation didn’t work. Once I eliminated porn from the equation (which hasn’t been easy), my masturbation frequency dropped and my sex life improved.
The good news is that former users can indeed reverse this desensitization. They give their brains a rest from frequent sexual stimulation (sexual fantasy, masturbation, orgasm) and steer clear of porn. It’s tough. Most experience weeks of uncomfortable, temporary withdrawal symptoms, such as mood swings (irritability, anxiety, despair, apathy, restlessness), insomnia, fatigue, very frequent urination, intense cravings or flat libido, etc. One man charted his ups and downs.
Happily, recovering users often become more responsive to pleasure even before the withdrawal symptoms and hypersensitivity to porn cues stop:
After 34 days I tested myself. I could masturbate to orgasm without thinking about anything for the first time of my life. And erections came much more frequently and stronger. At the same time I knew with absolute certainty that the process wasn’t finished yet.
What lies on the other side of withdrawal discomfort? Here’s what men reported as their brains returned to normal sensitivity to pleasure:
[Single guy in his 30s] As my body recovers, sex is already feeling twice as good as it was. It’s funny how the decline was so gradual that I just didn’t notice that sex had lost the whole “WTF JUST HAPPENED?” feeling. It’s back.
I went on a date yesterday with the lady I’m dating, when I saw her I had no other thought except ” WOW! This woman is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen” I was genuinely attracted to her, she wasn’t even wearing skimpy clothing or showing any cleavage, but she was still so, so beautiful.
She doesn’t look like the women you see in the magazines or porn sites, 12 months ago I don’t think I would have found her as attractive. Abstinence and purity changes you and allows you too see the true attractiveness in all women She was beautiful
This goes out to all you fapstronauts in a relationship or a marriage. The best thing you can do to make your woman to feel desired by you is to abstain from the endless dark pit of internet porn. To stay away from masturbating and to see her for what she is.
Not anymore is she fighting in an impossible league of competition. Endless novelty and all the kinks and twists. She is competing in the real world again. Not anymore can you escape to fantasy land an rub one out. You have to work for it. Show her how much you appreciate her. Make her feel loved. And you will. Because she will look amazing in every way. My girl is so fucking hot
[Married, age 50] I never thought I had ED…I managed to have sex with my wife. Boy, was I wrong! Since my recovery, my erections are way bigger, fuller and longer and the head is flared. My wife comments each time. I also remain erect even after orgasm, and think I could keep it up for a loooong time. My morning wood is also bigger and fuller. I just shrug and laugh each morning, now that I realize I really had ED and was too caught in my addiction to realize it. Keep in mind I am 50, though in pretty good shape for my age and clean living. I believe you will find the sensitivity of your penis improves all on its own. I am circumcised (wish I was not). The sensitivity is so much better than I ever remember. Very light touch by my wife feels so strong! Now, after 68 days of no masturbation to porn my erections are like in my teens!
[Perception shifts are common too.] I was out having dinner with my friends and found out that a video of a girl I knew from university a couple of years ago got posted to a major porn site (top 3, but no need for specifics). We weren’t close but I met her a few times. It was her having sex with her ex-boyfriend who insists he didn’t upload it but there’s no way for anyone to really know who did it.
Her life is ruined. Everyone knows about the video and it has more than a million views already. This is the power of these insanely destructive sites. Imagine all the people jerking it to this video of a girl who cries herself to sleep every night because of its existence.
Old, perverted, me would have probably PMO’d to it, not even going to lie. But on this 3 week streak, just the thought of it disgusts me. To think there’s nothing she can do about feeling completely violated by not just whoever uploaded it, but the whole fucking world.
NoFap is even more than self-help, superpowers, curing addiction, and determination. Society doesn’t need porn. We are helping eliminate the abuse and suffering the people in these obscene videos have to face (whether willingly or unwillingly). Next time you think about relapsing, think about how that girl you’re jerking off to might want to kill herself because of the very video you’re using for 10 minutes of joy. Something really fucked up happened today.
[Age 26] Last night I had sex with my partner twice and reached climax both times! I’ve been in a really buoyant mood since Day 28 [of no porn/masturbation]. Once we started kissing and touching each other, I couldn’t hold back on my urge to penetrate her. It felt so natural. The sensitivity in my penis has definitely returned, plus I sense there’s more to come.
[Age 21] I can honestly say now that porn really is the problem with relationships nowadays. Sex with my girlfriend took a little over a month, but time flew so fast because I was enjoying just hanging out. Just holding a girl never crossed my mind as pleasurable before. When you’re masturbating every day, with or without porn, you really do relinquish your innate ability to connect with the opposite sex. I am 100% sure of this now. Before I went 100 days I still had some doubt about the benefits of giving up porn, but now it doesn’t even cross my mind as a serious activity.
As far as sex goes, I was questioning whether I should have sex with her or wait a little. Then I found out that she also wanted to wait because she cared about me. Naturally I took it slowly, and we were holding each other for a long time before we decided to do it. I really wish that everyone here could have not only successful sex, but a passionate exchange between two people who care about each other. We even continued to cuddle after we were done (both times). I really couldn’t be happier about my first time.
[Married, 52] I have many decades of porn under my belt (so to speak). I have not looked at any porn or masturbated for nearly 4 weeks, and all I can say is the change is dramatic. This morning, I woke up with one of the most intense erections I have ever had. My wife noticed, and was nice enough to give me a wonderful BJ, all before 7 AM! Prior to this, I cannot remember ever waking up like this, except when I was a teen. Plus, the feeling was very intense, much better than any porn release I remember. While I was receiving this wonderful gift, not one porn image flashed before me!
I was strictly focused on her, and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in a while. I am stoked! This only strengthens my belief that I can never look at porn again. Eventually, my ED problem is going to be a memory. In another 3 to 4 months, I cannot even imagine where I will be, but it is going to be a much better place than “Pornoland.”
I’m 30 years old and this is the first time I’ve fallen in love. I’m fighting with pmo for almost a year my streaks are good I’m finally starting to do sth with my life. fallen in love for the first time in my adult life.
As to the effects, my view of women is much improved. Before I could never look/interact with an attractive woman without thinking about her sexually, nearly constantly. Often I might later masturbate with them in mind, solidifying this ‘women as sex objects’ problem. Now it is much easier to just think of them as normal people.
For a long while though I would become very irritated by any media with any sort of titillation. Advertisements, sexy scenes in film and TV, even video games with over-sexualized female characters. Even provocatively dressed women in real life would annoy me. I hated feeling like I was being manipulated, being forced to feel a specific something without my control or permission. I’d have to turn away or shut it off to keep from getting too angry. Gradually the anger faded, and now I can enjoy a little beauty or mild titillation without falling into a bunch of frustrated sex fantasies and just enjoy it for what it is, something interesting to look at. Link
[Age 24] About 5 weeks after stopping porn/masturbation, I slept with a female friend; a drunken one-night stand. Despite being hammered, I felt totally different about the sex. I was much more passionate. It felt better; and I was more turned on and worried less about performance, which was always a big concern. I was just enjoying myself. Normally, when I go to put on a condom, I freak out and go limp, but this wasn’t an issue this time.
See Sex life way better.
[Married, 42] Not being able to trust your own body to back you up when you want to physically express yourself to your mate is mentally devastating. To once again feel your body respond without effort eliminates self-talk and doubt and frees you to focus on the one you love. For me that meaningful connection makes sex with a partner transcend mere masturbation. My skin is feeding me far more input from my wife’s touch than it has in a long while. Orgasms are also much stronger. They FEEL better. Sex is reprogramming the healthy, normal and natural pleasure pathway that was lost to me during my porn years. The more I achieve and maintain an erection through just caressing and holding my wife, the fainter the voice of doubt about sexual performance gets, and the more immediate and impressive my body’s response is.
[Husband, 37] The reward for 4 months of no porn has been an improved sex life with my wife, and after nearly fifteen years of being together, that is a considerable reward. Hurrah for “vanilla” sex. I seem to feel more than I used to. I experience more physical sensation from being in her vagina or her mouth. Before, I rarely came from a BJ. Delayed ejaculation is not a problem anymore. And premature ejaculation has not replaced it, thankfully. I actually feel more in control of my arousal and orgasm now, than I did when I suffered with low libido and other sexual dysfunctions. The old anxiety is beginning to be assuaged by frequent, successful lovemaking with my wife.
When I fap all the time it’s just a release because the orgasms suck. The orgasms I had [while not masturbating and while having] real sex were incredible. I’d forgotten how good real sex could feel.
(Day 125) I am in a long-term relationship, and I can vouch for the fact that quitting helped our sex life. A lot. We did not have ED or PE or any other kind of sex-related problems to start with, but compared to what we have now, our sex life while I was fapping was …. dull. Now it is anything but dull, and both me and my gf have stronger libidos now than before. I am not exactly sure how — or if — my quitting affected her libido, but she sure is much more interested in sex now :).
[Age 50] Over the years, I suggested to my wife various activities straight out of porn stories. She was okay with some of them, but it never satisfied at all. Although we had a decent sex life relative to most people our age, I was always comparing the porn scenarios with my real life and real wife and feeling dissatisfied. Now, things are shifting. During intercourse last night, I felt suddenly very intimate, almost scarily intimate, deep contact I have never experienced before. It felt kind of shocking to me. It was wonderful in a way I can’t describe, but I am in a kind of awe over it. It feels scary-wonderful.
Those without partners notice benefits too:
[Age 20-something] – I’m starting to have genuine feelings of desire and interest for women again. For a while I somewhat questioned my sexuality. Not that I was interested in men, but I just didn’t have any interest in women. I’m noticing women’s attractive features more and more. I’ve even had a desire to kiss them. That is very new for me. I haven’t felt it in years. I was talking briefly with a fellow student and noticed she had absolutely gorgeous eyes. I never noticed those things while using porn. Also, I no longer fantasize about porn scenarios “starring” potential mates or women I know. I try not to fantasize, but when one creeps in, it’s now all first-person, one-on-one, and nothing kinky or odd. Refreshing.
[Age 19, gay] When it comes to relationships, I don’t “like” people often, and there are very few people who can maintain my interest beyond maybe 3 weeks, maximum. This may seem weird, but even though I watched porn… I’ve never really been one to want sex. Anyway, there are TWO guys who have managed to grab my interest and maintain it. However, I think porn/masturbation was suppressing my longing to be with either of them. Last night, I suddenly had this intense realization that I really like those two, and I could see myself completely happy in a committed relationship with either. Suddenly it felt like…my heart was reaching out for them. Idk, it was weird. Instead of daydreaming, my body was like, “Let’s go make this happen in real life.” I don’t really understand it, but I’m pretty sure it’s a good thing. I just know that all of a sudden I felt this huge wave of some weird attraction-type energy surge over me. [He soon began a relationship with one of them.]
[Age 20, day 67 no porn] I’ve always been the type of dude who wanted a girl every now and then but never really needed one. But for whatever reason today I feel different. I’m not sure if I could ever really stay committed to a female completely, but I can’t help but feel the need to bond with one … Even if it doesn’t mean actually date a girl but at least get intimate with her … play, kiss, crack jokes, smile, gaze deep into her eyes, whisper in her ears, play with her neck, etc … doesn’t necessarily have to lead to f*cking but I just miss those feelings. I never thought that porn could desensitize me to a point where I no longer craved for those feelings of intimacy until now.
(Day 31) I have never felt more attracted to my wife and not just sexually but emotionally. I just can’t get enough of being around her, I miss her when she isn’t here – a big change from enjoying her absences because it meant I could freely PMO – and at the same time I don’t feel the need for her approval anymore: it’s difficult to explain this but basically I’ve never really felt like I can make my own decisions and never really felt like I can do things for myself, I would always be thinking ‘I will do this because Mrs NMRN wants it done’ or ‘I won’t do this because she will find out.’ Now I do stuff for myself. I’m more independent and assertive which, although she hasn’t mentioned, I can tell she likes because we get on so much better.
(Age 17) I started masturbating when I was 13 years old and never looked back. I would say I fapped at least once a day over the past 4 years. It has robbed me of feeling love, patience, happiness, and a whole slew of emotions. I can now talk to girls with ease and I’m obsessed with females in general. It is finally making sense how the whole relationship thing works being that I never before had a desire to have a SO.
I just gotta say, no PMO does wonders for a relationship. I’ve basically jacked off every day since my gf and I have been together (about 1.5 years) and since I’ve started nofap, our emotional connection has never been better. I understand her like I never have before and I have way more confidence. She is more into me and has been way more affectionate in every day life. Overall, I just feel like she is way more attracted to me because I have more self esteem, self awareness and more manliness. Nofap with a hot girlfriend (Day 50)
[Age 30] The reboot has really driven home to me that we humans are social beings. Porn can fool you into believing that you can be content in perpetual solitude, but it is an illusion. When porn is out of the picture, especially if you go as far as no fantasy, you will be madly driven to make connections with real women.
My Story: Porn-love, Secrets and Self Hatred
I still want to have sex with girls just as much as before I started nofap – more than that, even. But at the same time, this desire has become one tiny little part of all the things I want from a relationship. The way I see it now, to see girls as sex objects actually means you want very little. Far from asking too much of them by fulfilling your fantasies, you ask too little. Life is so much bigger than sex, and girls can give you so much more of themselves than their vagina. Only wanting sex seems like you’re cheating yourself out of the greatest experiences life can offer.
So last night I wrote a late-night post about temptation talking to me. Eitherway I went to sleep without giving in. Not to go into too much detail, but in the middle of the night my wife leans over and starts kissing me… It lead to an amazingly intimate and special experience. I felt so much love for her that I have not felt before… I loved HER not some idea of what sex is like, just her. After, instead of feeling awkward or like I had to clean-up (fap habit) we just laid there and talked. Its always been hard for my wife to talk openly after sex or really ever. But last night I got to know a little more of her than I have ever known. No it wasn’t some crazy multi-position, hours-long F* fest it was guilt-free and satisfying! So for you married guys and girls: things will get better so keep going. For the singles or dating, maybe take sex of a pedestal and its value may actually go up in your mind and body. Finally for everyone: the power of a secret is the secret; once it is exposed it has no more power… its dead. It might hurt, but you deal a deadly blow to your enemy’s attack. You all are beautiful people even if you can’t see that fact. Best sex of my marriage
Age 30+ currently in a relationship…. In the past, sex wasn’t emotional, on some level it was like there was nobody else there because you were in your own head the whole time for one reason or another (fantasizing, DE issues, etc…). Girlfriends during my mid 20’s to early 30’s just didn’t arouse anywhere close to what high-speed porn offered, no matter how good they looked. I didn’t recognize these things at the time of course, but since beginning this journey thanks to YBOP, in the past 4 months, I can honestly say I’m shocked how good sex can be with your girlfriend when you eliminate the constant, steady pattern of PMO. It didn’t take long once I brokethe pattern to change everything. I’m not in my own head while having sex, I can actually focus on my girlfriend and everything that makes her attractive….and boy what a difference! I’m posting this is for the younger guys out there….If I only had the benefit of knowing this when I was in my 20’s, who knows what may be different now?
32 days – You can’t look into a woman’s eyes if you spend hours every day visualizing misogyny.
I don’t have a queasy conscience anymore. There isn’t anything i need to hide anymore and this feels pretty good. I feel more comfortable, when i’m spending time with my girlfriend. I actually get a boner again while kissing her. That’s amazing, because that hasn’t happened since we got together two years ago. I have the feeling, that i finally can love her the way she has deserved to be loved.
(200 days) I now have an undeniable sex drive. I want my wife more than ever. If a long time passes without sex, I feel this thing called ‘sexual tension’ which is apparently a real thing!
In my experience with nofap, I’ve finally reached one month (for the second time), and have been facing challenges. I had real sex, with a real (and very beautiful) woman just this past week. This awoke lots of sexual desire within me, and I started looking at porn again; no fapping, but porn. What I was first struck by was the rush, the feeling of intense lust and physical desire. I was getting hit with the drug again. I didn’t fap. I closed my computer, and I went to bed. I woke up this morning, and I did it again.Here’s what happened: whereas last night, when I felt the rush, and was very physically aroused, I was less aroused this morning. And as I turned it off, and went about my morning routine, I noticed something: I felt a little dead inside again. Walking through my day, I was feeling a lot of attraction for women around me (it’s been very hot out lately and girls have been wearing skirts, tanks, and dresses), BUT I have also noticed a very weird and impersonal kind of quality to that feeling of attraction.Then it hit me, here’s the difference: when I slept with a real woman, after 29 days of not looking at porn or fapping, I was genuinely aroused, and by HER. Now, after getting stoked in the fire of porn, I was just aroused, and these women happened to be around me. Burnt out from dopamine, the normal feelings of connection that would’ve come to the surface when I looked into a woman’s eyes, when she looked back at me were gone. My hunch is that women can feel this, and I think this is the “really creepy” quality that women talk about sometimes feeling from a guy, even those he seems like a perfectly nice guy. Something is off, and they can’t quite put their finger on it (although I’m sure some can).And there is the disconnect. When two people who are feeling desire or interest in one another normally experience a similar firing of hormones, triggered by anticipation and also the firing of mirror neurons, now don’t fire in one person. It’s maybe blind conjecture, but I sometimes wonder how many times I’m looking at a woman who might actually experiencing a feeling of attraction for me, but who feels something incongruent coming back from me, not only incongruent, but very impersonal and potentially agressive. I can’t imagine anything creepier than this. Original post
Yesterday I went on a first date with this girl I’ve been chatting with online. We had a lot in common, laughed a ton, told each other funny stories, and I completely lost track of the time. We ended up getting a few drinks and then walked to a park to watch the sunset on a bench. Without hesitation, I put my arm around her while we were talking and she snuggled up against me. A few minutes later I looked into her eyes, smiled and gave her a kiss. A huge rush of dopamine hit me right in the gut that felt healthy, and my buddy in my pants also woke up from his 23 day nap. After dropping her off I realized that I can’t wait to see her again because I had so much fun spending time with her.
Walking home I realized that because of NoFap I genuinely want to get to know her better and just spend time with her without any expectation of sex or orgasm on my end.
I would imagine that my body has been desensitized to dopamine since I started fapping in middle school and that is why I never felt this way before about someone. It kind of blows my mind that this is a normal feeling that so many people have experienced before, but I never did. Not any more! This realization about myself makes me feel like this.
I have been in a stable relationship this whole time and I have seen a huge transformation in how I approach our intimate time. That time, for me, used to be about one things: simply getting my rocks off. Of course it was enjoyable, but there was no difference between how it would have felt if I was with her or if I was doing it myself. It was just about the chemical feeling that comes with release. Now, because she is my only outlet for sexual activity, it has changed everything. Engaging in that experience has become more about her and I spending time together. Doing something that only she and I can do. It has become much more sensual, much more intense, and a lot more fun.
(Day 90) The Beauty in women – The first things I noticed when I began my nofap challenge, was that my bad habit of seeing only the beauty in women automatically shifted to be very accepting and openminded towards almost any woman I’ve met. Right now I want to go out there and FIND a mate for me. MY sexual desire has never been higher, and I’ve started to become more observant towards women who could become good girlfriends and eventually good mothers. It’s not entirely about their beauty anymore.
I’ve always loved my wife but I’ve PMO’ed all through our 8 years of being together. Our relationship is very strong, strong enough to survive this but now things are just super amazing between us. Everything is on steroids. http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2e7u17/you_know_whats_nice_about_abstaining_from_pmo/cjwvs5b
Quitting makes you “realize that not everything in life is easy”. In fact, the most important things in life are very difficult indeed, but if you have the self-discipline for this, you can have confidence that you can tackle the other things as well.
Before realizing that porn was the problem, I used to think I needed to get healthier fantasies. Now, almost 8 months after quitting porn, I’m finding that the fantasies I used to have don’t appeal to me anymore…at all. I actually find myself feeling repulsed by the idea of them. It turns out, I didn’t need healthier fantasies, I needed to quit porn. We live in a culture that encourages us to have fantasies, share them with our SO and even act them out together. But what I found is that my wife and I both enjoy sex much much more when there is no fantasy involved; just the two of us in the moment. I’m now able to make love to her without erectile issues, face-to-face with eye contact. She tells me that her enjoyment of sex with me is far far better than it ever was before; of course we are learning to be together in the “Karezza Way”, and that helps a lot too. This was something I thought I might never achieve, but I did. All it took was to give my brain a break from all that extra stimulation; to protect it…saving my arousal response only for my wife. It’s worth it.
I went on a date yesterday with the lady I’m dating, when I saw her I had no other thought except ” WOW! This woman is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen” I was genuinely attracted to her, she wasn’t even wearing skimpy clothing or showing any cleavage, but she was still so, so beautiful.
She doesn’t look like the women you see in the magazines or porn sites, 12 months ago I don’t think I would have found her as attractive. Abstinence and purity changes you and allows you to see the true attractiveness in all women
A bonus besides all of the benefits you see on here regularly is that the girls you see on a regular basis are so much more appealing and beautiful. While looking at porn the average girl I saw (including pictures/videos/and real life) was much hotter than most girls I would see during the day. So my rating of what a 1-10 was very harsh compared to what it is now. Im no longer holding girls to standards that even porn stars haven’t accomplished. I now have more realistic standards. Finding regular girls more attractive has made the number of pretty girls I interact with on a daily basis increase. This has given me more confidence as well.You are also able to develop a more broad and real view of what you find beautiful in girls. While looking at porn you are able to get exactly what you are looking for when you type something into the search bar. But this is often the same thing over and over again because that is what you think you like. This reinforces a very narrow range of tastes in women. I have begun to find many different things about a women beautiful just besides big asses and tits. Soft skin, petite figure, so many things. TL;DR: Real women become more beautiful.
(30 days) Finding much more women attractive and spending less time focusing mentally on their body parts. Instead, I’m finding myself wondering what their story is…what do they like/dislike…and wanting to get to know them. Not objectifying them off the bat and putting sex on the backburner. In the past I would consider most women sub-par and focus on their flaws, but these days I realize I have flaws and so do they and am able to see through them.
I reached day 7 of nofap, the longest I’ve ever done, horny as piss and one of my ex fuck buddies is over. We start having sex and I just. I just didn’t want to. I don’t know who i am as a person or what I want, but I’m learning what I dont want and who I am not. It is a start.
Married guy here. Just completed 30 days – and LOVING the results…
First, some background. I’ve been a fapper as long as I can remember. When I got married four years ago, I hoped that my need for porn would no longer be present. But nope. It was. I told myself that porn wasn’t hurting my marriage. But over time, I stopped making as many sexual advances with my wife. And the rare times that I did, she seemed uninterested.So, for the past year, I would say on average we were having sex just once every 2 weeks. And I was OK with that. Porn had emasculated me. After stumbling onto r/nofap, watching the youtube videos, and reading lots and lots of your stories, I decided to give this a go and see what happened.
Now how I think about girls is COMPLETELY different. And since I think about girls 180 differently and in a healthy and loving way now, porn is just different now. Porn doesn’t really do it for me anymore. Porn is just weird now. Because I don’t think of sex in that way now. How I fantasize and think about girls now is A TON different than way back then. And I think this has dramatically helped my porn addiction. Just looking at sexuality in a very different way.
The results so far have BLOWN AWAY all my expectations. Around day 7, I noticed some major changes.
- My horniness levels for my wife went THROUGH the roof.
- My skin became clearer than it has ever been. Almost radiant. To the point where friends have complimented me on my skin (which seemed weird to me)
- I started having more energy and not feeling as sluggish during the day.
- I noticed an increase in productivity at work
- My workouts felt better and I started to feel like I was making major breakthroughs physically.
Even as these benefits continued, between days 20-28, I began to feel a strong desire to look at porn again. I started to feel like maybe I had “gotten over it” so it would be OK to look at again. Damn brain. The only thing that kept me from falling back in was hope of reaching Day 30 and posting about to this community. And boy am I glad I did.
Here are just a few of the highlights of reaching Day 30:
- Last night, I had the STEAMIEST sex with my wife I’ve ever had. I can’t keep my hands off of her now. I came home from work and literally picked her up and threw her onto our bed and had crazy, mind-blowing sex. My new-found sexual aggressiveness turns her on like crazy!
- Also, she keeps saying how amazing and sexy my body looks now. In four years of marriage, she has NEVER said this to me before. Even though I’ve been doing the same routine I was before, ever since I started r/nofap, I’ve been shedding fat and building muscle like a machine. This is the best my body has felt in my entire life.
- I’m become more comfortable with myself and a lot of the social anxiety I used to have is gone. I feel like I just project an aura of confidence and transparency now. And it feels great.
So, there you have it! I know it won’t be easy to continue this streak and that the temptation to relapse will also be present, but so far I’m really blown away by what a HUGE positive impact nofap has made in my life, and I’m excited for that to continue! Thanks to everyone in this community, and I hope this post helps inspire other married fapstronauts out there!!!
TL/DR: Married but still PMO’ing. Completed 30 days of nofap. Sex with wife now mind-blowing.
Warning – Cutting out porn may be a one-way street, as this man found when he experimented with porn again:
The binge wasn’t as enjoyable as I expected. For the first time, being in the perspective of the voyeur felt wrong and kind of sickened me. It had always just felt normal to me since I’m a longtime user. This time, masturbating without any context/connection felt strange and perverted. I now can’t imagine doing that in real life, just having a woman sit there emotionless opening up her holes in front of me. During the reboot I felt more attracted to women as a whole. Now, I can imagine myself looking into a woman’s eye at orgasm rather than focusing on her stretched holes in a detached way.
Restoring relationship harmony
I believe that during porn addiction, it is basically impossible to connect romantically. It just zaps that part of you and burns it away. I am on week six of my reboot, and for the first time in 5 or 6 years I find myself really feeling like connecting with a female when I am speaking to her in person. I notice all the things I used to notice when I was younger, and inside I feel this now unfamiliar urge to get closer to her, look deep into her eyes, smile etc. I have not been able to look a woman in the eyes like that for a long time, never mind smiling! It’s great.
How we use our sexual desire appears to have a powerful influence on how loudly we hear our pair-bonding programming. Unlike us, our ancestors weren’t driven by unending, novel erotic visuals to climax beyond normal satiety. They were more likely to allow their brains and bodies to rest and renew themselves.
Returning the brain to homeostasis in between passion bouts may turn out to be very healthy for those who want relationships. The greater the brain’s sensitivity to pleasure, the more rewarding we perceive our intimate relationships.
I looked up at her and our eyes locked, and then she smiled very warmly, and *BOOM*, I literally got this surge of chemical loveliness up my spine and into the back of my head. I smiled back, of course. The feeling was so physical, so palpable, that it really surprised me. It instantly made me feel extremely happy and optimistic. I don’t ever remember being so affected by a smile or glance. It’s just astounding. To go from being so numb, where only the most vile and shocking sexual images triggered a response in me, to getting such a positive sensation from a simple smile and meeting of the eyes…that is what makes this whole process worth it. Curing E.D. or other such problems is just an added bonus. Feeling ALIVE again is where it’s really at!
If too frequent orgasm alters the sensitivity of the brain temporarily (and it appears to do this in some brains), then it makes perfect sense that when we overdo it, our mate doesn’t look so hot—until our brain returns to homeostasis. Trouble is, thanks to today’s hype that “more is better,” the unsuspecting heavy porn user is unlikely to realize what’s going on until he hits a wall. This can lead to futile churning in intimate relationships.
As the men quoted above stopped the intense stimulation of Internet porn, the pleasures of closeness gradually grew more tangible and satisfying. For them, “sex positive” now has a whole new meaning, and has led to some insightful reflection. One of them posted the following passage from Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning“:
The more a man tries to demonstrate his sexual potency or a woman her ability to experience orgasm, the less they are able to succeed. Pleasure is, and must remain, a side-effect or by-product, and is destroyed and spoiled to the degree to which it is made a goal in itself.
Could Frankl be right? Might our frenzied use of sex-aids be spoiling our pleasure? If so, what about redefining “sex positive” in terms of pleasure and sensitivity rather than mere quantity?
- Just a little porn can make a big difference. Read High Fructose Porn Syrup, By Athol Kay
- Update: Dr. Oz Show addresses porn-induced erectile dysfunction January 31, 2013
A counterbalance:
The game has changed, and it kind of sucks now.
by wiseguyhobbes
Warning: this post is pretty rant-ey, but here me out. I’m hoping my discontent and my reasoning will resonate and inspire change on a larger scale.
I think it’s a combination of things, but our culture has definitely changed with regards to sexuality, dating, and what’s possible for a guy to obtain. If you haven’t noticed, the majority of sex occurs outside the context of relationships; it’s casual. That means that girls have guys wanting non-commital sex with them, all the time. It’s much harder to hold a girl down, and to do it, you have to exert great effort in competing with the other wanna-be alphas. Even if you’re a quality guy with a lot going for him, it’s easy to get cheated on, and you can sense that girls just aren’t committed. Another way to put it is that guys aren’t as wanted anymore. They have to turn into duschy competition-machines in order to please a girl at all. They want to be fucked, and they don’t really give a shit about you if you’re not, at this moment, offering that. (hopefully we’ll find out why in a minute)
I’m a very good looking guy — top tier, even. I long for the days when an intelligent and good-looking guy could have a decent job, a social network, and a quality girlfriend where there is intimacy and romance. The dating game and being truly social is over; all there is anymore is chasing tail and anti-social debauchery. It’s like we debase ourselves with our porn and our promiscuity to the point that we’re just savages.
We’d be much better off adopting cultural values closer to what exist in the romance countries like Italy, etc. They have hot sex but it’s not animalistic. It’s sensual and intimate. You can actually talk to the girl you want to have sex with, and she loves it! Although the truth is they may be changing to be more Americanized anymore.
Also I do realize that plenty of people fall outside of these norms. Reddit has an above average amount of non duschy-wanna-be-alphas. But reddit is also frequently sex-deprived (aside from Gone Wild, but those girls mostly wouldn’t fuck the average redditor anyways).
Maybe the fact that girls are looking for a fuck is the problem in the first place. Porn is what unleashed this beast, if you ask me, and it won’t be easy to put back in the bag, if ever. How did porn do this?You see girls obtain esteem by their sexuality. Men gain esteem by their sense of self. We gain confidence through sexuality, but not esteem. Ever notice that monogamy was always a man-sanctioned institution? Men enforced monogamy because they valued themselves enough to not go fucking every slut and throwing true male values out, and thus their power and sense of worth as men.
So do we need to go back to a patriarchal monogamous society? Fuck no. But IMO the world would be far better off if everyone quit porn, and cared about something more than fucking. Guys are the ones who need to lead this, and their the ones with something to gain by doing so.
TL;DR : most girls primarily are only looking to get fucked. While sex is fun (thus the alure of porn) guys get their esteem from more than sex, and have something to gain from cultivating values, and a social sense of self, beyond chasing a fuck. Promiscuity raises female value, monogamy, male value. Ever notice that men were the protectors of that institution? We don’t need to reinstitute strict monogamy, but something closer to it would be good for us males.
- A September 2015 TEDx talk by a young man who need extra time and relearning/rewiring to overcome porn-induced ED and anorgasmia – TEDX talk about porn-induced ED & reclaiming one’s sexuality: “How to Become a Sex God” by Gregor Schmidinger
- Over 40 studies reporting findings consistent with escalation of porn use (tolerance), habituation to porn, and even withdrawal symptoms (all signs and symptoms associated with addiction).
- Porn and sexual problems? This list contains over 40 studies linking porn use/porn addiction to sexual problems and lower arousal to sexual stimuli. The first 7 studies in the list demonstrate causation, as participants eliminated porn use and healed chronic sexual dysfunctions.
- Porn’s effects on relationships? Over 75 studies link porn use to less sexual and relationship satisfaction. As far as we know all studies involving males have reported more porn use linked to poorer sexual or relationship satisfaction.
Here’s a forum post that is relevant here:
A blogger wrote this
Another post of interest
Perception shift
reported by another guy:
Another guy
rediscovers sex with his sweetheart:
From reddit – NoFap – 90 days
From reddit – NoFap
Okay newbie guys, this is what it takes: listen up, man up and quit screwin’ up
Couples therapy vs. NoFap? No contest! Allow me to explain.
YRON: Your Relationship on NoFap
Comment from a forum member
LINK
I’m a few years older & fapped ~once a week
Another benefit: cleaner fantasies
Reddit – day 27 report
Guy’s comment on a forum
[Day 30 NoFap / Day 300 NoPorn] – Progress Report
Downsides to fapping include disinterest in my girlfriend…
The effects on the brain of masturbation (especially with porn)
One guy described his experiments:
For more on the benefits of intercourse over masturbation, see this journal letter, which discusses a lot of research.
My boyfriend is in Day 2 of NO PMO. This is all new to me, to us
My boyfriend is in Day 2 of NO PMO. This is all new to me, to us and I want to help him get through this. Any advice for me?
Forum comments
Why I am quitting porn and how it’s improving my relationship.
Do you feel more “love” feelings towards your SO when you’ve
LINK -Do you feel more “love” feelings towards your SO when you’ve been fapstinent for a significant amount of time?
Day 90: report
Real Women are Looking Hotter
female comments – porn tends to desensitize me
I was pretty much a heartless asshole towards girls before
I used to fall in love like a dumb animal
Now I’m addicted to manliness
Nowadays, I’m just more aroused by real life than porn
NoFap, you are my hero.
150 days
From another forum
From another forum
A guy reports:
From another forum – Ex-autosexual writes:
Ex-autosexual writes:
From another forum
Shows perception shift as brain rebalances:
A husband reports
his conclusions at Day 91:
If I do fap, I’m definitely laying down some guidelines
Nofap and noporn changed the way i had sex.
Day 78. Proposed to my girlfriend.
From another forum
A guy wrote:
The Part We Forget
Always thought I had low sex drive until I started nofap
40 days, and counting..
sexually active for 6 years, but I never made love until now.
From another thread
One of the craziest things I learned because of nofap was that, up until recently, I was a misogynist. I Effectively judged gils based on whether or not I thought they were attractive. Frankly, I’m ashamed of myself because of this. It was at the point where I was basically disregarding someone who tried to be a very good friend to me for a very long time purely because I wasn’t attracted to her. Don’t get me wrong, I was polite, but I wasn’t giving her the time or respect she deserved. This has been a pretty significant change in my life. Now, I treat women as people rather than potential sexual opportunities. Even if you’re not obvious, I think they know this. A massive thing for me.
Well, I can safely say this last month has changed me
Achievement unlocked.
Instincts Took Over; Unlocked an Unkown Tenderness
Instincts Took Over; Unlocked an Unkown Tenderness
Porn doesn’t turn me on anymore.
Are pictures of your wife considered porn?
From another forum
One year of stops & starts – still experienced many benefits
First superpower attained
From another forum
GUY 1) It’s amazing how porn has desensitized us. My extreme porn addiction started around 19. But between the ages of 14-19, I use to get erections nearly by all type of women, skinny, busty, average. Heck, once my teacher at school when I was 17 showed some cleavage and I had an erection for 2 hours and even old women sometimes turned me on. I have not been excited by a woman in real life since 19 and I am now 23. I hope I can get that feeling again, LINK
GUY 2) Same here. Its hilarious the things I used to get turned on by. Average looking 40 year old women with nipples showing through their shirt, for example.
Now, I could have my favorite type of girl butt-naked touching me and not get turned on. It’s so absurd all you can do is laugh.
GUY 3) This. No porn does not lower standards, but the opposite way around. Watching (too much) porn increases your standard with as a results that no normal woman is good enough for you to make a move.
GUY 4) Before reboot, a woman can be hot but one imperfect feature will be enough for you to dismiss her as being “not hot”. During reboot, I’m finding that a woman can have an imperfect feature but a nice ass/body/rack/smile/face/personality/etc. is enough to wipe the imperfection out.
It’s definitely my favorite part of the reboot to go out and about and realize that the women are more attractive than before. Funny how not emptying your balls puts a layer of an unknown species of make up on a women’s face that causes them glow.
GUY 5) Not watching porn brings you back to reality. None of us are perfect and all of us have physical faults. Going without porn makes us more accepting of all those imperfections and more content as people rather than chasing perfection that does not exist in the real world.
GUY 6) So… it’s been my experience that the longer I go without porn, the more I find myself noticing women I wouldn’t have even considered before.
From another forum
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/15tg0z/ed_gone_after_12_days_girlfriend_is_real_again/
From another forum
http://www.yourbrainrebalanced.com/index.php?topic=2743.msg42141#msg42141
Military training = My longest NoFap streak… Why?
Wow, benefits benefits benefits
No fap for 6 months and it’s the bomb
Needing advice from Fapstronauts with spouses.
I’ve had some unexpected (good) results.
Are you in a relationship and has NoFap impacted it?
Are you in a relationship and has NoFap impacted it? A large national publication would like to interview you for a story they’re doing on NoFap. Interviewees can be anonymous.
kk87
A bit of humor
Sudden realization while viewing porn (self.NoFap)
Had the best sex of my life thanks to NoFap
posts by our male nofappers have said they see women as humans
I smile more often and I’m nicer than usually…
the rush I got from porn is no longer there.
Breakthrough; Arousal and noticing women.
REPLY
Another guy
11 Days in, great sex with
more clear in my head and more love towards my SO.
Thank you, NoFap – Sincerely, satisfied girlfriend
Porn is the sexual hunger
At Day 39, first “Super Power”
positive effects through more intense lovemaking with my wife.
it’s not because the girls are not pretty enough. It’s my issue
I want my wife more than ever. I now have an undeniable sex driv
GUY 2
GUY 3
GUY 4
Its the little victories
“I used to be a man-whore”
Seeing women as individuals
Women no longer sexual objects – sex relaxed
Porn will rob you of your sexuality.
Porn will rob you of your sexuality.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1gor2k/porn_will_rob_you_of_your_sexuality/
Endless Enthusiasm for Life
Treating women differently
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1gp5oj/88_day_report/
Can’t get enough of my wife
..this is what I have noticed thus far:
1) My poor wife. I can’t get enough of her! My wife would initiate sex and I would turn her down by making up some stupid excuse only to end up fapping later on. Since NoFap, the very thought of rolling in the sheets with her has me ready to go in seconds. This morning, she actually turned me down because she was worn out. It’s usually not a good thing getting turned down for sex but, in this case, it’s something to brag about.
2) Side boob is just side boob and it’s oh-so beautiful! It used to be then when I would notice a random hot chick on the street I would immediately undress her in my head and place her in a random porn scene doing nasty shit. Now, I sit back and just admire the side boob for what it is. A nice ass is just a nice ass. A great rack is just a fucking great rack. Random girls on the street are no longer my imaginary 30 second porn stars.
3) I swear a simple breeze gets me hard now. I used to have to browse gigs and gigs of porn to even to get it to move. Now, the mere thought of side boob (see number 2) is all it takes to get my soldier to stand at attention.
4) I look forward to sex again. Remember being 18 and looking forward to making it to your gf’s house before her parents got home? I no doubt spent thousands of dollars on cab rides until I got my car because waiting for a fucking bus would just not do. Well it’s like that for me again. I can’t wait to finish work just to get home and rip off my wife’s clothes. I never used to speed. I can’t stay below 100Km/H anymore, my fuel economy is going down the shitter because I look forward to getting laid again!
Thanks NoFap. You have saved me from future Viagra prescriptions and no doubt have saved my marriage in the long term.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1gpp1j/success_story_after_nearly_40_days_of_nofap/
4-month report
Tommorrow I will hit four months. Here are new changes I’ve seen in myself recently.
Nofap… it just works. http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1h6lu5/4_months_3_new_developments/
And she said it was the best sex we had ever had.
NoFap makes women more beautiful!
NoFap makes women more beautiful! But . . .
… beautiful in a much deeper meaning. I see more clearly who women are. They are so much more beautiful if you think of them more than just something you want to have sex with. Look at their faces and the wonderful way they communicate with you in so many non-verbal ways. Women light up all of my senses. They are experts in communication I have lacked in so much of my shy and anxious life. Porn perverts so much more about how truly wonderful and beautiful women are.
Look at the beautiful women, talk and laugh with them, understand who they are. When you know how beautiful they are, you will find one you can’t live without. When you have your one, marry her, and never let her go. Tell her how much you love her every day.
I have my one, and we have made three, beautiful daughters that I hope find men that love them for who they are. Women are more beautiful these days for me, but my wife the most gorgeous women I have ever seen . She lights my life in so many ways, and I can’t wait to get home to see her. Porn only disappoints, while my wife keeps expanding my desires to levels I didn’t know I had a month ago. Not only sexually, but desires in other ways I can’t describe in words.
I am INSANELY PROUD of my husband!
I am INSANELY PROUD of my husband!
by kellzbellz555
chrispy_bacon26 days
[–]kellzbellz555[S]
[–]kellzbellz555[S]
Made my wife cry
Made my wife cry
Porn has ruined my appreciation of regular female beauty – but
More rational standards-
For the sake of humility, I’ll just say that I’m an above-average looking guy. Before YBOP, my standards were outrageous. I would turn down 2-3 willing and attractive women a week because they didn’t match my pornstar criteria. Eventually, the only women I was sleeping with were dancers, strippers, and nymphos with big tits, asses, and daddy issues. Even then, I would need pills to maintain an erection. Now, I develop actual relationships with women I wouldn’t mind bringing home to mom and dad.
Age 25 – ED cured. No more depression, anxiety, lethargy. More focus & drive
My craving now is for REAL women and REAL sex.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Mens-Health/Too-much-porn-masturbation-cause-ED/show/183203?camp=watch_list
Real sex vs. porn
So a french girl has been living with my family in the U.S., and during this time we got to know each other really well. We have been sleeping together for the past few nights which has made me realise something. There are many reasons porn distorts sex for us, but the biggest difference is the intimacy. There isn’t much intimacy in porn, but with real, honest to goodness sex, there is much more than putting your penis into a girl’s vagina and coming. I realised this after lying in bed with her all night, naked, not talking, but just holding each other. This is what I’ve failed to understand all these years.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1j2xde/real_sex_vs_porn/
NoFap is an embrace of human sexuality
First-hand experience of the poisonous nature of porn
Real sex made 3x better. Thanks nofap
Sex life has really improved since starting nofap. I’m writing t
Comment on forum post
Interesting exchange
I hadn’t looked at any porn in quite awhile. Then while my girlfriend was away, I did. I shouldn’t have, but I did. When she came back, I noticed a distinct decline in my feelings for her. It was disturbing and unsettling. I figure it’s the porn, as it’s happened before like that. Things will come back after several days from the porn use.
Pretty crazy how it impacts my perceptions like that.
https://web.archive.org/web/20210419085231/http://www.reuniting.info/comment/90429
__
Response of another forum member:
Your prior feelings will come back. But the bad effects can last a considerable amount of time. I think especially because they trigger memories in your brain and these memories are deeply etched like deep grooves in a path where everyone walks in the middle and the path gets worn deep just in the middle.
It’s great you can observe and notice this because that is the important part — then you can avoid it.
This isn’t the case when you are seeing pretty girls around town or at the beach. It isn’t the same at all. I can drink in the beauty of a young thing in a bikini and still feel incredible arousal for my wife.
That’s why I say it’s the porn or erotic triggers that are best to avoid, rather than avoiding looking at pretty (real) girls.
Married NoFap, 1 year report
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1mi916/married_nofap_1_year_report_a_few_days_early/
it’s drastically changed my view on how I view women.
The longer you go, the more you realize how dumb it is.
My new perspective on sex, and girls
On day 30 as a curious non-addict – this makes a difference
Surprising and magical experience with my wife
Comment on forum
Female: A tale of two men
A word of encouragement from a female, plus seeking relationship advice.
Hi you guys,
I reddit-searched “do all men watch porn” and found this sub. The truth is I already knew the answer to that question but was hoping to find a place like this, because I feel like I have nobody in my life I can talk to right now about this.
The reason why I already knew the answer to that question is because I previously dated a guy who didn’t watch porn. Well, he watched porn super rarely, maybe a couple times a year. (When I relay this story, usually people tell me that he was lying. But we (practically) lived together, spending 98% of days and nights at one of our places, for 3 years. You would think I would notice.)
Before dating him, I myself watched porn. I was ‘horny’ pretty often. I craved release. But this porn-less guy had this totally different way of making love… sometimes he would stop in the middle and call it a night because he could tell my head was ‘somewhere else’ – and he was right. But I thought dirty fantasies were not only normal, but kind of the only way I knew how to get into it. That’s how my brain had been trained.
Before I dated him, I didn’t realize that love-making – and I really mean love-making, not having sex – could be so… intimate and so present. I mean really.
Since then I got over porn, just naturally. After seeing this other way of being, this other kind of relationship I could have with my own libido and with a lover, I just… got turned off of it. For years I would still need to think of my preferred ‘nasty’ scenarios to get off, and to be honest sometimes I still do. But it’s gotten rarer and rarer. I only give in a couple times a year now, like my dear ex. And when I do, I just feel… gross. I’m not even religious or anything. Just knowing the other way arousal can be, I feel like I’m cheating myself when I fall back into that hole.
But here’s the thing: I’m a woman and most of you are not, so I imagine our stories go differently. (Although that interesting ‘brain on porn’ series in the sidebar here claims that recent research has disproved that men are more promiscuous than women.) But my point is, I’m not trying to say, “Hey this is what you should do.”
What I’m trying to say is, this is my experience as a woman, and I can really feel the difference between these two kinds of sex… so for those of you who are concerned about ‘performance’, there ya go. (Although, I hesitate to use that word because I feel that that special, intimate style of love making doesn’t quite fit that vibe – it’s about acceptance.)
I hope this long-winded story encouraged someone! Good luck you guys! It’s worth it in the end.
—
(cough) Now, if someone cares to offer some advice, I wouldn’t mind… I know there are relationship advice subs but I trust this particular group of people… but please don’t feel obligated to read the following wall of text, the point of my post is what was above.
The reason why I searched “do all men watch porn” is because now, ironically, I’m dating a guy with a moderate porn addiction. I also really, really, love him. Like, for the first time, I’m seriously considering the m-word.
I’m torn over this guy. In every area except sex, he is this picture-perfect boyfriend, and also my best friend. Out of the bedroom we share an incredible intimacy.
But in the sack… usually I just feel like he’s trying to get off. Usually I feel like he’s, as my ex expressed, ‘somewhere else.’ He’s also really into his fetish… and I’ve been trying for 3 years but I just can’t get into the costumes and lines and the intrusion of a script into sexy time, which I now hold as kind of sacred.
So what happened over time… seems so predictable in retrospect… my libido plummeted. The desire is pretty infrequent now. Which of course hurt his feelings. And now he says he has to engage in porn in order to get off because he hardly ever can with me.
….so…. what do you guys think of the situation? Oh, of course I’ve talked to him about all of this. Like I said, we’re pretty close. But I’m not sure if it’s getting better. Maybe it is. Last night he excused himself from our chill-out time to go watch porn and jerk it. But he said beforehand, as if to appease me, that he hadn’t done it in like a week. Which I guess is a big deal for him. Which I guess means he’s trying for me.
I guess.
(The thing is… maybe I don’t want him to do it for me. Maybe I just wish he would see it the same way I see it, now. As kind of gross. If he is abstaining for me, that’s very sweet, and he is a very kind boyfriend, and I appreciate it… I guess. But it doesn’t solve my root problem.)
But still, when he locked himself in the bathroom, I just.. I couldn’t. I broke down and cried. Just like I’m crying now, because the truth is that even though we’re busy and stressed and pressed for time and tired, I would have fucked him last night or any other night if only he would take the time to seduce me in a present way. It just makes me feel like I’m not worth it.
What do you think?
(Obligatory Disclaimer: a lot of times people post responses about how ‘you need to talk to him’ and umm… I’m just trying not to waste anyone’s time… of course I talk to him about all this. There’s nothing here he doesn’t know. I’m looking for YOUR opinion on the situation, internet stranger, not advice on how important communication is to a relationship. 😉 )
I feel the excitement and rush I felt for her so many years ago
Porn made me see girls in a way where I only thought a perfect
Surprise at what lies behind the veil of lust
Relationship realizations
Relationship realizations
Mailanka
I woke up this morning to find a letter from my wife
My wife knows nothing about my addiction. Mainly because she has a rough sexual history and I don’t want to give her more stress on the subject, but in reality I have not told her because I am guilt ridden and ashamed. I am on day 10 of my mission to eradicate PMO. I have never gone more than 2 days in the past and have been strongly addicted for 12 years. Over the past few days I have had flashbacks to PMO memories, I have had incredibly intense urges, and I have had depression waves. I have wanted to quit at every stage.
I woke up to a large handwritten letter in my violin case from my wife. In it she states how amazed she was at how much I have been helping around the house, but most importantly how supportive of her I have been this past week. (Remember she does not know I am doing this) She started on Monday and wrote very specifically about each individual day on how she felt loved by my actions. She mentioned how for the first time in a long time she felt truly supported by her man.
I have always loved my wife and wanted to do this to make sure every minute I spend with her is well lived. If I ever needed proof that nofap was beyond effective this letter was it. Again she has no idea I am doing this. The nofap community is incredible. Because of YOU I feel I am changing into a better version of myself.
If you have doubts that the effects are negligible then listen to me when I say that you might not see them but those around you will.
I owe you guys a beer.
submitted 15 hours ago by wildviolinist10 days
Even girls that wouldn’t be considered ‘hot’ I look at and see b
The craziest thing has happened in my marriage
NoFap has had a profound psychological impact on me
Pornography distorts the way you look at sex, love and women. It also makes you a wimp.
COMMENTS UNDER POST
–]TMA-3
trying_to_quit
fancyPantsOne
sfumato1002
Donotdoit13
DWinsRespect
Pornography distorts the way you look at sex, love and women. It
This morning, my wife told me: “there has been at least one good
I love it that I desire my wife, and she does too.
There are 3 kinds of SEX.
Good luck
a little different theory
Comments on forum
My girlfriend and I were studying together, taking little breaks to just cuddle up close and relax every hour or so. During one of those breaks, she asked how my NoFap journey was going. I’d told her about making it past 90 days and then screwing up 16 days ago, so she already knew about what was going on. I ended up telling her that all was going fine and that just the sheer length of time since me being in a habit of fapping had giving me one of the greatest benefits of all: it is now almost impossible for me to fantasize about sex or anything of that nature. She put her face down on my chest for a couple minutes and when she looked up she had tears in her eyes. I asked her what was wrong, and she just said, “I’m so happy that you’re able to love purely again.”
Guys, the benefits to this challenge are countless. You’re able to fully take control of your life, and over time your body responds in such a manner that it almost wants you to. When you begin to shed the bonds of this lifestyle of constant, habitual PMO, you start to realize just how blinded you really were. And, as you can tell from above, girls tend to prefer guys that want to love them instead of lust for their lady bits.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1xw9fa/her_reaction/
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/1xwhap/a_girl_who_stumbled_upon_this/
Fapping made me look at woman like a piece of meat
How porn has affected me as a 19-year-old female.
How porn has affected me as a 19-year-old female
Disclaimer: I don’t use/view porn at all. Never really have. This is a different sort of story.
First off, this sub is phenomenal! I love reading these stories and how so many of you have begun to see the true affects of porn. It amazes me how many of you are out there. 🙂
Anyways, I’m your average 19-year-old, first year of college, love to game. I am 5’9″ and 140lbs. (relevant, promise!) I’m by no means fat/chubby/overweight. Pretty slim, I would think.
Well, I started dating a boy about a year ago, end of high school, had a crush on him all year. He was into gaming, loved reading, philosophical, great writer… he seemed absolutely perfect.
The downside: Even though he didn’t masturbate or consume pornography all that much, it still had an incredibly bad impact on how he viewed me. When we first began dating, he would often tell me how I liked him more than he liked me, or fill me in on his relationships with other women (I never asked, and these things included how great their relationship was, how often they had sex… ). He would pinch the thin layer of fat on my stomach and tell me he “didn’t like that.” He would point out how sometimes the skin by the straps of my bra would squish out. He would tell me how much he wanted me to work out and how cute I’d be if I were just a little smaller. He had trouble finishing.
I stopped eating.
I lost ten pounds. I’m “attractive” now. But really, there’s hardly any difference. I was already thin, and this didn’t impact my body much at all.
For the sake of brevity, when he stopped use of porn altogether, all of this changed. (Even those who don’t use porn “often” are subject to this.) He became “un-addicted,” so to speak, to the fantasy aliens of porn, and became attracted to me. His general respect for me as a person has grown. He stops treating me as if I’m “naive” and need his guidance.
I’m one of the few who have stuck it out, and it payed off. Though I do feel the need to say that this change occurred over the course of a year, it has not been quick by any means, and this proves to me that this change is for good.
So thanks, /r/pornfree, there are real results to quitting porn (and it extends upon just improving your own life). 🙂
http://www.reddit.com/r/pornfree/comments/1zhlts/how_porn_has_affected_me_as_a_19yearold_female/
had sex with my wife – without any loss in erection whatsoever
Rediscover SEX with Nofap (I didn’t believe in superpowers until
My biggest benefit from NoFap: Girls are so much more beautiful
Age 50’s – ED cured: it’s like the old days with my wife
Before nofap I had PIED — that was a big reason I started nofap on December 15 and I have mainly been on hard mode since then. Around 60 days my wife and I had sex a few times (Valentine’s Day and all that)…
Huge 92 day benefit — great sex and no PIED!
by nofap490
Age 22 – It’s like a whole new level of sex
…When I look back at how I was, it’s like looking back at a different person. I used to get nervous about having sex with my girlfriend because I had the constant threat of ED looming over me. I used to resist her advances and make excuses as to why we couldn’t have sex because I had either already masturbated that day and wasn’t in the mood, or because I was terrified of not being able to perform and having to suffer the shame, embarrassment, and indignity of ED.
All that has changed. I feel like a young man should again; I’ve regained my love of sex and the thought of potential ED doesn’t even cross my mind anymore. Before I quit, I’d worry about ED every time we had sex. Now, nothing. It is such a relief having that weight off my mind. I feel like a new man.
It’s also like suddenly finding a whole new level of sex. Like you I used to watch porn and say to myself that it’s simply making me horny and want to have sex with my girlfriend more. But once you quit porn entirely, and only focus on that one person for sexual satisfaction you realise how much you’re missing out on.
For me the sex became much more intense. I wasn’t simply having sex because I was horny and looking to get my end away, I was having sex because of the relationship between me and this specific person and how they had aroused me and how they had made me feel.
I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like if you watched Man vs. Food or some cooking show on tv and you see the best meal you’d ever seen. You salivate over it and dream about eating it, and then end up having some ready meal from your fridge. Yeah, you’ve dealt with your hunger, but it’s not quite the same.
Quitting porn entirely, however, is like you’re preparing your own meal. You buy the ingredients, you prepare them, you touch them and get a feel for them. It’s harder work for sure, but you get the satisfaction of cooking. You get the satisfaction of smelling those ingredients, watching them come together, and at the end you have a beautiful dish that you have created. It’s not some meal that you’ve seen somewhere and aren’t going to realistically eat anytime soon. It’s your dish, in your kitchen, that you have made. It’s just so satisfying….
Age 22 – ED cured: I feel like a young man should again
The change in my sex life.
From Age 20 – I wasn’t
From Age 20 – I wasn’t confident, lacked social skills, really self conscious. All of that has changed.
First, I’ll discuss what this endeavor has done for my penis sensitivity, sex drive, and arousal patterns.
I’m known as the “unrealistic-high-standards-on-chicks” guy
Comment from another forum
What my wife and I have discovered the past year is that during lovemaking we feel like we become each others sex god/goddess! It sounds silly talking about it, but at the moment its what we feel and we tell each other such.
I was hooked on porn for 35 years and experienced orgasms while looking at and fantasizing about many thousands of model perfect women. It certainly effected the way I perceived the beauty of my wife, since it is natural to compare. Since discovering the concept of Karezza, I found that I lost most of my interest in porn. (I say most because a part of me is still curious about it, but not enough to actually pursue it). Now when I’m making love with my wife I find myself fascinated by every square inch of her 43 year old, mother of 3 body! The so-called imperfections become character marks, and every blemish and wrinkle is a delight, and this sincere acceptance of her body just feeds into the wonderful energy in which we are enveloped.
Not allowing frequent orgasm to sabotage my fascination with her has allowed my brain to redefine what a perfect body is. My definition of perfect is those things that are unique to her, including all her so-called “flaws”. Those things are the good stuff! Here’s a quote from the movie Good Will Hunting:
The fact that your lover doesn’t fit the Hollywood stereotyped formula for what beauty is irrelevant when you are in Love.
Age 22 – ED cured, more in tune with emotions & much happier
Age 22 – ED cured, more in tune with emotions & much happier
180 days – my addiction still haunts me and my sex life
Getting out there toward 180, and yet, my addiction still haunts me and my sex life. Get away from it friends. Recovery is a long road.
“I don’t even fear the idea of becoming exclusive with someone”
Getting rid of O entirely (hard-mode I believe) wasn’t a viable option, I meet a lot of girls through both my work and social circle, however since quitting the P, for the first time in absolutely years I am showing an interest in these girls beyond their bodies, in fact I don’t even fear the idea of becoming exclusive with someone. I now no longer look for the most beautiful girl in the room, but the most interesting, the most intriguing, I’m slowly being pulled out of my shallow shell.
http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/age-22-proactive-social-energetic-confident-all-my-friends-co-workers-have-noticed
Sees girls differently
I recently got a girlfriend and I had prior been skeptical of all the superpowers, cold-showers, meditation, “powers with women,” PUA talk and other elements of this sub-reddit that didn’t appeal as much to me. I thought that there was a lot of subtle bragging going on and didn’t really get into nofap with the girlfriend issue in mind. I’m not sure if i’d characterize the change as increased confidence or anything different but my perception changed from sexualizing my relationships with women to seeing them more as authentic relationships (see above). That might sound lame and Dr. Phil-esque but it’s amazing when you like a girl because of how you feel when you are around her rather than what you think she’d look like without clothes on. It’s a subtle change but it’s better than any “superpower” that comes with increased confidence in my opinion.
…
I feel much less anxious now–part of it might be because school is done but I also don’t feel as often what I described above. Before I’d feel lonely and like I was missing out on something but now the nature of my contentment has changed. PMO always has you chasing that greater rush – a more beautiful girl, a better scene, something different than what you’ve seen before. My life isn’t perfect now but I don’t feel like I’m grasping for something that I can’t reach anymore. It’s hard to explain but I feel like PMO doesn’t have a limit on what you are chasing. Now I feel like I’m still chasing my goals, but I’m happy if I can do the best I can to reach as close to them as I can. I still might not be able to reach them but I feel like there is something genuinely enjoyable in the act of reaching that wasn’t there before.
90 Days! Many points
Drastic improvement in sex life after quitting porn
[Experts claiming porn can’t cause problems are] frustrating especially for those of us who’ve had PIED and we’ve reversed it simply by stopping PMO. Yet we are apparently supposed to wait for some official scientific study before we are allowed to use common sense and recognize that porn caused our erection problems.
My experience also confirms that getting rid of a porn problem can totally help your marriage. My wife and I have the best sex we’ve ever had since I stopped PMO. It’s a drastic difference, and I didn’t need a psychologist’s advice or even to talk that much about the problem. I just had to give up my stupid addiction to porn.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/29tqz5/i_got_to_talk_about_my_porn_induced_ed_on_tv_then/cioumc7
Age 25 – This has improved my sex life more than I knew was poss
http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/age-25-has-improved-my-sex-life-more-i-knew-was-even-possible
Women seems so Attractive
Women seems so Attractive
Rebooting increases desire to bond
“One of those chemicals I feel are effected by all of this is not just dopamine or serotonin, but oxytocin seems to come to normal as well.. as I find myself bonding with people around me, easily and the idea of LOVE seems to be more present than ever.. or since I was much younger.”
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2h8dfq/152_days_hardmode/
Used to have to think of porn in order to orgasm with wife
I have had regular sex through all my marriage (6 years now), but have always found that unless the sex is especially good I had to think of P in order to O in my wife, and found that about 5% of the time that I couldn’t finish at all. Now though I don’t think about this at all, just enjoy the time with her. It’s almost like starting over and learning sex again, it can be such a different with a clear mind not clouded by P.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2j4ih6/first_post_here_but_long_time_benefactor_of_this/
I no longer want to f*** her
I no longer want to f*** her
I feel more attracted to real women’s bodies.
Sexual attraction is changing…
One month no porn
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2kr4pa/sexual_attraction_is_changing/
26days = some of best sex ever!
Getting attracted to v**ina for the first time in my life!
I am 26 and I was so deep deep into those weird fetishes since a long time that I could never see a v*gina as something attractive. Couldn’t get myself to lick those ever, not even touch, unless I was too drunk or something. Naturally, I never had good sex, or get turned on with just plain vanilla things. Imagine how my partner would have felt when getting intimate.
Fast forward now. I saw a picture of v–gina somehow, and just found it so beautiful and attractive. I couldn’t keep myself from looking up more pictures. I can’t still believe that happened, and SO f*cking happy right now.
Wow, those little things are beautiful! Just beautiful! Where had I been all these years? tears of happiness
http://www.yourbrainonporn.com/age-26-porn-induced-ed-healed-i-did-not-need-any-fantasies-or-imagination-keep-it
4 months after quitting porn
Sex with my wife has been amazing. more regular, and more intimate less about me wanting to cum.but rather just to be close with her.
http://www.yourbrainrebalanced.com/index.php?topic=25793.msg430620#msg430620
You can come back again (divorced due to porn)
My view of women
https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/porn-induced-sexual-dysfunctions/what-experts-tell-guys-suffering-from-pied-the-good-the-bad/
Comment on forum
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2pxadn/day_31_my_benefits_and_experiences/
PIED update: SO: “I think you were finally able to relax”
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2q3o6r/pied_update_so_i_think_you_were_finally_able_to/
Porn’s effect on libido with partner
College sophomore
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2tmlwn/havent_fapped_in_over_a_month_now_heres_what_ive/
Day 130 and still making progress
Day 130 and still making progress.
Finally a way back to being a man
Ex tranny finds freedom from fetish
How can a girl show no signs of sexual attraction for 2 years
“NoFap isn’t just for me”
“I Hated Women and Loved Porn”
Had sex first time after being on NoFap and hell it was awesome!
Had sex first time after being on NoFap and hell it was awesome!!!
A recovered husband speaks
I am the wife of an ex-porn addict. He claimed his ED was a “medical condition”. This is my story, AMA
Hey guys , I enjoyed sex for the first time yesterday!
Hey guys , I enjoyed sex for the first time yesterday!
Fantasies changing tone
Fantasies have gotten more mild and romantic
Husband saves the day
Most of girls look somehow pretty
the_goldenpony
Turlast
LellowJack
cloudyzack
Most of girls look somehow pretty
New awesome benefit!!
Many porn acts are actually not pleasurable in real life.
Many porn acts are actually not pleasurable in real life. Trying to erase porn’s influence on real sex.
Does anyone else notice that ALL girls become hotter
Does anyone else notice that ALL girls become hotter/more eye-catching during NoFap?
I understand romance now.
I understand romance now.
I finally like actual sex more than I like porn..
A young woman explains the effects of her boyfriend’s porn use
LINK – thank you!
by Quartzen
COMMENTS by other forum members under her post:
NoFap changed my perspective of women
NoFap changed my perspective of women
Any of you nofappers change your attitude towards casual sex
Any of you nofappers change your attitude towards casual sex after going on a long streak?
blueeyedbandito
jake13122
My wife is SO beautiful
My wife is SO beautiful
My wife is SO beautiful
I was sitting yesterday with my wife, she was drying her hair after the shower and I was looking at her and I was SO amazed about how beautiful she is. And I dont mean her physical beauty, I mean this glow of kindness, innocence and happiness. I told her ‘babe, you are so beautiful’ and she was like ‘wait a second, I dont see any storm outside, so how is it possible that you were strike by thunderbolt?’ :))
I am wondering how much better the world would be, if porn wouldn’t exist at all. How many divorces could be avoided? How much happy we, as a society would be.
We might never find it out but what I can assure you, you can find it for yourself at least. Keep fighting, its worth it. My wife is SO beautiful
After 4 weeks I can find something attractive about almost any g
After 4 weeks I can find something attractive about almost any girl
That would NOT have been
Anniversary Weekend with My Wife: Three Times in 24 Hours
Today I realized the simple truth that women are people
I was at the gym today and decided to play a very old playlist of songs I had from years back. A few powerful songs came on between my sets and as I was standing there resting, staring out the window I started to feel weird. I started to think about a close friend who took his own life earlier this year and an Ex-girlfriend who comforted me over it. I began to cry in the middle of the damn gym. I cried not only for my late friend, but also for how caring my Ex was for me in my time of need.
The same Ex who I detested for so long over a situation I created.
The same Ex who, at times, I looked to as an object to have sex with to fulfill my sick, twisted desires.
The same Ex who I loathed for seeing other people after we were finished.
The same Ex I tried to get back together with when I was looking for my next sperm pail.
Today I realized the simple truth that women are people with the same dreams, convictions, and emotions as us. They feel pain. They feel heartbreak. They feel regret. They’re fucking human.
I think I’ve taken my first step in untangling my sick, twisted mind. This PMO-free lifestyle is making me actually FEEL. I can say with the utmost conviction that I wish nothing but the best future for my ex-girlfriend, regardless if that future includes me or not. Something happened at the gym today…
Women are so beautiful
Women are so beautiful
How having sex changed my view
How having sex changed my view
Comment from r/Nofap on make-up
Anyone else starting to really see the beauty in girls without makeup? I feel like it brings out more of their true self and there’s an authenticity and realness to them, smth that you start seeking more and more on this journey, not just in girls but in life overall.
Anyone else starting to really see the beauty in girls without makeup?
Looking Into Her Eyes.
Looking Into Her Eyes.
I feel that stopping fapping really enhances our relationship
Much better Sex with gf
Porn doesn’t turn me on anymore
Porn doesn’t turn me on anymore
Change from liking bodies to liking people?
Change from liking bodies to liking people?
My first pornless orgasm!
My first pornless orgasm!
42 Days NOFAP
I am watching porn since my teen age when i was 17 and now I am 26 i stopped watching porn and masturbating, It feels really amazing, I am single and I love the feeling of morning wood , I Intend to not to fap and watch porn for a full of year i want to get married, I think I am suffering ED I asked a doctor and doctor said I have to abstain porn and masturbation until i get back to normal. FUFCk porn that ruined our lives. .. our precious time our love our education our selfrespect etc… just pray for me bro.. I have to stop it for 2 years…
I had sex with my wife (a success story)
I had sex with my wife (a success story)
Female Perspective on Pornography
Female Perspective on Pornography
My superpower is seeing woman for who they are
My superpower is seeing woman for who they are
I love how abstinence allows you to appreciate ordinary beauty
I love how abstinence allows you to appreciate ordinary beauty and desire people, not bodies. Weird off my chest story.
The most predominant change I have noticed is my attitude toward
90 days, where to from here?? Feel free to AMA
The relationship between my wife and I has drastically improved.
Thx for doing this guys.. <3 Girls against porn
Thx for doing this guys.. <3 Girls against porn
Inability to fall in LOVE because of years of PMO! Hope NoFap he
Inability to fall in LOVE because of years of PMO! Hope NoFap helps!
GUY 2)
GUY 3)
I don’t want to think of women as objects anymore…
Enough about OP’s and their stories. NoFap community, what’s your story?
I come to terms that PMO is Complete Garbage.
Got Intimate with my Long time Girlfriend. This is my report.
Does NoFap change your view of girls and relationships?
Does NoFap change your view of girls and relationships?
fapfree03
stoenr
LP83
stoenr
–]jasze
Zeta_Metroid
Louis_DM1
nofetebutwhatwemake
NoFap Changing my life
What sex made me realize about porn
Weird how porn use affects your sex drive.
Before anyone points it out, yes…I know that some people have a naturally high sex drive and some people have a naturally low drive. But my relationship with porn actually manipulated me into making conclusions about my sex drive.
The endless variety and the element of sheer novelty that free internet pornography provides used to be irresistible to me. I used masturbate to porn almost every single day and sometimes multiple times during the same day. Since I was doing it everyday, I started to justify my obsessive usage by telling myself that maybe, I have a very high sex drive. This self justification only worsened things and led to more increased use. My sports team lost? – let’s watch some porn, my academic exams didn’t go as well as I’d have liked them to? – let’s watch porn, something made me angry? – let’s watch porn. So, even though the relationship started due to my curiosity about sex and the variety offered by porn, it ended up becoming nothing but a coping mechanism for my real life frustrations and disappointments(this is why I’ve a problem with people who equate porn with sexuality because sexuality should be about positivity while many porn viewers use it to deal with negativity), but I didn’t realise it at the time as I thought this is due to my high sex drive.
Now that I’ve spent about 5 months(I don’t keep a track of the exact number of days) without porn(I relapsed hard twice within 2 weeks on two previous attempts to go pornfree), I have come to realise that this idea that I had about me having a high sex drive was just rubbish. That was what my porn use made me think. The first 2-3 weeks are tough, but once the you go a month or two without porn, those raging urges start to balance out and get normalised(at least that’s my experience). I no longer constantly think about the next orgasm I’m going to have or the next porn video I’m going to watch. Even if I come across a picture somewhere or something else that might have earlier been a trigger, it really doesn’t have any effect on me anymore. Now I’ve not become asexual. I still masturbate(without porn of course) occasionally(once a week or once in 2 weeks) and as a straight man, I can still acknowledge when I find myself sexually attracted to a woman, but I no longer have the mentality that I have to always immediately quench my sexual urge whenever I feel one by using porn like I used to do by using the idea of a high sex drive as an excuse.
So along with many many negatives like PIED, destructive fetishes, astronomical wastage of precious time, viewing of women as sex objects, etc., another negative effect that porn might have on you is to give you a warped idea of your own sex drive.
Sex Last Night
Had Sex Last Night – Part II
NoFap really changed my mindset
Post – My husband has a porn/sex addiction and I don’t know how to help him. I feel lost in this and hopeless.
Answer by Clonethefragile
LINK TO COMMENT
Changing your beliefs about sex may help your recovery.
I’ve been addicted to porn for at least 20 years. I’ve made several attempts at quitting for the last year or so. This streak I’m on now feels different, it feels a little bit easier, and I believe it is because I’ve had some false beliefs about sex that I’ve began to change. Here they are:
The problem with these beliefs are that they cause me to elevate sex beyond what it is. They’ve made quitting porn difficult too. In the past I would abstain from porn for a few days, but I would fantasize, and my fantasies would be just like porn scenes. In them I’m using someone else body parts for my own enjoyment. It wouldn’t taking long before the fantasies were boring, and I’d be back to looking at porn.
This time around, I’m working on redefining what sex is. Now I define sex as a part of a committed relationship. Sex outside relationship is bastardized at best and pathological or evening criminal at worst.
So now sex is something I do with my wife. I don’t look at porn, I don’t fantasize about other women, I don’t follow Instagram models, I don’t let my eyes linger over the attractive women I see in real life, I haven’t even been masturbating. Because none of that is sex. Sex means being with my wife.
This change in mindset has really been helpful. My wife and I pretty much stopped having sex, mainly because I never initiated it. When we did, it would be a disaster. I would close my eyes and imagine she were someone else and we were in a porno. I could get an erection, but It would eventually go soft and I wouldn’t be able to orgasm. My wife would get upset and I would feel bad and embarrassed.
We’ve had more sex already in 2019 then in all of 2018. I can’t keep my hands off of her. She loves how much attention I am giving her, and I know it is making her feel sexy and desired. Also when we’re having sex, I’m not thinking about anything. I am just in the moment enjoying it. Finishing is no problem anymore. In fact, I’ve had to make myself slow down a few times. And the orgasms have been more intense than any PMO I’ve ever had. I also feel fulfilled and very satisfied.
I’m not even a month in, so I’m not going to fool myself into thinking that I’ve recovered, but changing my beliefs about sex have really made things easier than previous attempts. I’d strongly recommend examining your own beliefs about sex and see if changing any of them may help.
tl;dr – I’ve held some unhealthy beliefs about sex that have impeded previous recovery attempts. Redefining what sex means has helped me abstain from porn, and has been helping my marriage.
Monogamy
by polynomials
50 days of no watching porn and relationship improved
Physical Intimacy Improvement with my recovering husband after only one week nofap
NoFap is really making me crave female closeness