Aight so, I have been on this journey since May 2017 and over the years, I have managed to fight off this addiction and develop pretty long streaks. The problem, however, is, I have developed this pattern where I relapse after really long streaks. I lose the motivation, sometimes edge and sometimes just experience a dopamine rush and I forget the value of NoFap. Right now too, I relapse after a 110-day streak. It's not that I'm counting the days but most of the time, I'm out there studying and prepping for unis and it constantly bores me to the point where I seek for dopamine rushes from elsewhere, be it social media or youtube or anything else for that matter. How exactly do I develop a streak where I get to 500+ days and never have to look back? I wanna make this a lifestyle and ingrain into my sub-conscious the fact that it's a matter of a change in my lifestyle and not the day counter that matters? Secondly, what I have noticed is that when I edge, like yesterday, I am stilling wearing my trousers. However, I realize that I ejaculate without touching my penis at any point. There is contact with the garments down there but however, I am aroused by the stimuli to the point where I, involuntarily reach climax without stroking it or even touching it for that matter. Is this a problem? Would this excess sensitivity be an issue in the days to come? What exactly do I do to improve my control over ejaculating and train myself to only release if I want to? TL; DR: 1) Long Streaks - Relapse - Loss of Importance & Motivation - How to ingrain NoFap into your subconscious. 2) Super-sensitive penis - Feels like Premature Ejaculation - Involuntary no-touch orgasm - How to practice orgasm control.
It seems as if you've identified your triggers and are aware how they impact you on life. If we begin with the issue of social media, are you firstly aware of how these sites work and exploit your reward circuit loop in a very similar way to that of porn? If not, try this video: Secondly, edging. This may be a symptom of being on a journey of sobriety and fantasising and lusting about women in your head. Finding ways to limit this and remove that habit may be your next step towards kicking this addiction. Lastly, if you are OK with streaks leading up to 90 days, maybe leave the forums until then and come back with a passion once your streaks hit that time period? Basically the point I'm trying to make here is that you are clearly an educated person studying for university exams and such. You have identified what is tripping you up...but sadly you are continuing doing the same things without changing your game plan to take into account these same problems. I.e. doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The answers you seek are within you or at your fingertips...just take the right actions to produce different results and keep going until you find the best solution Peace
Thank you for replying. I have sort of identified what is going on for sure but the reason I'm relapsing after long streaks is that the NoFap lifestyle and it's benefits are no longer surprising. I've sort of become accustomed to it so much that it loses value. I forget the importance it has and slowly my addict brain starts utilizing this to its advantage by rationalizing my actions. How do you stop your temptations when you have already started edging (only watching, I don't M with it)? That video made a lot of sense and I am working on reducing my usage online but the thing is, I can stay without the Internet only if I haven't used it at all. Once I have started to use it, I don't seem to stop but the mind craves the dopamine that has already been released. I need the Net to do a lot of work and projects but I am not able to stop myself from visiting other sites due to an immense anxious feeling that sets in, sort of like how an OCD-diagnosed person feels when he sees asymmetry and isn't allowed to modify it. I seem to be aware but the truth is, my core is not strong enough, all of this knowledge is simply within somewhat of the longterm memory but not ingrained within conscious or rather the unconscious too enough. I wanna know what I should do differently and how I can incorporate discipline into my life more, especially when I'm using the Internet.
@Feitan raises excellent points. I'll add that addictions always come from somewhere. People get addicted for a reason. For me, therapy has been invaluable. There are many therapies from mainstream to complementary, so if you consider therapy, there is a wide range to choose from. Best of luck.
