You make some good observations with #3. I'll try to break it down a little in layman's terms without speculating on things like "resetting dopamine receptors" as a long term benefit. Although the short term effects are established. Keep in mind this is my point of view and I can't speak for every person's situation.

1. Sex is not just a release and it doesn't bring with it the sudden drop in dopamine that you would have if you were alone. Sex releases different chemicals in the brain and affects us emotionally as well. Oxytocin, as well as dopamine in varying levels.

Another explanation is that the people doing noporn and nofap are not having sex and that is the goal - strive to find a new relationship or meet someone new or simply have sex. It is not self-defeating in this case.

2. Noporn is a good warm-up and a necessary precursor to nofap. Some people have problems with porn - it could be an addiction, they could have ED, or they could be running into unrealistic expectations. They might have a decreased libido or compare their partner to various fantasies that could instead be channeled into their relationship if they were open about it. At any rate, it is my opinion that porn is damaging in the long run.

Nofap is just a continuation of that. More on this below.

3. Beginning by reiterating point #1. Sex is not the same as doing it yourself. There is a drop-off in dopamine and this gives you less satisfaction over-all; see: la petite mort which is a term that captures what studies have shown. And when there is a dropoff in dopamine, like any other addiction, you may feel the need to indulge yourself further to maintain a baseline. Whether or not you are in a relationship, this could hurt your motivation and/or libido. Or it could be complimentary to someone with a partner that differs in libido.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_petite_mort

To complicate things further, if you have religious beliefs, then your goal might be no porn, no sex, no fap, in that order. They could all be viewed as damaging to your wellbeing and your purpose. Or you might decide that self-gratification is a way to ease your temptations prior to finding a healthy, long term relationship, if not marriage. Some people believe that sex outside of marriage is not gratifying at all and that it belongs only inside of a loving marriage/relationship. See: emotional involvement in sex. Celibacy is another option.

You may do further reading on how your options vary, and decide what your beliefs are and what is right for you. I am not claiming to be an authority on the subject, just giving a comprehensive view from what I've gathered. You may choose to "fail" at any time in order to lessen your desires. But before you decide to do that, consider point #4 carefully.

4. There is another viewpoint which should be considered, which is abstaining from sex and PMO altogether for a time in an effort to increase desire. The difference here is the belief and the goal. You don't have to be a Christian and you don't have women as the goal. If you perceive increased motivation from abstinence, then you can perceive that desire can be transmuted into another form of energy.

Namely, creative energy. You can use it to strive towards any goal of your choosing. Entrepreneurial endeavors, philanthropy, or even nirvana. The requirement here is that you place your goal as more worthwhile than short term gratification. The goal must be well-defined and parlayed into your subconscious on a daily basis. Delaying gratification has also been well studied and produces benefits in and of itself. It has been shown to improve your willpower and long term happiness.

If you understand that the function of willpower is to direct your conscious thoughts, and your conscious thoughts affect your subconscious, and your creative power has immense problem-solving potential, then you are on the right track to becoming highly successful in anything that you choose.

Whether you agree with that or not, it is easy to see that subjugating short term gratification for a more worthwhile goal can bring about long term happiness. How ever you reach that goal.

Addendum 1: Testosterone levels peak at about the 7 day mark of abstinence. That could account for some of the perceived benefits like increased confidence. For some people, myself included, this could also account for irritability. Individuals respond quite differently to stimulus (or lack thereof.) Some women report feeling extremely lethargic. Other women experience the same irritability and exhibit the bitchy qualities that you may have observed. Putting 2 and 2 together, you can use this knowledge to your advantage.

Addendum 2: Abstaining from porn means to cease searching for new images and videos. It doesn't necessarily mean covering your eyes whenever someone posts an image with sexual content. You are not necessarily seeking it out. And you are not necessarily using a lot of your time to do so. That is why it is inane and ignorant to think that by posting images you can disqualify anyone from the benefits of abstinence. At best it is a trigger for those with an addiction.

Day 14

Approached a girl I like told her her hair looked nice I don’t think I ever would have did that in the brain fog porn put me in.

But also found out some women I worked with deliberately kept me away from another girl that had a crush on me and hooked her up with a another guy in a department they favored.

Chit sucks man

I really need to get out more and make friends. I actually have the urge to now instead sitting at home but I have limited time and dont know where to start..

When every fckable dtf sloot you match with is across the country in Arizona or some chit.

If anything online dating just shows me all the girls who’d fck me silly across the world I’ll never meet.

It’s not just jerking once lol it’s constant abuse
You can’t have sex as much as you can fap
You should be trying to have as much sex as possible as that’s healthy
That’s the difference

day 15 underway. almost halfway through the month already

So far so good

We're all going to make it.

A handful of guys have made it out of the cult, that's true. Still a few brainwashed, but hopefully they escape soon.

1. Agreed, you make a valid point here that really shows the weakness in the belief system of no fappers. Fapping is bad because you lose nutrients, but Intercourse is good because you lose nutrients there too. HUH? Oh, but you don't engage in intercourse as much as you can fap, so instead, just keep it all bottled in. Very stupid.

2. There's really no good reason for this at all, just no porn is fine. The problem is inherent in the circumstances and individual's personality as they may be people easily prone to addictions and putting their responsibilities off for just one more hit. The same can be applied to drug addicts or alcoholics. What these people do not realize is that they are the cause of the addiction, they give in to it, they decide they're going to engage in drug/alcohol use or in beating their meat instead of meeting their goals. Again, it's a symptom and not a cause, you do not tackle the symptom hoping to eliminate the cause, it's the other way around. For example, if you continue to drive down a road with nails on it and find yourself with flat tires all the time, you do NOT continue to patch up the tire to try to solve the problem. You remove the nails from the road and continue on your merry way.

3. This has to do with the brainwashed and delusional aspect of no fapping, it's all bull shyt to begin with but again, no fappers will tell you that you can be a chronic fapper, but you can't develop a chronic addiction to intercourse, which is a complete lie. There are sex addicts all over the world and those addictions tend to be couple with drug use, or alcohol use, or all of the above. Again, if you are not engaging in regular intercourse, then the no fapper will tell you to keep it all bottled in, that's not smart at all and is actually counter productive. Positive effects are entirely placebo, except for the most stalwart of addicts who find some improvement in the treatment of a symptom, only to end up at square one again because they are not remedying the cause. The problem can also be an amalgam of things, but most of the time, addictions develop because of faults in an individual taking responsibility over a problem and resolving it.

Bottom line is if you've got regular intercourse, great, get to it. If not, you'll need to do your own plumbing, just don't become addicted to it. If an individual becomes addicted to it, then that failure is on them. This also applies to intercourse, there are addicts there as well. It's the same story every time, I feel more energy, I don't feel foggy, I can study better, I'm more social, blah blah blah, then what ends up happening when they can't find any action? They become jittery, on edge, stressed out, etc...why? Because these cultists keep telling them not to fap and they go into tunnel vision and find themselves unable to manage their own bodies and their own lives: Well, I can't find any one to engage in intercourse with, but those guys online said don't fap and stay strong, so I'll just stay on edge forever.

It's bull shyt, all of it.

Day 3 and i am already starting to forget my dink is there because i haven't used it in a while

not sure if i should continue

you should not continue

No fap is legit, however, if you actually go gym and work hard, its almost impossible.

Today was day 30, feels good not watching porn and generally giving less fuks. Feel better than when I was fapping every night. Still have a lot of work to do for other parts of my life.

This is what gets me. A hard workout and it's all that's on my mind.

No fap is fine and all but the real gains out of this movement is no porn, don't continue to support the degenerate industry.

I legit used to only work out at home because if I did sitting calf raises or push ups to failure I would chub up LOL

To address the previous argument sex and fapping are completely different things. When you are having sex with a woman it creates a different feeling because it is a different thing. When you have sex you are engaging in the sacred act of creating a new human life. When you rape yourself with your hand you are doing something completely different and it feels completely different. If you can't agree with this you are soulless.

Right?! After a heavy squat session I feel like my test is doubled and I get horny AF.

I'm bored of hookers.

I saw a good Ross Edgley video. See here,

Lol reel it in a bit chief

Had a dream Emily Ratajkowski was suntanning naked next to me and I felt her up. Was nice. My balls are kinda aching all day though.

I can't fault my subconscious for its taste ^^

day 22 no PMO. Sex drive is back, which makes it harder (literally).

Really wanted to stroke it this morning. I won the battle (and the war?) though.

Hnng at Emily
What does pmo mean?
Staying strong but won’t last much longer

day 16 im on edge and im snapping at everyone. I was cxckedblocked and made fun of at work for being a shy guy who couldnt get a shy girls number before her last day. The chit is fustrating the hell out of me because they were cxckblxcking me the whole time because im FA.

I thought i had made steps away from being a beta incel but i feel like im still at square one right now.

When i was fapping this chit wouldnt worry me id complacently go home get my cheap pleasure, and feel a little sad afterwards but now that i cant do that. Im fckn angry at myself for wasting all these years not getting good with women. fk man..

The most infuriating part is that this girl was even more shy and awkward than me and yet she was still accepted and SHE thought I was creepy or whatever. im fckn boiling.

A lot of that is just in your head
Next time just ask for the number
Or don’t and just be confident that what the others have to say isn’t important
Who cares if they judge you, treat them accordingly

Halfway point boyos. Still waiting for some big time revelation. So far, not too many benefits and a lot of emotional load. House will be free for next 2 weeks, trying to line some Tinder slots up to take my mind off things (won't work)

PMO = porn, masturbation, or orgasm