The downside of semen retention no ones talks about.

[Space]

The first 1-2 weeks of retaining semen retention (and not watching porn) makes you feel really quite incredible.  The benefits are extremely obvious. This is no placebo from watching NoFap youtube videos. Motivation and drive is increased significantly, procrastination is barely a problem. Depression none existent, and anxiety is drastically reduced. I had the confidence to speak up in work meetings when before hand I would be too anxious to do so. Energy levels are up, almost to uncomfortable levels - I was jittery and restless at times. Sex drive sky-rocketed. Basically any young female was instantly attractive and I was thinking about sex certainly more than usual. Aside from a few small negatives, the first two weeks of semen retention are awesome.

Then the flatline hits you. No one talks about this in the 'benefits from nofap' videos. Only after you're deep into the flatline and you start researching online do you find that it's an actual thing that most, if not all, guys have to go through. Within a few days (after the initial 2 weeks) I quickly descended off the initial high. Literally nothing is interesting to me anymore. No pleasure in anything, even nice food. No motivation to exercise whatsoever. I'm usually able to get to sleep within 10-15 minutes each night, but now its 45+ minutes sometimes. My labido is literally GONE. I have no sex drive whatsoever. Porn is bland and neutral and of no interest. Based on what i've read online, this can last for months at a time, and some reporting it lasts even longer?! Apparently you're supposed to wait it out until things equalise and return back to a normal level. 

Is this a clear sign that maybe men are built to be releasing semen on a regular basis? Or is it just a detoxing process of years of excessive dopamine addiction? 

I'm interested to know if any other guys here have experienced this, and how long were you in the flatline for? 

[ginger28]

I did 21-14-18-74 days of nofap in this order and I never got flatlined. I was always horny   at least I dont remember having more than a few days of low motivation. 

[Recursoinominado]

Flatline is a widely reported phenomenon.

Part of the healing process, it will get better eventually.

IMO it makes the process easier if you don't freak out about it.

Being horny all the time trying to not Fap is pretty hard, one moment of weakness and your momentum is gone.

[Kalki Avatar]

@Space The max ive gone no fap is 3 months. That thing they call flatline is actually just stabilizing your sexuality and calming it down into normality. Ive gone to the point I dont even want to touch my dick, lmao. But, Its not that you are loosing sex drive. In that mode you are alot more able to have success socializing with girls with out a horny neediness. You will get turned on and wet very fast if a girl starts flirting and fore playing with you because at that moment you dont remember how sexual pleasure feels, thus your imagination gets activated wondering and making the process more enjoyable. 

If you dont fap, your mind and body will find the way to expulse that milk, so dont worry. Either through a wet dream or an astral bitch. 

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by Kalki Avatar

[Javfly33]

3 hours ago, Recursoinominado said:

Flatline is a widely reported phenomenon.

Part of the healing process, it will get better eventually.

IMO it makes the process easier if you don't freak out about it.

Being horny all the time trying to not Fap is pretty hard, one moment of weakness and your momentum is gone.

4 hours ago, ginger28 said:

I did 21-14-18-74 days of nofap in this order and I never got flatlined. I was always horny   at least I dont remember having more than a few days of low motivation. 

Same here.

@Recursoinominado This

[Leo Gura]

If you guys spent as much time self-inquiring as you do trying to suppress and battle your sexuality, you'd be awake by now

[Akemrelax]

11 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

If you guys spent as much time self-inquiring as you do trying to suppress and battle your sexuality, you'd be awake by now

It's not about suppressing your sexual energy but utilizing it for higher purposes.

Maybe if you spent as much time looking into transmuting your sexual energy into productive energy, you'd have fixed you energy problems by now 

[shahar uriel]

Bro just quit porn and ejaculate every 2-4 weeks. Its more balanced, and you will probably get all the benefits. 

And learn to enjoy masturbation/ sex without ejaculating

[Space]

9 hours ago, Recursoinominado said:

Flatline is a widely reported phenomenon.

Part of the healing process, it will get better eventually.

IMO it makes the process easier if you don't freak out about it.

Being horny all the time trying to not Fap is pretty hard, one moment of weakness and your momentum is gone.

Cool thanks for the response. Yes I have read that for many guys its a good things because it makes trying not to NoFap a lot easier. That's definitely true, but as I mentioned it comes with so many other negatives there's little motivation to want to stay on track. I'm gonna wait it out for a bit longer, and see how things progress.

7 hours ago, Kalki Avatar said:

@Space The max ive gone no fap is 3 months. That thing they call flatline is actually just stabilizing your sexuality and calming it down into normality. Ive gone to the point I dont even want to touch my dick, lmao. But, Its not that you are loosing sex drive. In that mode you are alot more able to have success socializing with girls with out a horny neediness. You will get turned on and wet very fast if a girl starts flirting and fore playing with you because at that moment you dont remember how sexual pleasure feels, thus your imagination gets activated wondering and making the process more enjoyable. 

If you dont fap, your mind and body will find the way to expulse that milk, so dont worry. Either through a wet dream or an astral bitch. 

 

Interesting way to look at it, i appreciate your response, thanks. 

Fingers crossed for that beautiful Astral girl then eh? I've actually ready stories of people having sex with entities in the astral realm so i'm not completely averse to that idea.

5 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

If you guys spent as much time self-inquiring as you do trying to suppress and battle your sexuality, you'd be awake by now

I know I know . It's an experiment of sorts, I wanted to seriously test it out and see if what people were saying was true. Turns out it is (was?) to a large extent. 

[Space]

10 minutes ago, shahar uriel said:

Bro just quit porn and ejaculate every 2-4 weeks. Its more balanced, and you will probably get all the benefits. 

And learn to enjoy masturbation/ sex without ejaculating

I will probably end up doing something like this. But for now i'm gonna go for as long as possible. I want to see when and if my labido comes back.

[Lyubov]

14 hours ago, Space said:

Is this a clear sign that maybe men are built to be releasing semen on a regular basis?

I mean huhhh... who woulda thought that such an incredible force of nature such as the sex drive is uhhh, unhealthy to resist and block? 

I've done the whole nofap thing and tried it out... barely noticed anything except after the first week I was incredibly horny and wanted to have sex real badly... never got any of these positives and never found masturbating to cause any negatives in my mood... if anything if I don't do it it makes me grumpy and incredibly horny to the point of being annoyed.

[FlowerNote]

@Leo Gura I don’t think you appreciate how bad porn & masturbation addiction can be. To the point where you literally dont have interest in sex anymore. You are horny af but only for porn. This feels super backwards and not human. I would look at a girls ass and be aroused but know that I would not be able to get hard with her in bed.

I had it so bad where my mind was literally making the physical world seem virtual, because sex is the most important thing in our physical experience, and my mind was linking sex with virtuality. This went away when I stopped porn.

Knowing you are physically incapable of sex drains your lust for life heavily.

I know its quite a hefty example but its a slippery slope. Porn is literally like drugs, as in it simulates the rewards we should get from survival activity but then a 100 times more. We are not evolved for this at all. 

[Space]

58 minutes ago, Lyubov said:

I mean huhhh... who woulda thought that such an incredible force of nature such as the sex drive is uhhh, unhealthy to resist and block? 

I've done the whole nofap thing and tried it out... barely noticed anything except after the first week I was incredibly horny and wanted to have sex real badly... never got any of these positives and never found masturbating to cause any negatives in my mood... if anything if I don't do it it makes me grumpy and incredibly horny to the point of being annoyed.

A fair comment. 

No I never really found masturbating to cause any negatives in my mood either. Some guys say they're completely spent after they orgasm, but thats never really been an issue for me.

The main reasoning for me trying this extended retention was to see if it had any effect on my anxiety - and it did, quite significantly. The other benefits were great as well. Just wasn't expecting the flatline.

[Space]

41 minutes ago, FlowerNote said:

@Leo Gura I don’t think you appreciate how bad porn & masturbation addiction can be. To the point where you literally dont have interest in sex anymore. You are horny af but only for porn. This feels super backwards and not human. I would look at a girls ass and be aroused but know that I would not be able to get hard with her in bed.

I had it so bad where my mind was literally making the physical world seem virtual, because sex is the most important thing in our physical experience, and my mind was linking sex with virtuality. This went away when I stopped porn.

Knowing you are physically incapable of sex drains your lust for life heavily.

I know its quite a hefty example but its a slippery slope. Porn is literally like drugs, as in it simulates the rewards we should get from survival activity but then a 100 times more. We are not evolved for this at all. 

Leo is aware of this, he ain't stupid. You can be fully aware of the toxicity and dangers of extreme porn and masturbation addiction, whilst still allowing yourself to masturbate and watch porn at a healthy level. Same with drinking or anything really. Leo has always advocated having a healthy attitude towards porn and masturbation - meaning just don't go overboard with it. I generally agree with him. 

[FlowerNote]

@Space true, but I think it is underappreciated how hard it is for people to 'not go overboard with it'. Watching porn 1 time every week probably is not bad for you, but for me that 1 time would inevitably turn into a spree, that's why I abstain from it. I truly think porn by itself is dangerous for a lot of people.

[Leo Gura]

2 hours ago, FlowerNote said:

You are horny af but only for porn.

Speak for yourself.

Porn is just the appetizer

I've never once felt bad from jerking off.

[Display_Name]

You create your own reality.

[Someone here]

I only jerk off in the dark.. Because what if I accidentally saw my dick?..mess with me that gay shit dude lol 

Edited July 30, 2020 by Someone here

[Arthur]

21 hours ago, Space said:

Is this a clear sign that maybe men are built to be releasing semen on a regular basis? Or is it just a detoxing process of years of excessive dopamine addiction? 

I think it's the latter. Its an ego backlash because you're restraining yourself too much.  When I tried nofap, the benefits just continued to compound throughout the month. Even after the 30days, they persisted.

Either take a break from nofap and try again later, or distract yourself from the fact that you are doing it all together. It works great if you have a project or a goal to achieve. You can channel the energy and get a lot accomplished. Also when you're busy, the mind won't come up with all that negative crap. If you don't have a work project, physical exercises every day do the trick.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Arthur

[Space]

56 minutes ago, Arthur said:

I think it's the latter. Its an ego backlash because you're restraining yourself too much.  When I tried nofap, the benefits just continued to compound throughout the month. Even after the 30days, they persisted.

Either take a break from nofap and try again later, or distract yourself from the fact that you are doing it all together. It works great if you have a project or a goal to achieve. You can channel the energy and get a lot accomplished. Also when your busy, the mind won't come up with all that negative crap. If you don't have a work project, physical exercises every day do the trick.

I appreciate your perspective but i'm not sure this is the case for me. I wouldn't say i'm restraining myself too much. Retaining my semen hasn't been difficult for me at all, so there isn't really any restrain. I just decided one day to try it and then 4 weeks later here I am.

I'm also a very busy guy, I work full time and spend the rest of my hours working on my projects and towards a large vision. I wish I had more time to sit and think about stuff.

Either way, thanks for your feedback, i'll keep it in mind.