How Long Does Porn Withdrawal Last?

One of the biggest myths about porn withdrawal is that it is supposed to last for 90 days.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Does Porn Withdrawal Have to Last For 90+ Days?

The idea around the 90-day limit on NoFap, is that you are supposed to challenge yourself for that period of time, in order to see how NoFap affects you.

If NoFap works for you, then why would you stop doing it?

If you return to fapping to porn after NoFap, you are going to have the same bad time as before starting NoFap. This is a 2 + 2 = 4 situation.

NoFap is not going to magically cleanse your soul for all eternity. You were brought to NoFap (perhaps you found it on Reddit) because you had some personal problems that you thought this community can help you fix. If you stop applying the fix to yourself, the symptoms are going to re-appear.

You have to understand that NoFap is something you do for life, and if you are just starting out, don’t worry – you’ll see the effects soon enough and won’t want to ever go back to porn.

Many guys even reported that porn is disgusting to them after the 90-day period.

NoFap:

Just tried watching porn to see if I could get turned on because I am in a flatline… found the video disturbing. Saw through the fakeness of it all… nothing is real about what the actors/actresses are doing. Stay strong everyone, this shit really works!! Been trying nofap on and off for 10 months now… starting to see results and it is easier to abstain each and everyday. If u are in a depressed flatline and can’t think at all, don’t give in and don’t freak out. It means u are going through withdrawal and it means nofap is working! U are literally changing your brain back to a point where it operates at its best ability. Hell even if this shit takes 10 years to fully recover from, I would go through it because life is long and a life untouched by porn is a good one. Porn changes the way you view yourself, the way u view other ppl, and the way u view the world in general. Trust me get this toxic shit out of ur brain! The sooner the better! Stay strong guys.

Why Does NoFap Last for 90 Days?

I think that it lasts for 90 days because you can feel a major part of the effects within that period, and that perhaps it is an optimal amount of time for the brain to finish some of its re-wiring processes.

It is also a simple and round number, which people like. Imagine if NoFap was advertised as a 3542-day challenge.

Anyway, don’t worry about the number. If you haven’t done 90 days yet, focus on that, and don’t think about how you’re supposed to abstain from porn for the rest of your life, as that could be demotivating.

Another thing that should be pointed out: given that NoFap is for life, that means that each and every one of you is going to relapse at some point. I wrote a thing about this process so that it can help you out.

This brings us to another important point – the link between NoFap and porn withdrawal, and how much time you are going to need for this process.

How Long Does Porn Withdrawal Last

As stated, porn withdrawal lasts on an individual basis, solely depending on your own brain chemistry and how long you’ve watched porn.

The longer you have been a fapper, the longer and more painful your porn withdrawal is going to be. Another important factor is the age when you first start to masturbate to pornography. In order of importance, here are the determining factors to porn withdrawal:

NoFap Porn Withdrawal Factors:

• How long you’ve been watching porn
• Age when you started watching porn
• Amount of weekly ejaculations
• Was porn used as a substitute for socialization

The higher or worse you score on these four factors, the worse your porn withdrawal is going to be. There are guys that needed 2+ years in order to regain full control of their bodies back, although for 99% of you reading this, you won’t be in that camp.

The best thing that can be suggested in this situation is to look forward towards developing healthy substitute hobbies so that you can keep busy, and grow as a person.

Once you clear your mind from pornography addiction, you won’t believe how many things you’ve missed out on. It is impossible to grow up as a person if you’ve been a porn addict. That’s because this kind of addiction is a substitute for pretty much everything in life – from dressing well and dating, to being ambitious at work.

The longer you’ve been addicted to porn, the more work you’ll need to grow up in these other areas of life.

Still, don’t get too far ahead yet – first you have to push through the NoFap 90-day challenge.

Porn Withdrawal Side-Effects

Here is an inconclusive list of some of the NoFap porn withdrawal symptoms you’ll likely feel:

• Emotional distress
• Low libido (NoFap flatline)
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Grumpiness
• Blue balls
• Repeating memories of past porn videos
• Loneliness and fear
• Insomnia

What Are Porn Flashbacks

I would like to add something about the repeating memories of past porn videos (this symptom is called “porn flashbacks”). This is such a crazy, insidious thing that can happen to anyone. Once you witness this for the first time, you’ll be amazed at how deeply porn has affected your mind. Try to use this realization as future motivation to keep on the right track of life.

The way you handle porn flashbacks is to try and stop thinking about them, and set your focus on something else. This is similar to a concept in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) where you can train to remove negative thoughts from your consciousness.

The way NLP practitioners remove negative thoughts is to change their attention on something else once a negative thought appears. You can do the same thing with porn flashbacks – don’t think about them any more amount of time than you need to.

NoFap Urges Questions and Answers

Should You Really NoFap for at Least 90 Days?

Yes, 90 days is the minimum amount of time you should do NoFap.

That doesn’t mean that your time on the NoFap challenge ends after 90-days. Those three months are there to get you to fully withdraw from porn and aid recovery from sexual satiety.

Although 90 days without masturbation or watching porn might sound like a lot to you, by this time next year, it’s going to be a joke. Most people that have tried to abstain from PMO have decided to do it for life.

Sure – you might relapse. Everyone does. But your focus is going to stay on doing NoFap forever.

Is 90-days Enough to Recover?

Yes, 90-days is enough to recover from the effects porn has on your brain. It’s going to tone down your desensitization and return you to having normal arousal levels.

Of course, doing your porn reboot for a longer period of time is going to bring further improvements, which is why it is recommended to not return to your old porn-watching habits after those 90 days end.

How do You Know if You Are Addicted to Porn?

You’ll know that you are addicted to porn if you have a craving to watch porn multiple times a day.

You’re addicted to porn if you have a need to masturbate on inappropriate occasions. If you fantasize about porn while at work, that means porn has overtaken your life and is hindering you in all aspects of your being.

It might a tough pill to swallow, but most guys in developed countries these days are suffering from a full-blown porn addiction.

If you are asking yourself whether you are addicted to porn or not, then most likely you are. Just arriving at this point in your life has a lot of meaning. Most people without addictions don’t ask themselves questions like that.

Is the NoFap Flatline Similar to NoFap Withdrawal?

No, the NoFap flatline is not the same thing as NoFap withdrawal.

The similarity is that the NoFap flatline is a symptom of NoFap withdrawal – meaning you may experience it at some point during your porn withdrawal.

This doesn’t mean that you have to feel the flatline – some guys do a full porn reboot without ever feeling the flatline or losing their libido. Other guys might start feeling the flatline during their porn withdrawal as soon as two weeks after beginning NoFap.

Can NoFap Withdrawal Cause Anxiety?

Yes, any addiction withdrawal can cause anxiety. PMO or watching pornography is no different of an addiction than alcoholism or taking drugs.

Just like drug addicts can feel anxiety and physical symptoms like shivering, so can people that stop watching pornography.

You can read more about social anxiety and related symptoms over here.

What is the Timeline on the NoFap Porn Withdrawal?

The timeline on the NoFap porn withdrawal can be roughly divided into six stages and lasts for at least 90-days.

Is NoFap Reboot the Same thing as NoFap Withdrawal?

The NoFap reboot term means that you are trying to quit watching pornography.

NoFap withdrawal are different symptoms you feel while you are doing a porn reboot.

All of these terms are intertwined, so don’t worry about confusing them.

What matters though is that you quit watching pornography, and to abstain from doing PMO and MO. Whether you get the terminology correctly is of little significance.

What are the Other Effects of Porn on the Brain?

Porn has a lot of different effects on your brain. In fact, pornography might be one of the worst diseases that can affect a person.

No matter whether you are young or old, if you are watching porn, or masturbating to it, you are harming yourself in a dangerous way.

Families have been ruined by this industry. Your feelings, emotions and rational logic are going to be destabilized if you watch porn videos. From desensitization to dopamine and serotonin overloads, porn does affect you.

Even testosterone levels and social dominance can fall after masturbating to pornography. A study has shown a 145.7% increase in free testosterone levels in guys that stop watching pornography.

While some studies are not yet verified by science, we have seen evidence in the people around us.

For example, most guys that watch a lot of porn are submissive when it comes to social situations.

It is difficult to imagine a strong male figure that is also a frequent porn watcher and masturbator.

If you want to become more socially dominant, have a better relationship, be more attractive to women and think rationally, then you have to quit porn.

Is Porn Addiction the Same as Sex Addiction?

No, porn addiction and sex addiction are not the same thing.

Porn addiction can be classified as a sex addiction, but not all sex addictions are porn addictions.

Sex addictions can include things like craving a lot of unsafe sex with real-life partners, which is something that porn addicts do not do. Not that they wouldn’t want to, but porn addiction can have such a disastrous effect on your wellbeing that you might not even be able to maintain an erection.

What is the Best Way to do a Porn Rehab?

The best way to do a porn rehab is the hard way.

Doing NoFap in hard mode is going to be better than doing regular NoFap.

Doing semen retention while also doing NoFap is another great addition to your porn rehab stack.

Other important things are:

• Don’t edge
• Don’t relapse
• Don’t watch softcore pornography or erotic social media images
• Play fewer video games
• Don’t mindlessly browse the internet
• Engage in hobbies and become an interesting person

What are the Symptoms of Sex Withdrawal?

The symptoms of sex withdrawal are the following:

• Craving for sex or masturbation
• Headaches
• “Blue balls” or testicular pain
• Anxiety, including social anxiety
• Boredom

What is PMO Withdrawal?

PMO withdrawal means withdrawing from watching pornography and masturbating.

You see, PMO means porn, masturbation, and orgasm. Some people think that a porn reboot only includes not watching porn. The actual reality of a proper porn reboot is that you don’t watch anything erotic and that you also don’t masturbate.

The only type of orgasm you should engage in is the one with another person.

Can You Get Addicted to Porn?

Yes, getting addicted to porn is one of the easiest things that can happen to otherwise healthy people.

In comparison to other addictions, porn is more socially acceptable. Since everyone does it, most people don’t feel bad or strange for watching porn.

Plus, most porn is free, and with today’s high-speed internet, quite easily delivered.

And given that more and more people are introverted or spend more time at home, porn is one of the only worthwhile activities they can do while they are living a secluded lifestyle.

Removing porn from your life can be quite a large step.

What is the Best way to Quit Porn?

As described above, the best way to quit porn is to quit cold turkey.

There are no “quick peeks,” or “watching without touching yourself.” Either you quit this disease completely, or you are going to keep falling into the same trap.

If you manage to quit pornography for just a month, you’ll see a side to you that you never knew existed.

You’ll never want to return to your past porn viewing habits after that.