No PMO Effects

So what are the effects of no PMO?

Or to put it in another way, what happens when you stop PMO'ing?

What does PMO mean?

As most of you probably already know, PMO stands for Porn, Masturbation, Orgasm and the reason why many guys want to give it up is because fapping to all that high stimulating online porn comes with a lot of negative side effects. This is especially true if you have developed addiction related brain changes…

…and A LOT of people have!

Yes indeed. Many people are addicted to porn these day. We are talking about millions of people from all around the world, with all sorts of backgrounds.

So, if you were to say no to PMO, what would happen then…

…what are the “No PMO Effects?”

No PMO Effects
#1 Short Term Bliss

Well, the word “bliss” is probably an overstatement, but the fact is that the first day free from porn is often pretty good. The reason for this is that the no PMO withdrawals, that almost everyone who has developed addiction related brain changes will have to power through, has not yet set in…

…and, whenever we set out to reach some goals or to do something new in life, we get a temporary, very short term dopamine spike as we picture ourselves the, soon to come, fabulous life.

There is nothing wrong with fantasizing about a better life, in fact it is a good thing, but just be prepared for some rough days up ahead.

So now some of you may be wondering, what do you mean “rough days?” isn't my life supposed to get better if I permanently stop fapping to porn?…

…yes, it is, however, it will get worse before it gets better and this is because of the withdrawals and the so called “flatline”.

Let's move on to the next point, and you'll see what you most likely will have to face the coming days…

Effects of No PMO
#2 Withdrawals & Flatline

Most people who have been masturbating to today's high speed internet porn have developed some degree of addiction related brain changes.

If you want to study those further, here they are…

• Desensitization
• Hypofrontality
• Sensitization
• Overactive stress center

There are more, but those are the common ones.

Addiction related brain changes means a number of things. One is, for example, that when we suddenly cut out our drug of choice (in this case online porn) the already active stress center in the brain becomes even more active, along with a host of other neurobiological changes that start to take place…

…this happens in form of no PMO withdrawals.

The withdrawals often start after just a few days…

Most guys get some form of withdrawals as soon as in the very first week.

Don't let this intimidate you though as it's all a part of the recovery process. However, be prepared to feel some, or several, of the following withdrawal symptoms…

• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Low or no motivation at all
• Insomnia

There are more, but those are the most common ones and the most “acute” symptoms.

When the withdrawals deepen they shift into the dredded “flatline”…

The flatline is basically a period of time when you feel a complete loss of libido, often accompanied by having a very low drive in general and feelings of depression.

Even though at least part of the flatline is caused by withdrawals, the flatline is still quite unique for quitting porn. Meaning, the complete drop in libido is not something that people typical experience when quitting for example alcohol or other addictions.

The high irritability and high stress levels often turn into more of a depressed state when the flatline hits. People are affected differently by the flatline, but the absolute most common symptoms are…

• A complete loss of sex drive (often to the point that not even porn is interesting)
• A temporary shrinkage of the penis (yes, this really happens for many guys, probably due to less blood flow to the penis caused by the complete lack of  arousal signals from the brain)
• Low mood, often to the point of depression
• A general drop in motivation for doing anything at all
• A feeling of “void” or emptiness.

If you are scared of the flatline and you would like to discover more, take a look at the article “NoFap how to know if you're in a flatline”

When does the flatline start and how long will it last?

Again, it's different for everyone, but it is very common that guys sink into the flatline somewhere in the second or third week of a PMO reboot. Depending on how addicted you are, and in what age you started fapping to porn plus a host of other factors, the flatline can last anywhere from 3-30 weeks with the most common range being about 4-8 weeks.

Get my FREE 90 day No PMO guide>by clicking here<

No PMO Effects
#3 The VOID!

If the beginning of the withdrawal period is mostly known for high irritability, stress and insomnia that after a a few days turn into a flatline, the later part of the flatline is a period of time I use to call “the void”.

This is often a period when it's easy to lose the fighting spirit because we feel so incredible empty and thoughts like “what's the point” are very likely to crop up. Many guys relapse because of this as they simply just “give in” and choose to PMO.

After you have read this article I recommend you go take a look at my post 21 helpful tips for a 90 day pmo reboot, to get some more tips on how to deal with the flatline and those negative thoughts.

REMEMBER: Even though the flatline and the void can be very unpleasant, they are a clear sign that you are healing and that your brain has temporarily taken a much needed rest…

…pursue patience and keep going.

This too shall pass, and once it does…

…THE FUN PART BEGINS:

Benefits of No PMO
#4 Massive Increase in Energy Levels

As soon as the flatline is over, and sometimes even before it's over, guys start experiencing positive benefits. In fact, it is not an overstatement to say that some guys even experience so strong no PMO effects, that it's nothing short of amazing.

You can typically start to experience these benefits after about 4-8 weeks of no PMO, but keep in mind that it's different for everyone. Some people get the benefits sooner while others, unfortunately, have to wait several months.

INCREASED ENERGY

This is one of the most common benefits guys are reporting. When you stop desensitizing the brains reward system with unnaturally high dopamine levels (that today's online porn causes) your dopamine receptors will start to grow denser.

Those receptors are what dopamine itself binds to and if you have more receptors you are more sensitive to dopamine…

…this is a good thing because that means that NOW normal, everyday activities, like working on your online project, reading, writing, exercising, will give you more dopamine compared to when you were fapping your brains out to online adult entertainment (or shall we say, you will FEEL more effects of those smaller dopamine activities). Dopamine is the motivational and “go get it” neurotransmitter and thus you now how more energy and drive for normal stuff…

If I had to name my personal favorite no PMO benefits, I think I would choose the increased energy and increased motivation for everyday activities. Sure, I have noticed a lot of other benefits as well, but those two are perhaps the biggest for ones for me. This makes me much more effective and more likely to achieve the goals I set for me…

…obviously, since increased energy and drive is the core engine behind getting stuff done.

Here are a couple of quotes from others who have experienced the increase in energy levels…

Guy number 1

“About 7 weeks into my no PMO journey I started experiencing a massive increase in my energy levels. It was like I suddenly was running on some rocket fuel or something. I no longer have any problems getting out of bed in the morning and I need less sleep. That's right, I sleep 1-2 hours less now, but I feel well rested and during the day I accomplish 3X more than I used to be able to do when I was addicted to PMO. Quitting PMO is the best thing I have ever done in my life. The hardest thing for sure, but also the best thing!”

Guy number 2

“After I decided to put an end to my PMO addiction I experienced a huge lift in my energy levels. I'd say it took me about 30 days to start noticing it but from then on it got more intense for every week that rolled around. Today, at day 93, I feel 10 years younger and my energy levels are through the roof… and as a 47 year old man that is really saying something!”

Benefits of Giving Up PMO
#5 Less Social Anxiety

Another very common benefit guys experience when they stop fapping to porn is a big reduction in their social anxiety, or anxiety in general. In fact, it is a very common benefit and for many guys the anxiety levels even drop down to zero…

…that's right, from highly anxious to no more anxiety problems. Now I need to point out though, that not everyone will experience a complete anxiety relief. Again, it's different for everyone.

So how does this work?

I have already made a detailed post about exactly HOW this works in the post Nofap and social anxiety, so if you want to dig into the science, go read that blog post or…

…you can also watch this video I have made to get a better understanding on what's behind it:

If you found the video interesting, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.
You can do so by clicking here. 

The decrease in anxiety on your no PMO journey can happen rather quickly, but some people will have to wait at least until the first stage of withdrawals are gone. It highly depends on how deep the addiction related brain changes in different individuals are.

Here are a couple of quotes…

Guy number 1:

“I got fast results on no pmo. In my third week my anxiety levels were down to half of what I'm used to. Two more weeks and I was almost anxiety free. This is very cool since I have been struggling with my anxiety for many years”

Guy number 2:

“After two months of nofap my social anxiety is gone…completely. I had heard of this benefit before I started, but since I know everyone is different, I was still not expecting it. I'm very glad I did this though and I will never go back to PMO”

One common problem that starts to crop up after years of porn use is less interest for real life people. This is because the very high dopamine levels during your porn sessions rewires the brains sexual response to pixels on a screen instead of real life girls.

Note that this is not an on / off thing. It's more of a scale and it happens gradually. In other words, some people can lose just a little interest while other can lose ALL interest, and then there are also people somewhere in the middle.

These are some common symptoms that your sexual center has been altered…

• You objectively still find hot girls attractive, but it's like you lack that strong physical response in your body
• Delayed ejaculation with real life people or even inability to orgasm
• Loss of interest in chasing girls, or if you have a partner, loss of interest to be intimate
• Difficulty falling in love, or for some, it's even impossible to feel feelings of love
• Erectile dysfunction

The good news is that once you stop blasting your brain with porn those brain changes will reverse. This is perhaps the number one reason people start rebooting, to heal their sexuality.

You can >>Download<< my Quit Porn Guide for FREE right now!

Once you get out of the flatline you will find that the more time you spend outside of your house, around real life girls, the stronger your attraction for them becomes. Sometimes to the point of; all it takes to give your butterflies in the stomach is a warm smile from a normal looking girl…

…this is an awesome feeling.

In other words, you no longer need a supermodel with fake boobs that pretends she likes all kinds of weird kinky stuff in the bedroom, to get your juices flowing. No, normal girls will be able to turn you on and that is of course the way nature ment it to be.

But do women find guys on NoFap more attractive?

What's even more interesting is that for some mysterious reason, it seems to work the other way around as well. Thousands and thousands of guys are reporting how, since they started No PMO, girls have become much more interested in them…

…and all those stories are just too numerous to ignore.

Good habits…

Now, of course there are many things going on here, like for example, NoFap being a so called “keystone habit”, meaning it's a habit that more often than not leads to a bunch of other good habits. So if we suddenly start adding a bunch of good habits into our lives, then of course that is something that is noticeable from the outside as well and hence girls start showing more interest in us…

…but there could be more going on. Like perhaps upregulated androgen receptors and maybe…just maybe semen retention itself makes women more attracted to men.

Semen retention and attraction…

You see mother nature only cares about two things. It want's us to…

1. Survive
2. Carry our DNA to the next generation

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Since biology has made both sexes hyper responsive for, what our reptilian brain sees as a good mating partner, by making us feel attraction after exposed to subtle, and not so subtle cues, it would not be surprising if women somehow unconsciously would respond to a man walking around with a fully loaded “pecker”…

…it could make sense biologically, however, this is just me speculating and to my knowledge it is not something that is yet proven by science.

I dive deeper into this topic in the article Does NoFap make you more attractive?. In that article I also speculate about some other reasons that could indeed be a factor in this, mysterious, yet interesting phenomenon.

Here are a couple of quotes from guys on NoFap…

Guy number 1

“In the midst of my porn addiction I no longer wanted to have sex with my GF. I just wasn't attracted by her and I could barely perform. 4 months later, and free from PMO, I am now shocked by how numb I was back then. Now I almost feel like I did when we first met, 13 years ago, and I find her incredible attractive again. Sometimes all she needs to do is to let her hand touch my leg and I get a raging boner. Happy days!”

Guy number 2

“Last year the only thing that would make me even just a bit interested in a girl was if she liked porn and was into weird and sick stuff…and at the end of my addiction when things got REALLY bad not even that was enough for me. I thought I was losing interest in girls because of low testosterone but my blood test came back normal. After spending some time with Google I found Gary Wilsons site “Your brain on porn” and then it hit me…what caused my problem was most likely all the PMO I had been doing. Thinking back I can clearly see how I escalated into weirder and sicker stuff in order to get the same buzz. Well after 6 months with not one minute of porn I now feel like a 18 year old boy again and I find “normal” girls very interesting again.”

No PMO Effects #7 More Confidence

Another very common no PMO effect is increased confidence…

…and this one is easy to explain.

Since porn causes a disrupted dopamine system it also causes lower confidence, particularly in younger men. In fact studies have shown that people with higher status, like for example the alpha male of a group, has more dopamine receptors than the other males.

So an increase in dopamine d2 receptor density may indeed increase social confidence and confidence in general.

Here are two quotes from some other guys doing no PMO.

Guy number 1:

” I struggle with relapses and I have yet to make it to 90 days, but so far whenever I get about 30 days in I start to experience a massive increase in my confidence. It's like I couldn't care less what people think of me…it's an awesome feeling. Feel kind of alpha to be honest”

Guy number 2:

“My confidence is sky high! I finally made it to 90 days and this is awesome. It wasn't easy and I had at least 10 failed attempts before finally reaching the big 90. The benefits I gained: better skin, less anxiety, more energy, stronger in the gym and last but not least a huge increase in my confidence.”

Benefits Of Stopping PMO #8 Harder Erections

Not only harder, but for many guys, longer lasting as well.

This goes right back to the desensitized and rewired sexual center in the brain. When fapping to porn is out of the picture our whole sexuality becomes much healthier…

…and so do our erections.

Now, unfortunately, out of all the benefits listed on this page, this one tends to take the longest time to achieve. Some lucky guys will recover their erectile health in a matter of 2-3 months, but others, can take up to 6 months or even longer to get that “steel pipe” action going. I have even seen a few unlucky guys take over a year, but they are in the minority.

No matter how long it takes though, just be patient and keep going. Things WILL improve. You don't need to take a pause from having sex though. Sex during a PMO reboot is fine and you can rewire to real life girls even if your erections are at say 60-90% of their full potential….

…just stay away from porn and things will improve, slowly but surely. And if you feel that you would like some extra help for your erections while you are rebooting then there is this natural product I used myself, during my own reboot, that can be really helpful. For more info about that you can read this VigRX review I made a while back.

When it comes to rebooting and getting harder erections, here too I have a lot of personal experiences. If you happen to be interested in my personal story, I share it in this video right here…

If interested, you can check out my YouTube channel right here.

There are now millions of men from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds that has recovered their sexual health and their ability to perform in the bedroom with strong healthy erections, by doing a good PMO reboot…

…I should know, not only do I read everything I can get my hands on, but I am one of those men myself.

No PMO Benefits #9 Better Sleep

Another very positive no PMO effect is a deeper and more restful sleep.

This is almost certainly due to the hyperactive stress center that starts to calm down after powering through the first withdrawals. This is something that I have confirmed, using technology, by measuring the seesaw cooperation between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous system (HRV measuring)…

…and sure enough, once the stress center calms down, the sleep becomes much deeper and as a result you will perhaps even feel that you need a couple of hours less sleep per night…

…imagine that!

Quitting porn could potentially give you two hours more of awake time in a day. Add that up and see how many days it adds up to in one year. If you go even further and count the number of hours you spent fapping it gets even more impressive.

You are literally fapping away your years…

Why not try it right now, lets say you spent 5 hour a week watching porn. Well, that is 260 hours in a year. Then we add the 2 hours you gain with the need for less sleep on top of that and now your up to a total of 990 hours in a year. That is 41 days of “extra time” in just one year. Now imagine you keep watching porn for 10 more years…

…well, in 10 years you would waste 410 days!

410 days is MORE than a whole year. More than a whole year gone because of watching porn. If you think i's worth it, well, go right ahead, to each their own, but personally I won't waste another minute squeezing all my “man juice” into some toilet paper in front of my laptop. I have had enough of that!

Discover a FREE >>high quality webinar<< for quitting porn right NOW!

Quitting PMO #10 Better Skin

This benefit is not the most common one, but many guys still report that their skin got a lot better when they started doing NoFap.

I have personally not noticed this one, but the other benefits have been so strong that I'm ok with not getting a clear “glowing” face.

The reason why many guys are experiencing this, though, is probably due to the more stable hormone levels that follows after they quit ejaculating all the time.

You see, after each orgasm the testosterone levels drop a bit (temporarily) while the hormone prolactin rises. This constant fluctuation in hormones can cause pimples and other unpleasant things in our skin, which is also of course why teenagers often have more pimples than adults, they have bigger fluctuations in their hormone levels.

Benefits Of Quitting
Porn #11 Improved Self-Esteem

Another common effect of quitting PMO is increased self-esteem.

There are probably many reasons behind why this happens, but not wasting your energy into a parer tissue kind of makes you feel stronger in your masculinity. It is like you have this comfortable, secure feeling inside of you on which you whole self-esteem stands firmly upon…

…you know that strong feeling that allows you to look at woman with a steady eye, without feeling like a creep…

…and guess what?

The women like it!

Other interesting articles…

• PMO stories – age 24 – glowing face
• No PMO for a week – this is what's happens
• NoFap – How do I know I'm cured?

Conclusion And Final Words

There you have it. 11 things that you are highly likely to experience once you give up you PMO habit.

Now, if you have not tried rebooting yet, you need to know that, in all honesty, it is not easy and you will probably relapse a few times before you get the hang of it…

…but don't give up. It is so worth it and if you keep going you will soon reap the benefits.

Thanks for reading!

-Scandinavian Bob-

P.S. Are you struggling? Click here to go to my contact page to discover what kind of help I’m currently offering.