7 Reasons Why You Are Not Feeling The Benefits Of NoFap / Quitting Porn

So you're doing NoFap, but you don't really understand why so many people are reporting all these wonderful benefits, while you yourself hardly feel any of them?

And now you are wondering…

…”Why am I not feeling the benefits of NoFap”?

Well, let's jump in and take a look at 7 possible reasons for this.

#1 You are using some form of drugs (recreational or prescribed)

If you're frequently hammering your dopamine system by drinking a lot of alcohol or smoking weed, then don't expect NoFap to be giving you the strongest of benefits. Obviously the same goes for other, heavy drugs as well.

The reason for this is simple…

The drugs may be downregulating your dopamine system to such a degree that it can override any upregulation NoFap could otherwise bring about.

In order for you to understand the concept of upregulation and downregulation, please take a look at the video below…

 If you found the video informative, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel here.

So, now that you understand that artificially raising your dopamine can sometimes be a problem, then the next logical question then becomes…

Can prescription drugs hold you back as well?

Well, in some cases, yes.

But before I continue with this I absolutely need to put a disclaimer here…

Disclaimer: you do NOT want to mess around with your medications just to try to get more benefits out of NoFap. At best, it may perhaps not make that much of a difference on the quality of your life as a whole and, at worst, it could be outright dangerous. If you want to change something, always ask your doctor first. I assume no liability for anything you do as a consequence of having consumed my content. 

Now that we've got the always important disclaimer out of the way I want to tell you a bit about my personal experience with anxiety medications and NoFap.

Anxiety medications and NoFap benefits…

I've suffered from pretty heavy anxiety my whole life.

During the years I was deepest down in my porn addiction it was much worse, but even today, after having overcome my addiction, I still suffer from it.

Over the years I have, from time to time, been using benzos to help me get through these tough periods.

Now, what I've personally noticed from this is that, during the periods I use benzos, I do not get the strongest benefits of NoFap.

14 days clean makes a difference…

If I had to put a number on it I would say that I would have to be completely off any kind of anxiety drug that affects GABA (these are benzos) for at least 14 days before I start being able to experience and build up the strongest NoFap benefits.

And mind you, this is even though I never used a lot of them. For example, I've never taken benzos on for more than perhaps 3 consecutive days at most.

But, for me,  sporadic use has still affected the power of the NoFap benefits.

By the way, the same seems to hold true with alcohol. For me, I need at least 14 days off of that too. Both alcohol and benzos play on GABA receptors, and both increase dopamine as well.

If I'd had to put a number on it, I would say that I have to be completely free from both alcohol and benzos for at least 14 days before I'm able to start building up the strongest NoFap benefits.

Others experiencing the same?

Since my goal with my online content is to be helpful,  open and honest, I also have to point out that this is something I've seen with my one on one coaching cli as well. Not exactly the 14 days timeline, that's just my personal timeline, but the anxiety meds and NoFap benefits stuff in general.

Many of them have noticed the same thing. Some prescription drugs, even if used as prescribed, seem to blunt the dopamine system a bit. Preventing us from being able to experience the absolute sharpest of senses.

Warning!

Now, again, I have to remind you to NOT start messing around with anything that your doctor has prescribed to you on your own.

However, when it comes to anxiety, I would like to give the advice that a general good long term goal to have is of course to be able to use as little prescription medications as possible. Preferable none of them. And if possible, find alternative, natural solutions.

For example, I have personally found the over the counter anxiety product, ProVanax to be of great help at times.

Reason #2 You're not doing any form of physical exercise…

Some guys notice benefits from NoFap without seemingly having to adhere to any other positive habits in their lives.

But not all of us are that lucky.

I know…life isn't fair, right?

However, those guys are still in the minority because the fact is, even though cutting out porn and going on a NoFap journey is good for your dopamine system, we still need positive activities to trigger the receptors and get the dopamine system buzzing, in a healthy way.

Physical exercise is amazing for this…

Physical exercise is amazing for making your dopamine system start humming.

And it should come as no surprise to anyone reading this article that it's amazing for the rest of your body as well. So if you are someone who is frequently asking “Why am I not feeling the benefits of NoFap / quitting porn?” 

…and you're not doing any form of physical exercise, oh man, what are you waiting for? Get yourself out there!

If you're not feeling any NoFap benefits, what are you waiting fore? Get yourself a pair of sneakers and hit the trail, right now!

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

Reason #3  You're spending too much time on video games

Let's face it. Today's video games are also very stimulating for your brains reward system since they are artificially raising your dopamine, repeatedly, on and on for long periods of times.

Now, in moderation I don't believe they are bad for you. In fact, they can teach you problem solving as well as be a good source of recreation. But it's definitely possible to be overdoing it.

Here too I have seen, with several of my one on one clients, how reducing the amount of time they spend on videos games has started to, not only help them relapse less often, but also to start seeing stronger NoFap benefits. And not just because the length of their streaks, but stronger benefits even on similar length of streaks as they had back when they played a lot more.

Just how much is too much?

Quite frankly, we do not know.

However, if I personally was into video games, I would set a max limit of 2 hours a day. At least when it comes to social media and phone use, that amount seems to be a good max to set for yourself, according to the brain expert and neuroscientist professor Andrew Huberman.

This overuse of social media, video games, Netflix etc. is something I mention in the article NoFap – Change Your Lifestyle! So if you need tips on how to structure your life, you can take a look at that one.

Are you not feeling the NoFap benefits? Try cutting down on the amount of time you spend playing video games.

Reason #4 Maybe your porn use didn't affect you…

Maybe your porn use was so modest that it didn't affect your brain that much. And then when you went on a NoFap journey, you don't really notice that much of a difference.

In other words, maybe you are already running on all cylinders and doing well in terms of your dopamine health.

Now, I know I may be upsetting some of the most dogmatic NoFappers by saying that, but it is a possibility.  And, to upset you even further, not everyone will experience a big energy increase from semen retention alone.

Once again, just in case you didn't realize it, the cessation of porn use is actually the biggest reason why most guys feel strong NoFap benefits.

How much porn is too much?

Don't even go there, because the truth is that it's going to be different for everyone.

Some people are just lucky enough that they can get away with drinking alcohol recreationally, from time to time, without developing an addiction. The same is true with porn.

But the fact is, zero amounts of alcohol is still going to be the most healthy amount. And the same is probably true with porn as well.

As a former addict myself I have to say that even 1 minute of porn a week would bee too much for me. Because that would reactivate the sensitized pathways in my brain, making me start craving more, and before I know it I would be back into being a heavy user again…within weeks.

Reason #5 You're depressed…

This is also something I see from time to time with my online clients.

It is possible to build long NoFap streaks, but still be depressed. The reasons for this is complex and that's because there are so many contributing factors behind depression.

I mean, you all probably know that there is not just one single cause behind all the depressions, for everyone who suffers from it, in the whole wide world.

And if you're depressed, then you're obviously not going to be seeing and celebrating the strongest NoFap benefits either. This is particularly something I see with clients who reach out to me with lingering PIED (porn induced erectile dysfunction) or libido issues, after having successfully done a  PMO reboot.

Since this is a complex issues, I obviously can't just write a couple of short tips on how to fix it here, but if you suspect you might be suffering from depression, start by seeing a professional to get an assessment and then take it from there.

Reason #6 You're eating too much junk food

Yes, this can be an issue!

Studies on both humans and animals show how overeating junk can really mess with your dopamine receptors.

In fact, today's processed food is often created with dopamine in mind. A specific fat to suger ratio, in combination with spices, is used to create a so called “bliss point” to give you the highest possible amount of dopamin possible (in terms of eating).

If you go for natural, whole foods, this won't be an issue at all. Just as long as you don't overeat to dangerous amounts.

Now, I'm not saying you can't have a treat every once in a while if you want to feel the NoFap benefits, because you certainly can, but I am saying that if you know that your eating habit is an area that could be improved upon, and you don't feel great, it's definitely something for you to consider.

Reason #7 You're using porn substitutes

If you given up porn, but you're still using so called “porn substitutes”, then you could be holding yourself back.

Porn substitutes are things that mimic your old porn behavior (clicking, searching, following, chasing) while they at the same time arouse you.

This can be especially problematic if there's a lot of clicking, following and chasing involved (just the way you navigated on porn sites)

For example…

• Scrolling Instagram hotties…(click click click)
• Fitness babes, same thing (click click click)
• Swiping on tinder for hours at end, and instead of looking for a potential date, you only do it to draw lust from the pictures (swipe swipe swipe)

…and so on.

If you're unsure about this, just ask yourself, am I sexually arousing myself in an artificial way? If the answer is yes, it's a porn substitute and it will hold you back. Especially if you're trying to overcome a porn addiction or porn induced sexual problems, such as PIED.

What to do now…

One on One coaching or a short FREE guide…

If you need help with this, here are a few options for you…

• You can check out my coaching page right here.
• You can also download my free quitting porn guide right here.

Online course + community + YouTube

If you would want a whole community of like minded people and a big, high quality online course to guide you through your porn quitting journey, then I recommend that you check out the online course Dopamine Discipline right here.

If you just want to watch YouTube videos touching these kinds of subjects, you can check out my YT channel right here.

So, those are some good options for you.

Thanks for reading and good luck to you!

-Scandinavian Bob-