No PMO For A Week

If you have a history of watching a lot of porn, and you have decided to quit, there is one thing that might just hit you like a ton of bricks…

…quitting can be extremely difficult!

This is true for anyone who has spent a lot of time pleasuring themselves in front of their computer, but it is especially true for those who have developed addiction related brain changes.

Yes, it IS possible to develop a real addiction to online pornography.

So, let's take a look at what you can expect during your first week of No PMO.

(By the way, if you happened to stumble on this post and you're not familiar with the term “PMO” it stands for Porn –Masturbation – Orgasm).

The first Month of No PMO is the hardest

We will zoom in and take a loot at the first week of No PMO through the lens of a porn addict, because honestly, most guys who are searching for “No PMO” on google have developed at least some degree of addiction related brain changes.

If you are unsure of whether you are addicted or not, you can take the PMO addiction test right here and after that, come back to this article!

Assuming you are addicted, the first month on No PMO will be the absolute hardest part for you. After that it should start to get a bit easier, but if you're just starting out, brace yourself for some rough weeks ahead…

…particularly the first week of No PMO.

Day 1 Without PMO

Day 1 is usually not that bad, because  for most guys, the withdrawal symptoms have not yet hit. (See the post No PMO withdrawals and what to do about them.)

This is true whether you are starting your very first attempts at quitting porn or if you have tried No PMO before and you are just now crawling up from a bad binge relapse.

Discover a >>good online course<< for quitting porn right now…

Common feelings:

Some guys feel pretty good here because, as so often when starting out on a journey, we have a picture in our mind of what things could look like once we arrive. This fills us with hope and thus positive feelings also follow.

If you, on the other hand, have tried many times before, and you just relapsed, then obviously day 1 can be a day of huge disappointment for you because you let yourself down. But in terms of neurobiology, day 1 is almost never the “worst” day.

Day 2 With No PMO

If you have been a daily fapper then you can expect to start feeling a bit worse, already on your second day away from porn.

What happens on a biological level here is that your dopamine levels, which are already low to begin with, are starting to drop even further. The reason why they are already low to begin with is because all addictions cause a poor functioning dopamine system…

…and that is indeed also the case with porn addiction.

Common feelings:

There are a lot of negative feelings that can start to arise, but the two most common one right around here are irritability and cravings.

If you never were a “once a day fapper”, then you probably haven't run into any particularly strong cravings yet.

Day 3 Without PMO

The dopamine levels continue to drop and day 3 can be a really bad one. During my own relapses, a few years back, I used to suffer A LOT on my “day 3's”. (You can read my personal PMO story here).

Common feelings:

• Irritability
• Cravings
• Low mood

Day 4 With No PMO

And so…the drop in dopamine continues 🙁

…but it get's worse because now the stress center in your brain also starts to become more active.

This is a bad combination. At least a bad combination for anyone who want's to feel great 🙁

Common feelings…

Common feelings are, cravings, irritability, low mood and now also anxiety and insomnia.

Day 5 Without PMO

For some guys, day 5 is actually the worst day of all during the whole PMO reboot.

The brain interprets the absence of the drug (in this case – fapping to porn) as something dangerous. You see, when you become addicted to something it hijacks the part of the brain that thinks it is vital for survival. This is why your brain ramps up the alarm signals, often leading to intense feelings of stress – anxiety – insomnia etc.

Common feelings…

Your dopamine levels continues to drop and now we can add brain fog and  low motivation to the list along with the previously mentioned feelings.

Note that it is of course different for different people, but those symptoms are indeed very common.

Day 5 can be a really bad place to be. Luckily you will only have to experience day 5 once…

…unless you keep relapsing, of course.

Day 6 With No PMO

Dopamine continues to drop while testosterone is starting to increase.

Your testosterone levels will spike on day 7 after last ejaculation. They won't stay elevated, though, as they start to come back down on day 8.

Common feelings…

Due to the onset of the testosterone raise,  many guys experience even stronger urges to watch porn right around here, all while those other, nasty withdrawal symptoms, continue to mess with you.

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Day 7 Without PMO

Now your Testosterone levels are at their highest point. Some guys see as high as a 50% testosterone increase. Which naturally can mean severe cravings. (See the article NoFap and muscle growth).

Common feelings…

As I said, many guys experience intense urges here, but not everyone. Some guys don't even notice the testosterone increase.

Why?

The reason for that is simple, the nasty withdrawal symptoms are so strong right now,  that they simply override any feelings of what your testosterone might be doing.

If this is you, try experimenting with different ejaculations frequencies AFTER your PMO reboot is done, and after your addiction related brain changes are healed, and you will for sure notice the transient testosterone increase.

Again, the testosterone levels have dropped back down on day 8-9.

First week of No PMO is  done – Now What?

Congratulations! You made it past the first 7 days.

You should be real proud of yourself because the first two weeks are the hardest.

For some guys, myself included, the seconds week was the hardest, but for many guys the first 7 days are the toughest ones, so again, give yourself a big pat on the back.

You are not done yet, though…

However, if you want to do a proper reboot, then don't think you are done after your first week of No PMO.

Far from it.

In fact, most guys can never go back to porn, not even in moderation, because that will just once more make them descend into the PMO addiction hell hole.

You need to keep going, and in order to reverse the negative brain changes you have to pursue patience and arm yourself with knowledge and smart strategies.

This is because rebooting is not easy and 99% of guys will relapse…

…several times.

By educating yourself about how this works i.e. reading everything you can find about rebooting, and by coming up with smart ways to structure your days, you will avoid relapses and get the best results.

Even so, it won't be easy.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want you to know the truth.

When you enter the second week…

After the first week, for most guys the withdrawals continues for quite some time…

…they can continue for a few more weeks, and for some, even for several months.

However, the more aggressive urges often get less “sharp” and a deeper feeling of “void” and emptiness often takes thier place.

Discover more about this in the article ==> No PMO one month advice.

In that article you can also read about what is most likely going to happen next.

Thank you for reading.

P.S. If you want to do a proper reboot you can download my FREE 90 Day No PMO Advice Tool guide here. 

You might also be interested in checking out my YouTube channel, as I talk A LOT about living a PMO free lifestyle over there as well as creating other interesting self-improvement videos.

Need my personal help? here is my contact page.

Discover a >>good online course<< for quitting porn right now…