Back at it again.

Submitted by jake83 on Tue, 2010-08-31 22:06
Community topics: 
No M.O.P.

Had about of month of back to normal masturbation and porn and orgasm, and my brain is drained again. i havent been reading the forums and kinda gave up. right now its 1am, last time i mop'ed was 9/1/2010 12:55AM. I want to start up again (hopefully) today. I'm gonna start blogging again daily or at least every other day. I feel so empty, and like something is missing everyday of my life even if everything else seems to be going fine.
Ok my attempt is as follows:
14 Days no masturbation, orgasm or porn.

Comments

Submitted by jake83 on Tue, 2010-08-31 22:45.

Ok, Here are the ideas I will be implementing in the next 14 days.
1) I will be implementing cold showers.
2) I like to play my favorite video game for long hours.
3) I like to work out 2-3 hours instead of 1.
4) 20 minutes of internet use a day instead of 2 hours.
5) Jacuzzi for an hour a day. (very relaxing).
6) Read a book for an hour a day.
7) Plan to hang out with a couple friends for a couple hours out of the week.
smiley lowered thoughts (as much as possible?) of past girlfriends, or porn images.

Marnia's picture

Submitted by Marnia on Wed, 2010-09-01 09:10.

except that video games can be almost as hard on the nervous system as porn. Novelty, anticipation, dopamine build-up. So go easy on those. smiley

Good luck. And it's great that you spotted that "empty" feeling for what it is...deplete receptors or other neurochemical changes.

Submitted by jake83 on Wed, 2010-09-01 10:37.

so are you telling me you can get high off video games?

Marnia's picture

Submitted by Marnia on Wed, 2010-09-01 11:15.

can create a sort of buzz of anticipation that says, "something good is just around the corner...I need to keep doing this," but it doesn't contribute to feelings of contentment. When scientists stuck electrodes in people's heads and stimulated the "reward" nerve cells that dopamine does, the people reported the pleasure of anticipation and even sexual arousal...but also increasing underlying anxiety...not satisfaction. That is, they kept buzzing themselves, but it wasn't fulfilling.

"High" is a vague word. When you get high, your system is generally also releasing endorphins and other changes that offer a brief sense of bliss. While accomplishment (winning) *can* trigger some of those feelings in a video game, the striving, or longing, to win can create restless feelings.

So hours of video games can make you more dissatisfied. In contrast, time with others is actually soothing to anxiety because of the neurochemicals that connection tends to trigger. So is exercise, time in nature, touch, etc.

When people look at porn without orgasm they feel less satisfied, not more - even though they very much like that rising -dopamine sensation of "something good is around the corner". That feeling is there to drive us to climax (fertilization)...and a sudden drop in dopamine, that is, a feeling of welcome relief from tension.

If you just create the tension (as happens with viewing porn without climax, or playing video games for hours), you're decreasing your sense of satisfaction...and not even releasing the tension. (Eventually, this tends to lead to climax...ask anyone who makes this experiment. Dopamine is pushy. smiley )

So video games can become compelling, because they promise the fleeting satisfaction of "winning," and also because they allow you to slip into a welcome state of oblivion from other discomfort/anxiety/stress for a time. But they don't "cure" it, and they may do less to ease it than things that soothe and balance brain chemistry.

Experiment for yourself. That's what really matters.