Refraining from fapping

Deleted User wrote: »

Not particularly no. And the link you provided is not a great one. Firstly it is an opinion piece, not a science journal. Secondly any assumptions based on the article make the correlation - causation error. Though the article itself WARNS about this when it says there is no reason currently to suggest that masturbation or porn were the cause of any differences in the brains of those people.

So the link you provided actually tells us nothing at all really. And I always recommend caution with articles like this one that say things like "A new study has found" without citing or naming the study.

As with everything though - and the article acknowledges this indirectly too - the issue we face in society is not things like alcohol, porn, drugs, computer games, soap operas, reality TV, gambling and so forth. But with addiction. And as I said numerous times in the thread - if someone is engaging with masturbation and/or porn to an unhealthy degree then THOSE people will genuinely see benefits from refraining.

It is more the idea that the average person - engaging with these things at an average level - are going to see any real world benefits that I find suspect and dubious. Especially when supported by testimonials and cult speak.



Again this _might_ be true of extreme cases - but I doubt it is for the average joe. And even then I highlight _might_ because I am unconvinced. It would be like telling me that a person constantly rewarding their hunger with quick-hit ready meals - will find no interest in a well cooked 4 course restaurant meal. Yet in reality it is rare to find indulging in cheap alternatives puts people off seeking or engaging or enjoying the real deal.



I wonder if this is worth discussing with a GP. Because recovery times for the average male between orgasms are generally not that long. Assuming some number of hours between when you indulge - and when you go through the complete mating dance of a night out on the town - before then ending up in a sexual situation - you should generally be well recovered by then. And in fact recovery times have been shown to be faster when a mate other than the one you orgasmed with previously are involved.

So it is quite possible there are other issues at play with you here - which might come to light with a GP visit or two - which you are choosing to blame porn or masturbation for - when in fact it might have nothing to do with it at all or - alternatively - porn and masturbation are merely exacerbating some other issue you already have.



I am seeing two things here worth questioning.

Firstly - where did you get the idea masturbation or orgasm reduces testosterone in the system? Perhaps have a read of Jiang M, et al -"A research on the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men" - J Zhejiang Univ Sci. (2003). While "A July 2010 "Psychology Today" article concedes that testosterone levels may rise during masturbation. However, the article suggests that ejaculation does not significantly affect testosterone levels: testosterone levels may rise slightly during sexual activity, which includes masturbation, and levels drop back down to normal levels afterward."

Secondly - by what means are you linking testosterone to confidence? It is a regulator of sexual desire / libido but that is not directly a relation to confidence.



Neither part of this description fits me or my posts however - if you had read them you would note. I have not "instantly dismissed" anything - nor have I been "unwilling to try".

But the two descriptions do heavily fit into the cult narrative people perpetuating the "challenge" fall too readily into even when it does not apply. So lets watch for that - and I am sure we are all keen to see if your next reply to me replies to my content - or dismisses the content and makes other such cult speak comments about me personally.



Perhaps it says something about YOU however that you need to view a person as a means to a sexual end - in order for you to find any motivation or "internal drive" to interact with them. As such I repeat my earlier suggestion that maybe the issue is with YOU and not with masturbation or porn.

I - for example - see people as an end in and of themselves. I engage with them - enjoy their company - wish to make them happy and laugh and enjoy my company - all for the simple reason that I engage with them as _PEOPLE_ and not merely as walking genitalia existing for my physical pleasure.



Except - as I have shown - the link supports no such claim _at all_.



Great - well here is a truthful conclusion for you. There is currently no evidence offered here that the average person will see any significant benefit from it at all - certainly not in the single link you have provided - and that any noticeable benefits from abstinence are likely only observed by people who were engaging with the practice to an unhealthy degree already.

As such the "validity" of the movement as a whole is somewhere between dubious and mis-leading.

mattP wrote: »

I don't think I could last a month at all! I didn't fap in the last few days and was basically walking around with a horn 80% of the time, so there was a lot of sitting down/reluctant standing and holding stuff in front of me....