A lot of nofappers(people who do nofap) wonder whether fantasizing on nofap is considered a relapse or not. In this article, we’re gonna discuss exactly that.
NO, Fantasizing is NOT considered a relapse on nofap. Horny thoughts are quite common on nofap, especially during the initial days of nofap. The best way to stop fantasizing is to keep yourself busy.
Is Fantasizing Considered a Relapse?
As I’ve already answered, Fantasizing is NOT considered a relapse on nofap. Relapse is only when you watch porn or jerk off.
During the initial days of nofap, you’re gonna get a lot of horny thoughts and you’ll find yourself fantasizing a lot, especially during your free time. You might also get pornographic flashbacks.
If you’re like most men, you’ve probably been watching porn and jerking off since you were 11-12 years old, and habits are hard to form and hard to break. When you try to quit porn and masturbation, you’re gonna get urges and you’ll get horny thoughts. Maybe you’ll start fantasizing about your crush or a pornstar or a porn scene. All these things are common during the initial days of your nofap lifestyle.
Why Do We Fantasize on NoFap?
You might be wondering why you fantasize more when you’re on nofap. It’s because of your brain chemicals.
When you watch porn or jerk off, your brain releases a feel-good chemical known as dopamine. That’s why those activities feel so pleasurable. When you get on nofap and quit watching porn and jerking off, your brain gets starved of dopamine.
So, you start getting horny thoughts. It’s your brain’s way of saying that it needs dopamine. It’s important for you to replace porn and masturbation with other dopamine-releasing activities, so your brain can get its dose of dopamine.
If you just quit porn and masturbation and not replace it with something else, then you’re gonna have a hard time. Activities such as exercising, practicing your hobby, socializing, playing video games, eating tasty foods all release dopamine.
You also get urges on nofap. Urges are nothing but built-up sexual energy. When you don’t indulge in PMO(Porn, masturbation, orgasm), you preserve your sexual energy and it builds up inside your body. It’s important for you to transmute that sexual energy into something positive.
To know about the effective ways to control urges on nofap, check out my detailed article on the topic by clicking here.
Fantasizing During the Initial Days
Fantasizing during the initial days is pretty common and almost everyone fantasizes during the initial days of nofap.
You’re gonna get sexual and horny thoughts during the initial days of nofap. The best thing you can do is not entertain those thoughts, but it’s not easy. If you find yourself fantasizing, start thinking about something else. Sexual thoughts will keep coming to your mind and you need to keep ignoring those thoughts. It’s a constant battle, but it’s only temporary.
During the first 30 days of your nofap, you’re gonna get sexual thoughts and you’ll find yourself fantasizing more. With time, those sexual thoughts will decrease and you’ll feel like you’re more in control of your thoughts.
You need to accept the fact that fantasizing is common and not see it as a setback or a defeat.
Should You Be Worried About Fantasizing?
NO, you shouldn’t be worried about fantasizing. Accept the fact that fantasizing is common during the initial days of nofap. Don’t stress yourself over it.
As long as you don’t watch porn or don’t masturbate, you’re fine. Some people beat themselves up for even getting a tiny sexual thought. You don’t need to be so hard on yourself. It’s in our genes to spread our seeds, so you’ll get sexual thoughts and you’ll find yourself fantasizing here and there.
If you don’t actively and purposely make time to fantasize and you don’t put off your work just so you can fantasize and feel good, then you’re good to go.
When Does Fantasizing Becomes a Problem?
If you’ve been on nofap for a while now(more than 3 months) and you purposely think about sexual stuff and fantasize, then it’s a problem.
During the initial days, sexual thoughts will come to your mind naturally and that’s okay. But when you’ve been on nofap for a while and the frequency of sexual thoughts decreases, but you actively fantasize just to feel good, then it becomes a problem.
You shouldn’t purposely fantasize to get a hit of dopamine and feel good. In that case, fantasizing can also lead you to relapse. When you notice that you’ve been relapsing due to fantasizing, then you should stop fantasizing.
Don’t think that just because you’re not allowed to watch porn or masturbate, you can fantasize as much as you like. During the initial days, it’s okay, but after a while, you’ve got to stop it.
If you actively make time to fantasize or put off your work to fantasize and feel good, then it becomes a problem and you need to stop doing it.
Also, if you look at provocative pictures or watch videos to fantasize, then you’re doing it wrong. Unfollow all the actresses, models, and half-naked girls on social media. If you go to social media to look at pictures of half-naked women and videos of girls twerking, then you should immediately stop doing it.
Nowadays, a lot of content on social media is soft-porn. Be very careful what type of content you consume on social media.
What Can You Do to Stop Fantasizing?
The best way to stop fantasizing is to keep yourself busy. When you’re busy, sexual thoughts are less likely to come to your mind. You must have noticed that you fantasize only when you’re free and have nothing to do. The key is to never be free and always keeping yourself busy.
You can go out and socialize, practice your hobbies, build a new hobby, learn a new skill, read books to keep yourself busy. Whatever you do, just don’t sit idle and do nothing, especially during the initial days of your nofap lifestyle.
One more thing that I’d recommend is exercising. You must exercise daily on nofap. When you exercise daily, you’ll notice that you’re getting fewer urges, and when you get fewer urges, you’ll fantasize less.
Meditation and deep breathing are also excellent ways to stop or minimize the frequency of fantasizing. Make a habit of meditating and doing deep breathing daily.
Conclusion
Fantasizing is NOT considered a relapse on nofap. It’s pretty common and normal to fantasize on nofap, especially during the initial days.
You shouldn’t worry about fantasizing and shouldn’t stress yourself over it. As long as you’re not putting off your work just so you can fantasize and feel good, you’re good to go.
Fantasizing becomes a problem when you actively and purposely fantasize even after being on nofap for a while. When you start putting off your work and actively make time to fantasize, then it becomes a problem.
Here are some of the things you can do to stop or at least minimize the frequency of fantasizing:-
- Keep yourself busy
- Exercise daily
- Meditate daily
- Do deep breathing daily
- Socialize more
