It’s no doubt that nofap is hard. If you’ve been addicted to PMO(Porn, masturbation, orgasm) for several years, then nofap will be one of the hardest things that’ll you’ll ever do. In this article, we’re going to discuss why nofap is hard and what can you do to make it easier.
NoFap is hard because you’re trying to quit a compulsive and pleasurable behavior. Habits are hard to form and hard to break. If you’re like most men, you’ve probably been watching porn and jerking off since you were 11-12 years old. Something that you’ve been doing from such a young age and for so long is definitely going to be difficult to quit, but nofap does get easier with time.
Don’t let the fact that nofap is hard deter you from doing it. All good things in life are difficult to come by.
I’ve been practicing the nofap lifestyle for the past 4 years and I can tell you by my experience that all the hardship you endure doing nofap is worth it. Nofap is difficult in the beginning but the good news is that it gets easier with time.
Why Nofap is Hard
Let’s now discuss the reasons behind nofap being difficult to do. There are mainly 3 reasons why nofap is hard.
1. Habits Are Hard to Break
As I’ve already mentioned that habits are hard to form and hard to break.
Most men start watching porn and jerking off from the age of 11-12. It’s only after several years they realize that indulging in PMO(Porn, masturbation, orgasm) is taking a toll on their life and they decide to quit it.
It’s definitely going to be difficult to quit something that you’ve been doing from such a young age and for so long. It’ll probably take several months or years before you get a grip over this behavior/habit. You’ll also relapse a lot of times, but the key is to get back on track every time your relapse.
When I started doing nofap back in 2017, I could only manage 2-3 days at a time, and then relapse. But, I kept trying and got back on track after every relapse, and slowly my streaks got longer and I started controlling urges better.
The urges will be unbearable at the starting, but you become better at controlling urges with time. Activities such as exercising, meditation, and cold shower help a lot in controlling urges. These 3 things will make your nofap journey a lot easier.
You must realize that you’re trying to break a habit which you’ve been doing for years and it’s not an easy thing to do. Don’t expect nofap to be easy and don’t do it half-heartedly. Expect nofap to be difficult and give it all you’ve got.
NoFap is supposed to difficult in the beginning, not just for you, but for everyone.
I asked people whether they found nofap difficult or not in the beginning on my nofap Instagram page(@the_fapstronaut). Let’s look at what they say.
90% of people said that they found nofap difficult in the beginning, while 10% said they didn’t.
2. Preservation of Sexual Energy
The second reason nofap is hard because you’re trying to preserve your sexual energy and it is one of the strongest forms of energy out there.
When you don’t indulge in PMO(Porn, masturbation, orgasm), you’re preserving your sexual energy. Urges are nothing but built-up sexual energy. You must transmute your sexual energy into something positive, otherwise, the urges will become too much to handle.
Exercising is the best way to transmute your sexual energy to achieve a good physique. Not only that, your performance in the gym will improve and you’ll gain muscle faster on nofap. To know about how nofap helps in increasing muscle mass, check out my detailed article on the topic by clicking here.
One thing that I’ve realized in my 4 years of nofap journey is that you can’t make nofap your lifestyle without including exercise in your daily routine. You may complete the 30-day nofap challenge but you can’t make it your lifestyle. You must exercise regularly if you wish to make nofap your lifestyle.
If you don’t exercise, the urges will eventually become too much to handle, and you’ll relapse. You’ve got to take out that sexual energy and the gym is the best place to do that.
3. Not Replacing PMO With Something Else
The third reason why nofap is hard for some people is because they don’t replace PMO(Porn, masturbation, orgasm) with something else.
If you just quit watching porn and masturbating and not replace it with something else, it’s going to seem difficult and you’re more likely to fail.
Whenever you indulge in PMO(Porn, masturbation, orgasm), your brain releases a chemical known as dopamine. Dopamine is a feel-good chemical that gives you the sensation of pleasure. That’s why porn and masturbation feel so good.
When you quit watching porn and jerking off, your brain gets starved of dopamine, and that’s why you feel sadness during the first few days of your nofap streak. Your brain constantly tells you to indulge in porn and masturbation so that it can get its dose of dopamine.
You must replace PMO with other dopamine-releasing activities. Activities such as exercising, socializing, traveling, eating tasty foods, listening to music, all release dopamine. You must find something other than PMO to give you pleasure and keep you busy.
What Can You Do to Make NoFap Easier?
Now that you know the reasons behind nofap being difficult, it’s time to discuss what can you do to make it easier.
1. Exercise Regularly
The first way to make nofap easier is to exercise regularly. As I’ve already said, you can’t make nofap your lifestyle without including exercise in your daily routine.
Exercise helps a lot in controlling urges too. You’ll realize that you’re getting a lot fewer urges when you start exercising regularly.
Go to the gym, go for a run outside, play an outdoor sport, whatever you do, you must be physically active on nofap. I’ve realized that lifting weights in the gym is the best way to transmute that sexual energy to achieve something positive.
Make a habit of exercising at least 4 times a week. If you can include both cardio and lifting in your training sessions, it’s even better.
2. Meditate Daily
The second way to make nofap easier is to meditate daily. Meditation will help a lot in controlling urges too.
When you meditate daily, you’ll realize that you’re getting a lot fewer urges and are able to control urges better. You’ll also be calmer and more relaxed than before.
Make a habit of meditating daily, even if it’s for 5 minutes. Exercising and meditation will make your nofap journey a lot easier.
You’ll also be able to resist temptations and choose your thoughts if you start meditating daily. Our society is hyper-sexualized these days and being able to resist temptations is a necessary skill if you wish to continue with the nofap lifestyle.
You’re going to come across many tempting and provoking pictures on social media and on billboard advertising. If you get easily triggered by provoking and seductive pictures/videos, then it’s going to be difficult to continue on the path of nofap. You must be able to not get triggered by tempting and enticing pictures, and meditation is the best way to do that.
When you meditate daily, you’ll realize that you’re not getting tempted by appealing/enticing posters or videos, or pictures.
3. Replace PMO With Something Else
The third way to make nofap easier is to replace it with something else.
As I’ve mentioned before, you’ve got to replace PMO with some other pleasurable activities. Make a habit of hanging out with your friends regularly and mingle with new people.
Socializing is also a pleasurable activity and when you start socializing more, you won’t feel the need to indulge in PMO for pleasure.
Make a habit of going out with your friends at least once a week and make new friends too. The more you socialize, the lesser you feel the need to indulge in PMO.
People also indulge in PMO to fill the void of loneliness. The lonelier you feel, the more likely you are to indulge in PMO to fill the void of loneliness and the more you indulge in PMO, the lonelier you’ll feel. It’s a never-ending cycle. Porn and masturbation can never fill the void of loneliness and can never satisfy you. The only way to break that cycle is to build a social circle and build stronger connections with people.
Work on your hobbies, build a new hobby, learn a new skill, etc. Whatever you do, just keep yourself busy. Urges mostly hit you when you’ve nothing to do and are sitting idle. Spend as little time as possible sitting idle.
NoFap Does Get Easier With Time
NoFap is definitely difficult, especially during the initial days. But the good news is that it gets easier with time.
As time passes, you get better at controlling urges and transmuting your sexual energy. Urges will never disappear, they’ll always be there, you just become good at controlling them.
If you’re at that starting phase of your nofap journey and you’re finding it difficult, just persist and remember that it gets easier with time. Don’t give it up just because it is difficult, all good things in life are difficult to come by.
If you want to know when can you expect nofap to get easier, check out my detailed article on the topic by clicking here.
I asked this question to people on my nofap Instagram page(@the_fapstronaut). Let’s look at what they say.
73% of people said that they feel nofap gets easier with time, while 27% don’t.
If you include exercise and meditation in your daily routine and replace PMO with something else, nofap will get a lot easier for you.
Summary
NoFap is hard mainly because of 3 reasons:-
- Habits are hard to break
- Preservation of sexual energy
- Not relpacing PMO with something else
Here are the 3 things that you can do to make nofap easier:-
- Exercise regularly
- Meditate daily
- Replace PMO with something else
NoFap is supposed to be difficult in the beginning, but if you exercise regularly, meditate daily, and replace PMO with something else, it’ll get easier with time.
