Should you wait until you’re in a relationship to quit porn?
Many single people say that quitting porn feels impossible for them.
After all, how are you supposed to quit porn if you don’t have any non-solo sexual outlet? Are you just supposed to hold in your sexual desire for months or even years? If you quit porn now, are your genitals just going to explode?
How are you supposed to deal with loneliness without the soothing escape that porn temporarily brings? At least porn takes the edge off of loneliness, right?
How are you supposed to quit porn if you don’t have any “end date” in mind for when you can have sex? Whether you are looking to have hookups, date, be in a relationship, or wait until a long-term partnership or marriage, how will you deal with the uncertainty of when you can find partnered sex again?
How are you supposed to quit porn when your romantic needs aren’t being fulfilled – and nobody has given you a hug in months to years? When your life is devoid of romantic intimacy, hand-holding?
These are common themes in the messages that we see from recovering porn addicts and non-addicts who are single who want to quit porn but are putting it off until they are in a relationship.
What the “Chaser Effect” is – and how to beat it.
The Chaser Effect refers to a commonly-reported spike in libido or porn cravings after an orgasm. The phenomenon has yet to be scientifically studied (as of December 2021) – but many people recovering from porn addiction, problematic porn use, and compulsive sexual behavior talk about experiencing it.
While the “Chaser Effect” is a term adopted by the porn addiction recovery community, the general idea isn’t unique to porn addiction. NoFap® community members and recovering porn addicts complaining about the Chaser Effect isn’t exactly surprising. Think about any other compulsive behavior. If somebody trying to distance themself from problematic gambling slips up and goes to a casino, they’ll often be at a higher risk of gambling again after the slip-up. If somebody is trying to recover from alcoholism and ends up drinking, they’ll probably have stronger cravings to drink again after the initial slip-up. The same thing appears to happen with people who slip up recovering from porn addiction.
What is edging and does it “count”?
Edging has two main definitions within the NoFap and the greater recovery communities. Edging has traditionally referred to masturbating to the point of near-orgasming but not “crossing the line” to the point of climax. In other words, “riding the edge” between peak pleasure and orgasm. Doing this several times in a masturbation or partnered sex session is thought to make the eventual orgasm more pleasurable. Over the years, however, the word has been used by many people pursuing recovery from porn addiction and sexual compulsivity to refer to any instance of orgasm-free masturbation.
The “NoFap Flatline” – what it is and how to deal with it.
The “NoFap Flatline“ is a commonly-reported phenomenon that many of NoFap’s community members who are going through a reboot experience. Don’t worry; even though it might sound scary, the “NoFap flatline” won’t kill you. In this quick guide, we will discuss what the flatline is and how you can deal with it.
What “counts” as porn?
In porn addiction recovery communities, people will often ask questions about whether or not something that they accidentally viewed, intentionally viewed, or masturbated to should be “counted” as using porn.
Often, these questions are accompanied by worries about whether the incident “counted” as a slip-up or relapse, and whether they lost progress towards their sexual health goals. On the following page, we will answer your questions about what “counts” as looking at porn for somebody who is a NoFap member or anyone who is recovering from porn addiction or problematic porn use.