The NoFap Thread: Get In Here!

[Wagner83]

Courtesy of haidut :

Here are some things on GABA and sexual behavior:

GABA inhibits sexual behaviour in female rats. - PubMed - NCBI

GABAergic drugs and socio-sexual behavior. - PubMed - NCBI

Inhibition of sexual reflexes by lumbosacral injection of a GABAB agonist in the male rat. - PubMed - NCBI

Pharmacological analysis of male rat sexual behavior. - PubMed - NCBI


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I don't know if this one has any value :

Direct link between GABA activation and dopamine suppression

Using sophisticated electrophysiology and cell chemistry measures, the study team could monitor the activity of the GABA and dopamine neurons. They found a direct link between GABA activation and dopamine suppression. "So basically, it appears that these GABA neurons located in the VTA are just microns away from dopamine and are negative regulators of dopamine function," Stuber proposes. "When they become active, their basic job is to suppress dopamine release. A dysfunction in these GABA neurons might potentially underlie different aspects of neuropsychiatric illness, such as depression. Thus, we could think of them as a new physiological target for various aspects of neuropsychiatric diseases."​

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[Wagner83]

Perhaps chronic fappers are in desperate need for GABA, while as haidut suggested supplementing progesterone, andro etc.. Could lead to libido (and other) problems because of the vast increase in GABA activity.
@Travis you may find the links above interesting given your unpleasant experience with (supposedly ) boosting GABA.

 

[biffbelvin]

Does anyone else masturbate, just without porn?

I went through a bad break up a while back and it sort of flipped my opinion of porn. I felt like I was degrading myself by watching it. I switched over to my own brain, with the caveat that if i was going to masturbate I had to spend at least 30 minutes doing it (to avoid developing PE).

Putting that minimum time limit on it has actually worked out great.

• I don't masturbate as often because there's more to it than just 'knocking one out'
• It's several times better
• My refractory period is much lower and sometimes non-existent, which i assume means i'm releasing less prolactin (no idea why this is happening though).
• No feelings of lethargy afterward (though i'm sure if i did it several times in one day this would creep in).
• I have improvements in libido/energy/confidence that nofap proponents talk about. This tapers off, the longer I abstain.

I've never tried nofap so i can't attest to it's benefits, but I would definitely recommend no-porn and non-daily masturbation to anyone (on the internet of course, I could not have this conversation with someone in person).

 

[Lejeboca]

I don't know if this one has any value :

Direct link between GABA activation and dopamine suppression

Using sophisticated electrophysiology and cell chemistry measures, the study team could monitor the activity of the GABA and dopamine neurons. They found a direct link between GABA activation and dopamine suppression. "So basically, it appears that these GABA neurons located in the VTA are just microns away from dopamine and are negative regulators of dopamine function," Stuber proposes. "When they become active, their basic job is to suppress dopamine release. A dysfunction in these GABA neurons might potentially underlie different aspects of neuropsychiatric illness, such as depression. Thus, we could think of them as a new physiological target for various aspects of neuropsychiatric diseases."

Thanks for the pointing out @Wagner83 . To refine this summary from Medical News , I've digged out a link to the full-text article in the Neuron.
It seems that GABA neuron activation inhibits only certain dopamine neuron actions, those that have lower frequency of firing and no-bursts. The high-frequency bursts manifest in response to the reward cues while the lower frequency in the reward consumption activity.

https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00177-8

Abstract:
"The activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons promotes behavioral responses to rewards and environmental stimuli that predict them. VTA GABA inputs synapse directly onto DA neurons and may regulate DA neuronal activity to alter reward-related behaviors; however, the functional consequences of selective activation of VTA GABA neurons remains unknown. Here, we show that in vivo optogenetic activation of VTA GABA neurons disrupts reward consummatory behavior but not conditioned anticipatory behavior in response to reward-predictive cues. In addition, direct activation of VTA GABA projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) resulted in detectable GABA release but did not alter reward consumption. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of VTA GABA neurons directly suppressed the activity and excitability of neighboring DA neurons as well as the release of DA in the NAc, suggesting that the dynamic interplay between VTA DA and GABA neurons can control the initiation and termination of reward-related behaviors."

"Pharmacological blockade of GABAA receptors can also induce burst firing of DA neurons (Paladini et al., 1999, Paladini and Tepper, 1999), although this is likely because spontaneous excitatory activity onto DA neurons becomes dominant (i.e., disrupted excitatory/inhibitory balance). Importantly, single nonburst action potentials recorded from DA neurons are more efficiently blocked by GABA activation compared to spikes that occur in bursts (Lobb et al., 2010). Thus, it is possible that VTA GABA neuronal activity and other neurotransmitters in the VTA may not efficiently suppress the activity of VTA DA neurons at times when they are receiving excitatory afferent activation that drives bursting. Supporting this, the current study found that VTA GABA activation is less efficacious at suppressing NAc DA release in vivo when VTA DA neurons are excited at higher stimulation frequencies (Figure 5). Importantly, it was recently demonstrated that VTA GABA neurons show enhanced activity during a cue that predicts a reward (Cohen et al., 2012). This might explain why VTA GABA activation during the cue period in the current study did not alter licking behavior; these neurons might already be endogenously activated and, thus, are less susceptible to further depolarization at this time. Overall, these reasons could explain why optogenetic stimulation of VTA GABA neurons did not affect behavioral responding to reward predictive cues in the current study but could disrupt behavioral responding at a time when DA and GABA neurons would be predicted to be firing at basal levels."

 

[smith]

Has anyone tried anything besides no-fap, avoiding looking at porn or non-ejaculation masturbation? Experiments? Like stimulating your region while avoiding feeling pleasure? This, for example, stimulates a bunch of nerves or something in my feet. Slight touching without contracting the muscles responsible for activating pleasure receptors(??) makes me aware of other muscles in my body with a tingling sensation, it's a really weird sensation but I feel like this is an area that needs to be explored! Excuse the pun.

Another example, is even in the act of initiating masturbation my mind-state instantly switches from highly active and alert to a subtle trance state and can last a little while even after stopping after a few seconds.

 

[Amazoniac]

Someone sent me this after finding out that I wasn't listening to Slayer, but to a renamed Juan Mayer:
Modern diet and stress cause homosexuality: a hypothesis and a potential therapy (use it or lose it)

@nonmujerado

 

[Steene]

The whole point is avoiding ejaculatory orgasms. Masturbating with porn easily leads to multiple ejaculations a day, which normaly only happens with a new partner or several partners in a short period of time, thats the biggest problem with porn! Looking at porn, masturbation alone or combination of both has no effect at losing the benefits people speak of when they retain their sperm the problem again is that you eventually will give in and have an ejaculatory orgasm. Having sex without coming leaves me with the same dopamine high I get when I edge to porn. It will make you irritable at first but the more often you practice sex without orgasming the easier and better it gets also you won't feel irritated. There is one important thing I don't know wether or not non ejaculatory orgasms are the same as ejaculatory orgasms because I never experienced one.

NoFap forums are the last places you should look for information you won't find any valuable knowledge. There are many places to gather good information about sperm retention even though they are highly esoteric.

The point is in retaining your sperm, porn makes it very unlikely you will be successful with this but porn itself is 'just' like a mild drug. We live in a world with a lot of things which grant us instant pleasure and dopamine highs, do these undo the benefits of retention? No, they don't.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Neural pathways etched around fantasy and porn are always going to be there. Familiar pleasurable activities such as initiating masturbation will activate them. This is a great argument for avoiding masturbation entirely. It is possible to masturbate to sensation only, and far better, but it is very difficult when your brain has been wired for years or decades to porn.

The best solution is to get a partner, one you are in love with, and practice sex without orgasm, and a lot of it, and you will never want to masturbate or fantasize again. It takes some time, but the brain rewires and the pleasure you get from partner sex is 1000000 times better than it ever was, and masturbation isn't remotely interesting anymore.

 

[Collden]

Does anyone else masturbate, just without porn?

I went through a bad break up a while back and it sort of flipped my opinion of porn. I felt like I was degrading myself by watching it. I switched over to my own brain, with the caveat that if i was going to masturbate I had to spend at least 30 minutes doing it (to avoid developing PE).

Putting that minimum time limit on it has actually worked out great.

• I don't masturbate as often because there's more to it than just 'knocking one out'
• It's several times better
• My refractory period is much lower and sometimes non-existent, which i assume means i'm releasing less prolactin (no idea why this is happening though).
• No feelings of lethargy afterward (though i'm sure if i did it several times in one day this would creep in).
• I have improvements in libido/energy/confidence that nofap proponents talk about. This tapers off, the longer I abstain.

I've never tried nofap so i can't attest to it's benefits, but I would definitely recommend no-porn and non-daily masturbation to anyone (on the internet of course, I could not have this conversation with someone in person).

This is interesting. I'm convinced that sex can have a very beneficial stimulatory effect on both sexual health and general well-being, but hadn't considered that the intensity and volume of pleasure that you get out of the act might be key. Many writers have posited that most sexual dysfunctions boil down to an inability to exist in the "plateau phase" during sex, ie the phase inbetween arousal and orgasm, where you are just completely relaxed into the pleasure of the act without feeling any need to advance or finish.

People with ED cannot get to that phase and people with PE cannot stay in that phase. Is existing in this plateau phase of relaxed pleasure where sex turns into a rejuvenating activity? Is the ability to stay in relaxed sexual pleasure what Wilhem Reich referred to as orgiastic potency? Some argue this is a skill you can teach yourself:

Proper plateau edging is about staying away from the PONR and still feeling pleasure. This is a hard concept from premature ejaculators to understand because for them the only pleasure they get is at orgasm. However, this is because they are too focused on orgasm (dopamine rush) and so compare all other pleasure to orgasm, and of course it does not feel as strong and powerful. Yet the plateau phase can feel just as good as orgasm, but whereas orgasm is strong, quick and overwhelming, plateau is gentle, long lasting and sensual. To start getting into the plateau phase, you need to forget about orgasm, and try and focus on feeling pleasure while still a long way from the PONR. Don’t think about ejaculation, just relax and try and enjoy yourself.

Plateau edging is essentially finding the highest pleasure you can experience while still remaining in control. The idea is that, by practicing at this maximum level, your body will start getting used to it, and consequently you will be able to gradually build this level higher and higher. The word "gradual" is the key here; each session should be a gradual build up to your maximum level, and overtime you should gradually build up this maximum level. You won't retrain your response by rushing, since rushing is likely what messed your response up in the first place. Eventually, this maximum level will become high enough so that it is extremely pleasurable, yet you still remain in control. This is the elusive plateau phase.

 

[Experienced]

What are you up to my guy? Are you still doing nofap? Do you take nootropics or anything like androsterone - pansterone?

Is there a existing blog of you? If so I would like to see it.

 

[DaveFoster]

What are you up to my guy? Are you still doing nofap? Do you take nootropics or anything like androsterone - pansterone?

Is there a existing blog of you? If so I would like to see it.

I'm actually working to get off of all supplements and medications. I plan on taking physiological levels of vitamins occasionally and using progesterone in vitamin E for anxiety. I also drink coffee. I'm also losing weight; I'm down from 230 pounds to 170 pounds over a period of about five months.

I don't consciously abstain from masturbation, but I've found that the best way to stop mindless pleasure seeking would be to find something stimulating that staves off boredom and gives purpose to your day.

You can find a link to my blog in my signature below this post.

 

[Experienced]

also drink coffee.

Hahah well me too I love coffee :)

I'm down from 230 pounds to 170 pounds

I'm om 20th day of NoFap 0 binge or whatever it's called.

I don't consciously abstain from masturbation, but I've found that the best way to stop mindless pleasure seeking would be to find something stimulating that staves off boredom and gives purpose to your day.

Sounds good or bad?

I'm actually working to get off of all supplements and medications. I plan on taking physiological levels of vitamins occasionally and using progesterone in vitamin E for anxiety.

I was planning on getting Pansterone, androsterone , Gonadin do you recommend me more from IdealabsDC.com? If so please tell me. Btw I'm 18 years old 19-09-2000

I'm also gonna do blood test for LH, FSH , Testosterone, estradiol,

progesterone in vitamin E for anxiety. I also drink coffee.

I'm only using for nootropics , L-Theanine it lowers Serotonin . I Drink a lot of coffee tho

 

[DaveFoster]

Hahah well me too I love coffee :)


I'm om 20th day of NoFap 0 binge or whatever it's called.


Sounds good or bad?


I was planning on getting Pansterone, androsterone , Gonadin do you recommend me more from IdealabsDC.com? If so please tell me. Btw I'm 18 years old 19-09-2000

I'm also gonna do blood test for LH, FSH , Testosterone, estradiol,


I'm only using for nootropics , L-Theanine it lowers Serotonin . I Drink a lot of coffee tho

I'm averse to using any of Idea Labs DC's more niche supplements because of the potential interactions but moreso the prohibitive cost. I also don't like liquids or other drugs lying around in my living space. I've had mixed results with introducing new substances as supplements.

 

[Experienced]

I'm averse to using any of Idea Labs DC's more niche supplements because of the potential interactions but moreso the prohibitive cost. I also don't like liquids or other drugs lying around in my living space. I've had mixed results with introducing new substances as supplements.

So you don't use any of the IdeaLabsDC products? How come? Did it suppress something.

 

[DaveFoster]

So you don't use any of the IdeaLabsDC products? How come? Did it suppress something.

I regularly purchase TyroMax and Tyronene because I trust the quality of their products, and I want to have a consistent, high quality thyroid supplement. I haven't experienced any HPA suppression, but I have never taken any of their downstream hormones more than once.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Does anyone figured it out why on some streaks you get massive benefits and on others you get nothing.
Im starting a fresh streak today and could really use the benefits to pick me up.

 

[Jing]

Does anyone figured it out why on some streaks you get massive benefits and on others you get nothing.
Im starting a fresh streak today and could really use the benefits to pick me up.

I only feel the benefits when I do edging, so get close to ejaculation a few times and then stop without ejaculating .

 

[member 2106]

Does anyone figured it out why on some streaks you get massive benefits and on others you get nothing.
Im starting a fresh streak today and could really use the benefits to pick me up.

It doesn’t matter, masturbation is an absolute waste of time, and a costly one at that. (Yes, I feel strongly about this one).

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Is Nofap Peaty? That would keep me motivated.

 

[milkboi]

Is Nofap Peaty? That would keep me motivated.

Keeping prolactin low is peaty, so in that sense, yes. Although I don't think Peat is necessarily a fan of suppressing sexuality.