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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) by PvpiChulo@lemmy.today to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I lost NNN and I regret it (every year I'm lying to myself by saying that I'll do it this year, but hey, nothing I can do about it; tho the best thing that I can do for now is to survive till the end of the month with an imaginary HP left). Honestly, that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes down to the way masturbation addiction (won't call it porn addiction, since the spectre of things that I was doing while ''doing it'' is substantially wider than that) has affected me. Won't get into much detail, but it's pretty bad. Gotta be honest with myself. Might be wrong, or right, but I feel like an important part of it is the fact that I'm still a virgin. I would love to hear anyone willing to share his thoughts with me. Your effort is much appreciated!

P.S. also, I'm posting this as a timestamp in my journey of battling this cheap butt addiction, literally

P.P.S. feel free to ask any questions

P.P.P.S. thanks for all the support, guys, you're awesome

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[-] mentalcel@reddthat.com 5 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Little warning: You will have wet dreams if you abstain from it for long enough, unless youre like 35+

[-] BurgerBaron@quokk.au 5 points 10 hours ago

You'll usually find the no fap people on 4chan /fit/ and reddit where conservative Catholics who are ashamed of their own natural bodies participate in this weird puritan incel practice. You're not accomplishing anything healthy by doing it OP.

[-] PvpiChulo@lemmy.today 2 points 10 hours ago

Understood!

[-] remon@ani.social 58 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Don't. NNN is incel bullshit.

[-] mentalcel@reddthat.com -4 points 10 hours ago

"incel" is not a movement or a commutity, its a life circumstance when one experiences celibacy involuntarily. You should stop using that as an insult

[-] remon@ani.social 3 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)
[-] mentalcel@reddthat.com -4 points 9 hours ago

Wikipedia is biased, and in this case its straight up wrong. See their 'circumcision' article for example

[-] remon@ani.social 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Can you be more specific about which part you think is wrong?

[-] mentalcel@reddthat.com -4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

'incel' is a life circumstance that has been existing for thousands of years, not an "internet subculture". The closest thing to that is probably some internet forums

[-] remon@ani.social 2 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

If you only want to use the word in the narrow literal sense, fine.

I don't think that's very useful. We don't really need a special word for a virgin that can't get laid. But we do need one that describes when people start blaming all women and form a misogynistic mindset around it. That's how I choose to understand and use the term.

[-] mentalcel@reddthat.com -4 points 8 hours ago

But we do need one that describes when people start blaming all women and form a misogynistic mindset around it. That's how I choose to understand and use the term.

That's like calling every criminal a n***er because of stereotypes associated with black people

[-] yyyesss@lemmy.world 1 points 12 minutes ago

what the fuck

[-] remon@ani.social 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

No, it's not anything like that. My point was exactly the opposite: If you're just a virgin that can't get laid but you deal with it like a normal human being, you're not an incel. Just a virgin and there is nothing wrong with that.

It's would be more like calling every one has every played a game a gamer. Technically true, but utterly useless as term.

[-] mentalcel@reddthat.com -3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

if youre a virgin who can't get laid youre not an INvoluntary CELibate

That's the very definition of it, not my fault normies raped this term

[-] yyyesss@lemmy.world 1 points 10 minutes ago

again, WHAT THE FUCK

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[-] CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 38 points 1 day ago

Masturbation is a healthy normal part of human existence and is to be celebrated.

NNN is at best a silly joke inspired by Seinfeld's "master of my domain". At my most generous, it can serve as a reminder of how great masturbation is because you never miss something as much as when you lose it.

At its worst, it is toxic manosphere incel poison.

Being a virgin means nothing. When you are ready and find a suitably ready partner it will happen. Nothing about you changes. You don't become a man. Equally staying a virgin is fine too, you always have masturbation! No need to mourn the loss of an experience you weren't ready for in the first place. It's really not a big deal. We build it up like its some holy grail but when most people finally do have sex, their reactions leans toward relief for ticking off a checkbox and disapointment that it wasn't more.

[-] PvpiChulo@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I agree 100% with you. But I must admit, I abuse it and it's an actual problem. It has affected me mentally and physically (won't get into much detail here, but I get pretty bad withdrawals after masturbating at times, more often than not I physically feel uncomfortable if I'm not touching myself, even if the activity that I'm doing is not sexually arousing in any way, I am tired everyday all the day etc). I don't have a problem with the act itself, but with the addiction. It's a problem that I'm willing to solve tho.

[-] CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I have trouble understanding the term addiction here. Withdrawals? The terminology is being borrowed from drugs and I'm not sure how it fits. If you suspect there is a real issue, you need professional medical support from a doctor, psychiatrist or sexual health professional.

Sad jokes like NNN do not help and more often than not do real harm.

[-] snooggums@piefed.world 3 points 1 day ago

Just cut it down to a couple times a week instead of trying to stop completely for long periods of time. Make a schedule if you need to.

Moderation is the way to go.

[-] akunohana@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 18 hours ago

Thank you for sharing! Most of what I had to say has already been said, but among that, I would like to reiterate that quitting abruptly will statistically lead to failure, worse self-esteem and consequently worsen future endeavors to quit. I also would like to add, that it could help, which it did in my case, to find out what the underlying drive is: do you do it because it feels good and nothing else? Do you do it because it feels good and that's the only time you feel good at all? In my case, it is the latter, which means that I'm sort of "medicating" or coping with my underlying mental illness by doing it. If masturbating causes harm to you or your everyday life in such ways that you deem it necessary to stop as soon as possible, then make it a priority to stop by seeking professional help - start with your local physician or support groups. If stopping masturbating is not a priority, try tackling the underlying issue first, again, by seeking professional help.

[-] ElAndvari@lemmy.world 6 points 23 hours ago

Maybe instead of NNN, do no porn November?

[-] disregardable@lemmy.zip 18 points 1 day ago

Don't. Just accept that it's normal and healthy to masturbate. When you stop feeling guilt about it, you stop thinking about it as much.

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[-] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I always thought this no nut november not only silly but misguided.

Instead of complete celibacy for one month I would suggest to try to do the same without porn during this month. Only Imagination November, or Literature Nut November.

[-] PvpiChulo@lemmy.today 3 points 1 day ago

That sound like a great idea. I'll definitely take it into consideration. Thank you!

[-] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

Trust me. Sex isnt that great as it is hyped up to be. But i feel you. I sadly got no advice than just: don't even get into the place where you masturbate. Aka keep away from that location or enviorment. Keep buisy

Edit: being a virgin is nothing bad. Dont define yourself by that. Dont feel shame. Its cool. Its fine :)

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 3 points 23 hours ago

Reading between the lines, this definitely sounds like a form of sex addiction that you're experiencing. Any kind of addiction is best tackled with professional help, and second best with the help of friends. I would strongly suggest in addition to seeking professional help, also talking to your friends saying "hey this is something I'm struggling with" and if they can be accountability buddies that's even better!

Any addictions I've kicked and lifestyle changes I've made have been most successful by slowly adjusting. Quitting cold turkey is the easiest way to fail. Unlike my changes which were kicking coffee/caffeine, and reducing screen time, yours is is a perfectly healthy process gone awry, so your goal may not be complete elimination, but just a reduction back to a healthy level. You seem reluctant to share your current baseline, and I won't push, but the easiest place to start is to say "I can wait another 20 minutes before I do that" and put it off a little, and just keep putting it off a little longer.

Maybe you might find doing a healthy habit every time you feel the urge to musturbate helps, such as doing 5 reps of a calisthenic exercise (excercise is also helpful in redirecting the blood that would otherwise be headed south!) or drinking some cold water (when I was quitting coffee I'd put my glass of cold water right next to my coffee. Every time I would reach for the coffee, I'd redirect my hand to the water and only go for the coffee if I still felt I needed it after the water, which most of the time I didn't!) or maybe you're just needing something to do with your hands and that's how you end up masturbating some of the time. In that case, have you tried investing in some kind of fidget toy? Maybe try keeping that in your lap so every time you find your hands going for something to fidget with you can move to the fidget box or whatever instead.

It's all about slowly shifting your normal, the same way that habits are formed just in reverse. It's not going to feel like you're making a big change at any point but tracking progress can help. Keeping a daily log of how many times you masturbated, when and for how long can help to see the trend. I would also suggest including the consumption of sexual content in that log. Just like masturbation it is perfectly healthy and fine for adults to consume sexual content, but too much of anything is going to be bad for you, and you'll probably want to figure out your current baseline and goal for that as well.

Small steps can make a big impact in the long term. Just being able to set a small goal each day of "I'll wait a couple more hours before I do that" or "maybe I'll tackle cleaning today's dishes before I rub one out" can add up faster than you might think. When I was quitting coffee, reducing from 64oz per day down to about 12oz per day only took a few weeks of active effort and was relatively easy with these methods, but eliminating down to zero took actual commitment. Reducing my screentime also took a few weeks to adjust the habits and baseline so that now I reach for a book or go work on a project instead of playing a video game for 4 hours. I haven't pushed it to zero and that's not my goal, so I'm close to where I want, I just have to keep this new baseline for a while so that it sticks

[-] reksas@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago

eat rice cereal /j

It may help if you have something engaging to do, especially if its something that requires some effort to quit too once you get started so its more of a bother to go masturbate.

Taking a break from masturbation mostly just builds the pressure / restores something so you get more out of it, there is no sense in trying to completely stop it or follow stupid trends that have no basis on anything useful.

Another thing you could do is try to lower the amount of times per day slowly. Like, lower it by one and keep it up. Once the current amount feels like you can handle it easily then lower it by one again until you are at acceptable (to you) levels.

Also try to do something physically draining. start going to gym, go to walks, do sports if you like them. Physical activity will help you feel better and maybe offset the dopamine addiction from masturbation. And it will keep you occupied.

I'm kind in similar position myself, though for me its less of an addiction and more coping mechanism for depression.. i think. But i'm not sure how much similar position im as you considering how you describe the issue. I can empathize at least.

Getting experience about sex has good chance of helping, though it wont remove the problem completely. But it will make things easier mentally to not feel like you are missing out / know how it is. Finding a girlfriend would also help, but i know that is almost like telling someone to go find holy grail to cure their ails. At least I know it would help me a lot.

[-] PvpiChulo@lemmy.today 3 points 1 day ago

Sure thing, dude. Thanks for the advice, it really means a lot for me! Also, keep your head up, and in case that you need a piece of advice or simply someone to be listened by, never hesitate to speak up. Never. Also, sometimes we get caught in the small things and forget how beautiful life is. Take care!

[-] je_skirata@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago
[-] GenerousSnail@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago

I second this. Sex addictions are very difficult to get out of, especially without help.

[-] PvpiChulo@lemmy.today 3 points 1 day ago
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[-] zoltanshields@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago

You should be open to the possibility that your habits are normal.

I don't know specifics. I don't really want to know specifics. But as long as you're not doing it in inappropriate settings, harming yourself, or harming your sex life with a partner/making it so you prefer masturbation to sex then you should be open to the possibility that you're a young man, and young men masturbate a lot.

Similarly you need to be open to the possibility that your ideas about masturbation are being influenced by people with ulterior motives. There are ties between far-right movements, manosphere content, and masturbation abstinence. Before you come to the conclusion that you are actually experiencing a problem, I think it's really important that you have considered these angles and how those are influencing your goals.

If all that has been considered and you're about to start masturbating on the train or something:

Start with small benchmarks, and be clinical about it. Don't beat yourself up if you don't make it, just adjust the goal. Start with a day if you have to, "On Tuesday I won't masturbate" - done. If you fail try again in a couple of days (while being kind to yourself about it, or at least neutral). As you do that you can expand that time to more of what you're hoping for as a healthy baseline (again, keep in mind that masturbation abstinence communities are not a good source for this). Slowly expand from one day of abstinence a month to once a week, etc. Don't tie it to gimmicks like NNN or go straight for a week or something, that's never a sustainable way to keep something under control. It just makes you crave it and can lead to binges when the time is up.

The goal is to prove to yourself you can control it. If you are actually addicted then this is closer to an addiction like food than something like heroin. It needs a healthy, reasonably sized spot in your life. Not for you to try and quit entirely.

[-] UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I mean, if you feel like you're addicted, you should probably look into it. I wouldn't do this by asking random strangers, but rather search for medical sources. For example you could search for (legit) porn addiction questionaires and if it turns out you indeed score high there, what you can do about it.

[-] undrwater@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Look into cognitive behavioral therapy. You don't necessarily need to see a therapist for this if you don't need to be held accountable.

Ideally, the goal is finding a pleasurably and healthy replacement behavior. A sport or hobby that distracts you and becomes important in your life.

[-] PvpiChulo@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

Will definitely look into it. Much appreciated!

[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

What would you call "a reasonable amount" of masturbation?

And, what if you started out by trying to stick with that schedule instead of quitting could turkey for a whole month?

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this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2026
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