NoFap timeline is not the same for everyone. When I started working with clients to help them quit porn, it was clear that even though all of them shared similar benefits, each client had their own NoFap timeline. There are multiple reasons as to why this is, but the reason that makes the most difference is an answer to the following question. Are they addicted to porn? You see, in certain cases men who have been watching porn for years become fully addicted to it. For them watching porn turns into a compulsive behavioral addiction that makes it feel like it’s impossible to stop. Needless to say, recovery is significantly longer for those who have a full blown addiction.
There are plenty of other factors that change your NoFap timeline. How committed you are, the approach you take when quitting, if you keep fighting on your own or you fight the isolation by connecting with others. Proper nutrition, sleep, and physical activity influence your timeline too. For those who are fully committed and ready to work on their foundation, finding success in NoFap and other areas of life will become second nature. If you want to set yourself up for success, I highly recommend getting professional help. It will allow you to reach your goals more efficiently. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your personal strategy to quit porn.
Years ago, when I was quitting porn, there was significantly less information online regarding this topic. When it was terrifyingly hard to stay clear headed and on the path of recovery, I was frantically searching through the forums, blog posts, and everywhere else I could think of to find relatable and trustworthy information. I wanted to know what the withdrawal phase looks like, how to make sure I don’t relapse when the urges are the strongest and how fast these NoFap benefits are going to kick in. Mostly I was looking for someone else’s experience documented day by day. I was trying to find the NoFap timeline.
This is why I decided to share with you an accumulated timeline that I’ve gathered over the past years working with different clients. Simply said, this is what the NoFap timeline looks like for Dopamine Discipline men.
NOFAP TIMELINE: FIRST 72 HOURS
Rollercoaster of emotions. You will start off feeling super motivated and overall great. This is the best you’re going to feel in a while. I won’t lie to you, quitting porn isn’t fun, but it is necessary if you want to change your life for the better. I’m not trying to discourage you, I just need you to be mentally prepared for what’s coming. You will most likely experience intense physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms. That’s completely normal, everyone gets them, don’t make a big deal out of it or else you’ll freak yourself out.
Within the first 48 hours you will experience strong urges, and you’ll definitely need to muster courage to get through. Your brain will come up with every possible excuse why you should just have another session and start fresh tomorrow. Thoughts like these will come up; “You already have too much on your plate and you don’t have time or energy to quit watching porn.” “Everyone does it, and at least it’s better than drinking, smoking or other addictions.” Don’t let your brain control you. Just last through the first 72 hours and you will prove to yourself that you can do this. Let your own success motivate you to keep going.
To make it 10 times easier for yourself, make sure to have your first 2-3 days planned out, ideally outside of your house. Making your schedule tightly packed might not seem like the best idea, but it will surely help you stay distracted. I also recommend getting in a high-intensity workout. It’s beneficial to exhaust yourself, because a lot of men experience insomnia during this time. It’s completely normal, and don’t worry – your body will relax itself sooner or later. Read a book, preferably a boring one – that will get you to sleep like a baby.
3 – 30 DAYS
Once you win the first battle and make it past the 72 hour mark, you’ll start noticing benefits. Instead of feelings of disappointment because you couldn’t last even 3 days without relapsing, you’ll feel confident and proud of yourself for pushing through. On top of that, you’ll finally get to think clearly once your brain fog starts to disappear.
This is when the so-called Nofap domino effect occurs. After a longer period of stagnation and not being able to focus on things that matter the most to you, being in control feels extremely satisfying. You’ll want to focus on improving all areas of your life with this new-found motivation.
As you progress on your journey, you’ll notice that you’re taking more initiative. Socializing, trying new things, and overall feeling like you’re finally in charge of your life.
On the other hand, during this period the urges will be by far the strongest. Maybe you’ll experience them every day, maybe you won’t, but once you get them they will be pretty intense. They’ll come in intense waves, usually multiple times a day. Best thing to do is to get out of the house and make it impossible to relapse. Usually once you get out, go for a run, hang out with your friends and family, you’ll be distracted enough that the urges become significantly easier to deal with. Good thing to remember is that each time you push through an urge, it gets easier. Little by little you’ll surely master self-control.
NOFAP TIMELINE: 30 – 90 DAYS
Once you hit day 30, the urges are going to be easier to deal with. They won’t feel as powerful anymore, and at that point you will be able to look back at your 30 days of no PMO to keep you going when it gets tough.
The shame cycle is broken and you’re feeling better than you have in a long time. You’ll continue to surprise yourself with how mentally sharp you are. This is a period of forgiveness and unconditional self-love. Through introspection or meditation it’ll be easy to identify in what ways you’ve been self-sabotaging yourself. Your energy levels and productivity levels increase significantly as well. Everything will seem too good to be true, until you hit the flatline.
Even though not everyone experiences a flatline, I’ve noticed that a lot of guys do experience it around 4 to 6 weeks in. Flatline is a discouraging period of time that comes unannounced and makes men relapse. All of a sudden, you might feel as if you lost all the benefits. More dramatically, you might feel as if all the benefits you experienced were fake, or a placebo. Unfortunately, it’s quite often that men feel deeply depressed and anxious during this period. It will be hard to experience pleasure in any other way than watching porn. Remember that pleasure from watching porn is extremely short lived and frankly not worth it.
If you experience a flatline, do your best to change your environment and remember your purpose. Remember why you’re on this journey. It’s honestly the last big push before you achieve greatness, so don’t give up. Remember that all these feelings are temporary and this is your brain rewiring itself. Your dopamine depleted brain will try it’s absolute best to get what it wants. Embrace the short-term discomfort for the long-term benefits.
90+ DAYS
You finally feel free and fully in control. But let me tell you, surprisingly often men relapse around this time. I’ve found that the reason why this happens is because they haven’t faced the root cause, yet they pushed forward to prove to themselves they can get to day 90. And they do. And then what? They relapse. Constantly fighting and resisting yourself isn’t a sustainable way of living.
True winners are those who have quit porn the right way, through introspection and getting over past trauma. It’s not only freedom and monk-like self-discipline that they experience, but a sense of enlightenment and an identity shift. It takes a tremendous amount of patience and self-care to rebuild your foundation and make it as strong as ever.
Once you rebuild your foundation, shift your identity, and your mindset changes – it’s not surprising men describe feeling as if they have superpowers. You’ll become assertive, which will help you communicate with ease. No more social anxiety, no more unnecessary stress, you’ll find that there’s nothing you need to provide to others to gain their respect – it just comes naturally to assertive men.
Attraction is a massive benefit too. Not only will you attract high-quality women into your life, but everyone can sense your core confidence. People will want to associate with you, become your friends and business partners. Once you hit 90+ days on your NoFap timeline, it will become very clear to you that most people are not nearly as disciplined or determined as you are.
People want good things to happen to them; they want to be wealthy, successful, and beloved. Most often they don’t see that they first need to work on themselves and build a strong foundation before they can reach true success. This is why you see everyone blaming some circumstance, luck or others for their lack of success. Working on yourself is hard and most people are not tough enough. Pushing through pain for delayed gratification is a war against yourself in which most people end up surrendering.
This is exactly why they’ll be attracted to you; either they’ll want to be like you or they are high-quality individuals who have everything to gain by surrounding themselves with others that are similar to them. Women are very emotionally intelligent, which is why they’ll be the first ones to sense your assertiveness and confidence. All of these things should come naturally to you once you rebuild yourself – you’ll know what to do and what to say around women to get dates and create meaningful relationships.
If you find yourself struggling, it’s important not to get yourself stuck and reach out for professional help. Once you over overcome your porn addiction and rewire your brain, your whole life will change. If you need advice or help, please reach out to us and we’ll help you reach your goals. Click here to schedule your free consultation on how to quit porn.