Flatline Symptoms: Is This Normal?

Friends,
In addition to my non-existent sex drive, I keep getting random bouts of anxiety and stress responses throughout the day, even though I'm literally hanging out, watching the World Cup, and enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday (meaning no work-related stress triggers). Did this happen to anyone else? I'm trying to suss out if this is part of the flatline. My daily meditation practice helps me manage my negative thoughts but the physical sensations associated with stress and anxiety remain (shortness of breath, increased heart rate, pressure in the skull area).
 

Red Moon

Member
I don´t know your personal life and experiences but anxiety and stress are typical symptoms of dopamine deficiency. This happens when doing a " Reboot " . If that is your case, it is temporary.

Other symptoms of dopamine deficiency :

- Low motivation
- Insomnia
- Brain fog
- Anhedonia
- Irritability

If you also have this symptoms, it is definitely a dopamine issue. In other words, the brain is searching for homeostasis.

Just one thing, the term " Nofap Flatline " was created to describe the no libido symptom. There is usually a physical symptom in this case, like genital numbness. Basically, your dick becomes someone Rick Grimes would love to kill in the Walking Dead. Yes, " Zombie Dick " .

There are people who like to use the term " Emotional Flatline " for the emotional numbness, but the scientific term is Anhedonia.
 
I don´t know your personal life and experiences but anxiety and stress are typical symptoms of dopamine deficiency. This happens when doing a " Reboot " . If that is your case, it is temporary.

Other symptoms of dopamine deficiency :

- Low motivation
- Insomnia
- Brain fog
- Anhedonia
- Irritability

If you also have this symptoms, it is definitely a dopamine issue. In other words, the brain is searching for homeostasis.

Just one thing, the term " Nofap Flatline " was created to describe the no libido symptom. There is usually a physical symptom in this case, like genital numbness. Basically, your dick becomes someone Rick Grimes would love to kill in the Walking Dead. Yes, " Zombie Dick " .

There are people who like to use the term " Emotional Flatline " for the emotional numbness, but the scientific term is Anhedonia.

Thank you, Red Moon. With the exception of irritability, I am definitely seeing a combination of the other symptoms. Low motivation, anxiety, brain fog are all present, on top of no libido and inactive penis (no morning wood). I wanted to reach out because there are parallels to clinical depression, which isn’t something I’ve ever dealt with.

Can anything be done during the reboot to correct the dopamine deficiency other than staying the course?
 
I keep getting random bouts of anxiety and stress responses throughout the day
To piggyback what @Red Moon was saying about dopamine. Many of the emotional states (anxiety, shame, shock, surprise) not only elevate dopamine but also boost stress hormones and neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, epinephrine, cortisol). These stress neurochemicals increase excitement, amplifying dopamine's already powerful effects. Over time, a porn user's brain can mistake feelings of anxiety or riskiness for feelings of sexual arousal.
 
Friends,
In addition to my non-existent sex drive, I keep getting random bouts of anxiety and stress responses throughout the day, even though I'm literally hanging out, watching the World Cup, and enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday (meaning no work-related stress triggers). Did this happen to anyone else? I'm trying to suss out if this is part of the flatline. My daily meditation practice helps me manage my negative thoughts but the physical sensations associated with stress and anxiety remain (shortness of breath, increased heart rate, pressure in the skull area).
In general, when it comes to recovery from addiction to pornography, the symptoms of low libido usually last 3 to 6 months. Let it happen and I recommend that you do not go to put too much nonsense in your head.
 

Red Moon

Member
Thank you, Red Moon. With the exception of irritability, I am definitely seeing a combination of the other symptoms. Low motivation, anxiety, brain fog are all present, on top of no libido and inactive penis (no morning wood). I wanted to reach out because there are parallels to clinical depression, which isn’t something I’ve ever dealt with.

Can anything be done during the reboot to correct the dopamine deficiency other than staying the course?
No morning wood is another " Flatline " symptom, which i also have. Due to the lack of blood flow, the penis skin may change color.

Because of PMO, the brain's reward system is all messed up. Understand this problem and fight for balance. There are no timelines, everyone is different.

Try to avoid dopamine spikes ( PMO, Drugs, etc ).

Try to have healthy habits and patterns. Do everything in your power to improve sleep quality.

I personally practice intermittent and prolonged fasting. Do some research about Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Autophagy. Fasting activates both.
 
No morning wood is another " Flatline " symptom, which i also have. Due to the lack of blood flow, the penis skin may change color.

Because of PMO, the brain's reward system is all messed up. Understand this problem and fight for balance. There are no timelines, everyone is different.

Try to avoid dopamine spikes ( PMO, Drugs, etc ).

Try to have healthy habits and patterns. Do everything in your power to improve sleep quality.

I personally practice intermittent and prolonged fasting. Do some research about Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Autophagy. Fasting activates both.
Hi I’m kinda new to this, I just found out how big of a factor dopamine really is. I’m on day 17 and I definitely have most of the symptoms of a flatline which I think helps to not relapse. But what would count as a dopamine spike? Like right now I stopped listening to music and I’m lowering my screen time and social media time hoping that would help and I don’t drink or do drugs so that’s fine. But I do watch a lot of sports on tv. So would a lot of tv and electronics spike my dopamine?
 

Red Moon

Member
Hi I’m kinda new to this, I just found out how big of a factor dopamine really is. I’m on day 17 and I definitely have most of the symptoms of a flatline which I think helps to not relapse. But what would count as a dopamine spike? Like right now I stopped listening to music and I’m lowering my screen time and social media time hoping that would help and I don’t drink or do drugs so that’s fine. But I do watch a lot of sports on tv. So would a lot of tv and electronics spike my dopamine?
Just avoid drugs and PMO.

Listening to music is not " violent " to your dopamine receptors. It´s ok.

Try to find some balance with tv and electronics and improve your sleep quality.

 

Scorpio1990

Active Member
No morning wood is another " Flatline " symptom, which i also have. Due to the lack of blood flow, the penis skin may change color.

Because of PMO, the brain's reward system is all messed up. Understand this problem and fight for balance. There are no timelines, everyone is different.

Try to avoid dopamine spikes ( PMO, Drugs, etc ).

Try to have healthy habits and patterns. Do everything in your power to improve sleep quality.

I personally practice intermittent and prolonged fasting. Do some research about Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Autophagy. Fasting activates both.
Dude you haven’t had any morning wood or erections?
 
No morning wood. Right now, I can have erections only with porn ( novelty ). I have no natural libido.
I’m right there with ya. I don’t think I’ve had morning wood in about 6 months. But you’re definitely right now that I understand the problem and know how to fix it, it’s definitely putting my mind at ease. On the plus side avoiding porn and doing nofap will also help other aspects of my life.
 
It's been a very tough 48 hours for me. I've felt incredibly anxious, lethargic and scared that my mojo is gone. Couple what with this being my wife's ovulation week, and it's generated tremendous insecurity and guilt. I am so mad at myself for reintroducing porn into my life earlier this year and convincing myself I could control it.

I don't want to fantasize about other women while having sex with my wife anymore, but I also don't feel interested in real sex at all right now. I feel like the chickens came home to roost exactly when I needed to be sexually active and healthy - to conceive a baby we so desperately want.

My wife is begging me to stop wallowing and take active steps to feel happy and normal again, even though wallowing is so tempting. She made me a list this morning with tools we've all seen before: exercise, get fresh air, listen to uplifting music, use mindfulness strategies, read articles/listen to podcasts, visualize us making love while meditating, and journal.

I took up journaling today to word vomit my history with porn use and performance anxiety, and while I'm not done writing for the day (need to go work), the physical anxiety and nausea that I was feeling upon waking up went away. I guess journaling can be really powerful.

Anyone else have success with journaling, or tips on how to use it? Cheers, and thank you.
 
Super positive update. After a miserable 48 hours where I considered seeking help for depression, I took steps today to combat the flatline and reintroduce some dopamine into my system. I started my day with meditation and journaling. I had a productive day at work and tried to be present for my coworkers. I came home and gave my wife plenty of hugs, kisses and snuggles. I lifted weights. I cooked with my wife to Christmas music. I ate three square meals even though I wasn't hungry in the morning. And tonight, laying in bed, I let her just touch my penis with no expectation, hope, fear or judgement. We were almost laughing at how funny a penis can be. And lo and behold, I started feeling better and better as she touched me, got hard, and we had sex culminating in my O. I never visualized a porn scene or other woman, but really stayed present and focused on sensation. That's the gift mindfulness meditation has given me - the ability to stay in a moment and just focus on physical sensation. And then it all came back - nice feelings while having sex with my love.

Maybe this will send me into a flatline again. Who knows? But my point in sharing this note is that I felt AWFUL the past two days, barely slept last night because my wife and I were in the dumps, and 24 hours later, after taking some active steps, my pipes worked!

I couldn't do it without this community. Thank you.
 
The roller coaster week continues. Last night, my wife and I attempted having sex again since she's ovulating. TBH, I wasn't in the mood, and neither was she, but I wanted to try since this week only comes around once a month. I managed to get hard thanks to her touching my stick, but the pleasure sensations weren't as potent as Tuesday night. I went inside her and tried to get the fire raging, but I couldn't feel much and lost my erection. I am proud of myself for not visualizing porn scenes or skipping away to the bathroom to look at a quick image, but my inability to climax again during ovulation week just tore at my wife. For the record, it's a fraught issue because we've suffered two miscarriages, and the doctor's prescription is just to keep trying. I am willing to take it easy, be more patient, and assure her that I'm on the path to healing, but she's upset that I haven't been able to do the one thing the man needs to do to start the process. We both stayed up all night. I am emotionally drained today. I love her so much and just want to have normal sex that feels good without needing to fantasize. Will that day ever come...
 
To conclude what’s been a crazy week filled with highs and lows…

Wife and I tried sex one more time on Saturday. It was fun, I gave her a massage, we kissed and she touched me. I got semi-hard but missed that final ZING to really enjoy intercourse. It was disappointing only in the sense that I wanted to O for baby-making reasons, but the experience itself was fun and produced some feel-good moments for both.

I don’t think rebooting first and rewiring second is in the cards for me, but I do feel proud of myself for now looking at sex as an experience to share with my wife without visualizing or fantasizing or even sneaking glances of porn in the quest to orgasm. That’s not the kind of husband and sexual partner I want to be. Hopefully, now that I’ve gone about 35 days without looking at porn, the rewiring will continue as I really feel no desire to look at it, even in those embarrassing moments where PIED strikes. I’d rather deal with temporary disappointment than spend my marriage dependent on porn.

Bring on month two!
 
To conclude what’s been a crazy week filled with highs and lows…

Wife and I tried sex one more time on Saturday. It was fun, I gave her a massage, we kissed and she touched me. I got semi-hard but missed that final ZING to really enjoy intercourse. It was disappointing only in the sense that I wanted to O for baby-making reasons, but the experience itself was fun and produced some feel-good moments for both.

I don’t think rebooting first and rewiring second is in the cards for me, but I do feel proud of myself for now looking at sex as an experience to share with my wife without visualizing or fantasizing or even sneaking glances of porn in the quest to orgasm. That’s not the kind of husband and sexual partner I want to be. Hopefully, now that I’ve gone about 35 days without looking at porn, the rewiring will continue as I really feel no desire to look at it, even in those embarrassing moments where PIED strikes. I’d rather deal with temporary disappointment than spend my marriage dependent on porn.

Bring on month two!
I love your last words please keep to it and be a man of your own word. I’d rather deal with temporary disappointment than spend my marriage dependent on porn.
 
I love your last words please keep to it and be a man of your own word. I’d rather deal with temporary disappointment than spend my marriage dependent on porn.

Thank you, Supreme! I am keeping the faith on this day 35.

The road ahead still scares me, but I am seeing some positive developments. Nocturnal erections have reappeared some nights, especially on days that I lift weights. I don't feel urges to look at any kind of porn or arousing content (this may be flatline related, too). Intimacy and connection with my wife feels stronger, even though I couldn't O the last two times we fooled around. I'm meditating 20 minutes every morning, journaling, exercising, etc.

The part causing me fear is that lack of sexual fire I continue to feel. The spark/zing/tension/desire is still MIA. I am hoping it returns with eyes for my beautiful wife as I continue through this journey.

Thanks for the kind words and accountability!
 
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