1 year Flatline, to all the long Flatliners

[thisguy97]

hey guys, I was reading some posts on guys like me who are in really long flatlines and I want to give my two cents on the topic. First my story. I’m 24 now and I’m rebooting since 1 year and 3 months and I’m in and out of flatline the whole time. I had a severe porn addiction. If I could I would spent hours on my computer very day masturbating or just browsing for porn. Not only that, my internet use in general was compulsive in every way. I would also daydream for hours about certain situations or about women/porn. I never had a relapse or anything I don’t care about porn anymore. My first problem is, the moment I use my phone or computer, it doesn’t matter if I’m browsing in the internet or not, I go in a flatline again and that’s every time. I’m a Uni student so I have to use my computer from time to time. I even took one semester off and during that time I got out off flatline. My second problem is that even thinking about certain stuff makes me go into flatline even when it’s not sexual. I think that’s connected to the daydreaming. So i don’t know how to get out of that cycle, it’s literally impossible to stay away from electronic devices in our age, unless you become a monk for real. So my theory for all the long flatliners is that you still act on your addiction behavior and you enforce pathways for the addiction in your brain even if it’s not porn directly but it’s similar enough for your brain. Which is dilemma since you can’t get away from internet especially if you work in an office. But I also was reading in this forum about some guy thinking all of this is psychosomatic and that we have a wrong mindset. At the end I don’t have any idea anymore. I have girlfriend which Im rewiring with and sex works if I wasn’t using my phone or computer to much and didn’t daydream about stuff. So i think we are all still enforcing something in our brain so that this shit isn’t going away. And other guys get out of flatline easier because they "only" watched porn and didn’t have any other thing they did compulsive. The only thing that made my recovery better was sex and cumming with my girlfriend, but it’s still not gone. Those are just my two cents.

Say strong guys!

 

[Fappy]

Interesting thanks for sharing. It just goes to show that everyone has different brains so it stands to reason that everyone reboots differently.

 

[Wonder]

Interesting thanks for sharing. It just goes to show that everyone has different brains so it stands to reason that everyone reboots differently. For mo or sex ?

hey guys, I was reading some posts on guys like me who are in really long flatlines and I want to give my two cents on the topic. First my story. I’m 24 now and I’m rebooting since 1 year and 3 months and I’m in and out of flatline the whole time. I had a severe porn addiction. If I could I would spent hours on my computer very day masturbating or just browsing for porn. Not only that, my internet use in general was compulsive in every way. I would also daydream for hours about certain situations or about women/porn. I never had a relapse or anything I don’t care about porn anymore. My first problem is, the moment I use my phone or computer, it doesn’t matter if I’m browsing in the internet or not, I go in a flatline again and that’s every time. I’m a Uni student so I have to use my computer from time to time. I even took one semester off and during that time I got out off flatline. My second problem is that even thinking about certain stuff makes me go into flatline even when it’s not sexual. I think that’s connected to the daydreaming. So i don’t know how to get out of that cycle, it’s literally impossible to stay away from electronic devices in our age, unless you become a monk for real. So my theory for all the long flatliners is that you still act on your addiction behavior and you enforce pathways for the addiction in your brain even if it’s not porn directly but it’s similar enough for your brain. Which is dilemma since you can’t get away from internet especially if you work in an office. But I also was reading in this forum about some guy thinking all of this is psychosomatic and that we have a wrong mindset. At the end I don’t have any idea anymore. I have girlfriend which Im rewiring with and sex works if I wasn’t using my phone or computer to much and didn’t daydream about stuff. So i think we are all still enforcing something in our brain so that this shit isn’t going away. And other guys get out of flatline easier because they "only" watched porn and didn’t have any other thing they did compulsive. The only thing that made my recovery better was sex and cumming with my girlfriend, but it’s still not gone. Those are just my two cents.

Say strong guys!

Did you have orgasms this one year and three months? How many? and at what times?For mo or sex ?

 

[Red Moon]

hey guys, I was reading some posts on guys like me who are in really long flatlines and I want to give my two cents on the topic. First my story. I’m 24 now and I’m rebooting since 1 year and 3 months and I’m in and out of flatline the whole time. I had a severe porn addiction. If I could I would spent hours on my computer very day masturbating or just browsing for porn. Not only that, my internet use in general was compulsive in every way. I would also daydream for hours about certain situations or about women/porn. I never had a relapse or anything I don’t care about porn anymore. My first problem is, the moment I use my phone or computer, it doesn’t matter if I’m browsing in the internet or not, I go in a flatline again and that’s every time. I’m a Uni student so I have to use my computer from time to time. I even took one semester off and during that time I got out off flatline. My second problem is that even thinking about certain stuff makes me go into flatline even when it’s not sexual. I think that’s connected to the daydreaming. So i don’t know how to get out of that cycle, it’s literally impossible to stay away from electronic devices in our age, unless you become a monk for real. So my theory for all the long flatliners is that you still act on your addiction behavior and you enforce pathways for the addiction in your brain even if it’s not porn directly but it’s similar enough for your brain. Which is dilemma since you can’t get away from internet especially if you work in an office. But I also was reading in this forum about some guy thinking all of this is psychosomatic and that we have a wrong mindset. At the end I don’t have any idea anymore. I have girlfriend which Im rewiring with and sex works if I wasn’t using my phone or computer to much and didn’t daydream about stuff. So i think we are all still enforcing something in our brain so that this shit isn’t going away. And other guys get out of flatline easier because they "only" watched porn and didn’t have any other thing they did compulsive. The only thing that made my recovery better was sex and cumming with my girlfriend, but it’s still not gone. Those are just my two cents.

Say strong guys!

Do you know what the " Flatline " is ? Give me your definition.

 

[PIEDPiperThrowaway]

Thanks for your insight. I've also been checking out the forums of long-rebooters, as one myself. I think I may have posted in one of the threads you reference. I totally agree with what you are saying about internet usage in general. My experience has also been that internet usage alone, even non-pornographic, leads directly into a flatline. I just graduated college and now am working remotely for my job... I am on my laptop all the time, it's unavoidable. It is my place of work and recreation. Even during the workday I can't stay on task because the internet is staring me in the face. It's killing me, worsens my mood, and definitely worsens my PIED.

Everyday on the internet makes my brain swim and everything becomes clouded. I can't have a single coherent thought anymore. It's difficult to describe but the internet is certainly tied to my greater struggle against sexual dysfunction. If I spend more than an hour on the internet, I'm guaranteed to not have morning wood. It is bizarre, but clearly it is part of our general disconnect from real life. By spending time in virtual situations, we are withdrawing from natural and physical encounters, and desexualizing ourselves in the process. Everything feels so unnatural. I can barely socialize anymore, of course I'm not attuned to any sexual impulses.

I would like to throw my iPhone and laptop into the river. But then I wouldn't have a job. And I'd be even worse off as far as connecting socially with friends. Even worse, I wouldn't have enough pastimes to fill the voids in time left by my lack of technology. What is your advice here? Of course, we can struggle against our addiction to technology, just as we do our addiction to porn. But this is even harder. How would an alcoholic fare with a bottomless flask of whiskey in their pocket at all times of the day? My point is, will-power feels almost useless to even discuss. But I don't think I can defeat pied without seriously reorienting my relationship to technology/the internet.

Finally, you conclude that the only thing that has helped you in your long journey is your physical relationship with your girlfriend. What would your advice be to those long rebooters who aren't in a relationship? I have heard it said on these forums that you should not begin the rewiring process until you have healed to the point where you are getting consistent morning wood. In the past, my MW had began to recover... but now I am on a months-long streak of none whatsoever. Only worsened by a spiral of internet use which is probably a coping mechanism for frustrations with the process. Thus a vicious cycle of seeming regression. Therefore trying for a relationship feels pretty unrealistic at the moment. I am in a similar position to you though. I'm 24, rebooting for 2 years. Not a perfect 2 years by any stretch, but I have not M'd to P in the last year at all. And hardmode streak of 4 months at the moment. Not much progress to speak of. I think only rewiring can help at this point. But when social interactions still feel so unnatural, so alien, it is hard to imagine this going well. I have no appetite for sex, nor even for a relationship with a girl. Will being around someone in real life somehow jumpstart something within my, and awaken this appetite? It seems this is the only hope.

Maybe you can share more about your journey. How recovered do you feel? Is progress being made? Thanks for your insight.

 

[Prakash]

Thanks for your insight. I've also been checking out the forums of long-rebooters, as one myself. I think I may have posted in one of the threads you reference. I totally agree with what you are saying about internet usage in general. My experience has also been that internet usage alone, even non-pornographic, leads directly into a flatline. I just graduated college and now am working remotely for my job... I am on my laptop all the time, it's unavoidable. It is my place of work and recreation. Even during the workday I can't stay on task because the internet is staring me in the face. It's killing me, worsens my mood, and definitely worsens my PIED.

Everyday on the internet makes my brain swim and everything becomes clouded. I can't have a single coherent thought anymore. It's difficult to describe but the internet is certainly tied to my greater struggle against sexual dysfunction. If I spend more than an hour on the internet, I'm guaranteed to not have morning wood. It is bizarre, but clearly it is part of our general disconnect from real life. By spending time in virtual situations, we are withdrawing from natural and physical encounters, and desexualizing ourselves in the process. Everything feels so unnatural. I can barely socialize anymore, of course I'm not attuned to any sexual impulses.

I would like to throw my iPhone and laptop into the river. But then I wouldn't have a job. And I'd be even worse off as far as connecting socially with friends. Even worse, I wouldn't have enough pastimes to fill the voids in time left by my lack of technology. What is your advice here? Of course, we can struggle against our addiction to technology, just as we do our addiction to porn. But this is even harder. How would an alcoholic fare with a bottomless flask of whiskey in their pocket at all times of the day? My point is, will-power feels almost useless to even discuss. But I don't think I can defeat pied without seriously reorienting my relationship to technology/the internet.

Finally, you conclude that the only thing that has helped you in your long journey is your physical relationship with your girlfriend. What would your advice be to those long rebooters who aren't in a relationship? I have heard it said on these forums that you should not begin the rewiring process until you have healed to the point where you are getting consistent morning wood. In the past, my MW had began to recover... but now I am on a months-long streak of none whatsoever. Only worsened by a spiral of internet use which is probably a coping mechanism for frustrations with the process. Thus a vicious cycle of seeming regression. Therefore trying for a relationship feels pretty unrealistic at the moment. I am in a similar position to you though. I'm 24, rebooting for 2 years. Not a perfect 2 years by any stretch, but I have not M'd to P in the last year at all. And hardmode streak of 4 months at the moment. Not much progress to speak of. I think only rewiring can help at this point. But when social interactions still feel so unnatural, so alien, it is hard to imagine this going well. I have no appetite for sex, nor even for a relationship with a girl. Will being around someone in real life somehow jumpstart something within my, and awaken this appetite? It seems this is the only hope.

Maybe you can share more about your journey. How recovered do you feel? Is progress being made? Thanks for your insight.

Are you have any sexual dysfunction?

 

[PIEDPiperThrowaway]

Yep, complete sexual dysfunction for the last 8 years. No erections, morning wood, et cetera. Nothing. No desire for relationships. It is very severe, I would say more so than most situations I've seen on these forums. 2 years of rebooting hasn't really changed anything.

 

[thisguy97]

Thanks for your insight. I've also been checking out the forums of long-rebooters, as one myself. I think I may have posted in one of the threads you reference. I totally agree with what you are saying about internet usage in general. My experience has also been that internet usage alone, even non-pornographic, leads directly into a flatline. I just graduated college and now am working remotely for my job... I am on my laptop all the time, it's unavoidable. It is my place of work and recreation. Even during the workday I can't stay on task because the internet is staring me in the face. It's killing me, worsens my mood, and definitely worsens my PIED.

Everyday on the internet makes my brain swim and everything becomes clouded. I can't have a single coherent thought anymore. It's difficult to describe but the internet is certainly tied to my greater struggle against sexual dysfunction. If I spend more than an hour on the internet, I'm guaranteed to not have morning wood. It is bizarre, but clearly it is part of our general disconnect from real life. By spending time in virtual situations, we are withdrawing from natural and physical encounters, and desexualizing ourselves in the process. Everything feels so unnatural. I can barely socialize anymore, of course I'm not attuned to any sexual impulses.

I would like to throw my iPhone and laptop into the river. But then I wouldn't have a job. And I'd be even worse off as far as connecting socially with friends. Even worse, I wouldn't have enough pastimes to fill the voids in time left by my lack of technology. What is your advice here? Of course, we can struggle against our addiction to technology, just as we do our addiction to porn. But this is even harder. How would an alcoholic fare with a bottomless flask of whiskey in their pocket at all times of the day? My point is, will-power feels almost useless to even discuss. But I don't think I can defeat pied without seriously reorienting my relationship to technology/the internet.

Finally, you conclude that the only thing that has helped you in your long journey is your physical relationship with your girlfriend. What would your advice be to those long rebooters who aren't in a relationship? I have heard it said on these forums that you should not begin the rewiring process until you have healed to the point where you are getting consistent morning wood. In the past, my MW had began to recover... but now I am on a months-long streak of none whatsoever. Only worsened by a spiral of internet use which is probably a coping mechanism for frustrations with the process. Thus a vicious cycle of seeming regression. Therefore trying for a relationship feels pretty unrealistic at the moment. I am in a similar position to you though. I'm 24, rebooting for 2 years. Not a perfect 2 years by any stretch, but I have not M'd to P in the last year at all. And hardmode streak of 4 months at the moment. Not much progress to speak of. I think only rewiring can help at this point. But when social interactions still feel so unnatural, so alien, it is hard to imagine this going well. I have no appetite for sex, nor even for a relationship with a girl. Will being around someone in real life somehow jumpstart something within my, and awaken this appetite? It seems this is the only hope.

Maybe you can share more about your journey. How recovered do you feel? Is progress being made? Thanks for your insight.

More than one year has passed and nothing has changed for me. Sorry for the late reply, but I totally forgot about this forum. Anyhoo, I think rewiring or not rewiring is not the question at hand, even though I think it does help, its more like how can we teach our brain that we are not acting out our addiction anymore. I don’t know the solution, otherwise I would be healed, but I have four ideas. First, TMS therapy there is one study on a patient with porn addiction and it seems like that it helped the person, I would love to try it out but it’s quite expensive. Second, you do a complete detox for a long period of time, like a long vacation no Internet, smartphone etc. but I don’t know how feasible that is give home office jobs and so on. Third, you do confrontation therapy, in other words you type in your favorite porn site and than you close the browser again showing your brain that you didn’t act out on your addiction. Fourth, consciously thinking when using your laptop that you are not using it for sexual arousal and that the things you do on your laptop have nothing to do with your past addiction, that’s a tip a professor that did research on porn addiction gave me. I haven’t been very passionate about the third and fourth idea, but I should give it a try. I’ve done hardmode for longer periods of time and it also didn’t help so this whole argument of rewiring is bad or having an orgasm is bad is quite obnoxious is my opinion. If it helps you great, keep doing it, but if it doesn’t do shit then why continue, might as well try something else. But I think some of use just have to accept the fact that it will never go away and that is a though pill to swallow.

 

[BigM]

More than one year has passed and nothing has changed for me. Sorry for the late reply, but I totally forgot about this forum. Anyhoo, I think rewiring or not rewiring is not the question at hand, even though I think it does help, its more like how can we teach our brain that we are not acting out our addiction anymore. I don’t know the solution, otherwise I would be healed, but I have four ideas. First, TMS therapy there is one study on a patient with porn addiction and it seems like that it helped the person, I would love to try it out but it’s quite expensive. Second, you do a complete detox for a long period of time, like a long vacation no Internet, smartphone etc. but I don’t know how feasible that is give home office jobs and so on. Third, you do confrontation therapy, in other words you type in your favorite porn site and than you close the browser again showing your brain that you didn’t act out on your addiction. Fourth, consciously thinking when using your laptop that you are not using it for sexual arousal and that the things you do on your laptop have nothing to do with your past addiction, that’s a tip a professor that did research on porn addiction gave me. I haven’t been very passionate about the third and fourth idea, but I should give it a try. I’ve done hardmode for longer periods of time and it also didn’t help so this whole argument of rewiring is bad or having an orgasm is bad is quite obnoxious is my opinion. If it helps you great, keep doing it, but if it doesn’t do shit then why continue, might as well try something else. But I think some of use just have to accept the fact that it will never go away and that is a though pill to swallow.

Frankly speaking I also think this is true.

 

[Wonder]

More than one year has passed and nothing has changed for me. Sorry for the late reply, but I totally forgot about this forum. Anyhoo, I think rewiring or not rewiring is not the question at hand, even though I think it does help, its more like how can we teach our brain that we are not acting out our addiction anymore. I don’t know the solution, otherwise I would be healed, but I have four ideas. First, TMS therapy there is one study on a patient with porn addiction and it seems like that it helped the person, I would love to try it out but it’s quite expensive. Second, you do a complete detox for a long period of time, like a long vacation no Internet, smartphone etc. but I don’t know how feasible that is give home office jobs and so on. Third, you do confrontation therapy, in other words you type in your favorite porn site and than you close the browser again showing your brain that you didn’t act out on your addiction. Fourth, consciously thinking when using your laptop that you are not using it for sexual arousal and that the things you do on your laptop have nothing to do with your past addiction, that’s a tip a professor that did research on porn addiction gave me. I haven’t been very passionate about the third and fourth idea, but I should give it a try. I’ve done hardmode for longer periods of time and it also didn’t help so this whole argument of rewiring is bad or having an orgasm is bad is quite obnoxious is my opinion. If it helps you great, keep doing it, but if it doesn’t do shit then why continue, might as well try something else. But I think some of use just have to accept the fact that it will never go away and that is a though pill to swallow.

I have been in the same situation for years. I tried everything...it doesn't work. Maybe we should accept that not every case is curable. I'm sorry, but maybe it's better to accept the situation and enjoy other beautiful things in life.