TL;DR: “NoFap” is a popular Reddit community where users help each other break their porn and masturbation addiction.
Introduction
So far here in the sex category of UpRiver we have discussed the dangers of pornography and why it should be avoided. As you probably know from first-hand experience simply stopping the use of porn and masturbation is a lot easier said than done. The release of chemicals in the brain that come from masturbation to pornography is so powerful that it can be considered akin to drug use.
So where does one turn if he wants to reduce his powerful urges to watch porn and masturbate? The NoFap community has been the answer for many.
What is NoFap?
NoFap is an online community that was founded in 2011, on Reddit. The essence of NoFap is pretty self explanatory: No Fapping (with fapping, of course, being the hip new slang for masturbating). Since its founding it has become quite popular, with 529,000 members as of the writing of this article. The following description from the official subreddit [1] sums up the purpose quite well:
“We host rebooting challenges in which participants (“Fapstronauts”) abstain from pornography and masturbation for a period of time. Whether your goal is casual participation in a monthly challenge as a test of self-control, or whether excessive masturbation or pornography has become a problem in your life and you want to quit for a longer period of time, you will find a supportive community and plenty of resources here.”
How NoFap Works
The way NoFap works is quite simple: members set goals for themselves for abstaining from porn and masturbation and then post about their experiences. The purpose of doing this is so that they may “reboot” their brains from their porn and masturbation addictions.
Other members then provide support and encouragement and share their own experiences. There is also plenty of great resources posted on NoFap, which serves to educate new Fapstronauts on the dangers of porn and the harms of excessive masturbation.
Many users of NoFap claim that participating in NoFap has completely turned their lives around, some going as far as to claim it has almost given them superpowers. Below are some of the common claims found by people participating in NoFap:
- Increased energy
- Increased confidence and self image
- Increased productivity and focus
- Reduced “brain fog”
- Increased attention from women and better ability to talk to them
- Easier to find a hookup/girlfriend
- Better performance in the gym
- Better sexual performance
- Improved quality of relationships
- Increased happiness and enjoyment of life
- Better sleep
- Better skin quality
It is important to remember that NoFap is an open community where anyone can contribute and almost all claims are anecdotal. Because of this, most of the posts there should be taken with a grain of salt.
Don’t believe that abstaining from masturbating and porn is going to give you the ability to bench press 700 pounds, or get you 25 supermodel girlfriends or give you the ability to survive falls from large heights. Do take a critical look at the numerous testimonies posted there and come to your own conclusions about it. The amount of overwhelmingly positive claims posted there by its over half a million users does give the NoFap community a fair amount of validity.
At the end of the day you can only find what works for you by giving it a try. There’s very little to lose and an incredible amount to gain.
NoFap Strategies
Members of NoFap are given a counter as part of their profile which they can use to track the amount of days that they have gone without masturbating or using pornography. This counter is visible to all other members of the community.
Numerous members report that the accountability that comes from this tracker really helps them stay on course. When you’re on a several week streak of not masturbating or viewing pornography, and you have a counter to show for it, it becomes a lot easier to resist the temptations when they arise.
When members do relapse by viewing porn or masturbating, they reset their counters to zero. Often, they make a post explaining why they relapsed and reaffirmtheir commitment to start NoFap again. On each of these relapse posts there are often multiple comments from other members encouraging them to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try again. The encouraging community helps others to know that they are not alone in their struggles, which is a huge motivator.
Another quick and easy strategy often championed by the NoFap community is a porn blocker.
A porn blocker is an extension that you can add for free to your web browser that will block all explicit and pornographic websites from loading. This can be a great wakeup call if you find yourself mindlessly navigating to your favorite porn site during a moment of weakness and it comes up blocked. Below is a list of several different porn blockers that have been excerpted from the NoFap subreddit. [2]
Block specific sites from your computer directly (This applies to all browsers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9pYoRVwtGY
General porn blocker for your computer
Porn blocker: http://download.cnet.com/Porn-blocker/3000-27064_4-75211360.html
Block smart: http://blocksmartsoftware.com/
Net Nanny: https://www.netnanny.com/features/porn-blocking/
STOP P-O-R-N: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Security-Related/P-O-R-N-PATROL.shtml
Browser Extensions
ExtensionParental Controls & Web Filter: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/parental-controls-web-fil/dpfbddcgbimoafpgmbbjiliegkfcjkmn?hl=en
ExtensionWebFilter Pro: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webfilter-pro-the-best-fi/ejgfoklefkbjadjcgjmnhfbdfjolojnn?hl=en
FoxFilter 7.7: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/foxfilter/
Tablets
Metacert for iPad and tables: https://metacert.com/
Smart Phones
http://www.covenanteyes.com/
If you find yourself in a really difficult moment and the urge to watch porn or masturbate has become overwhelming, the NoFap community has also developed an emergency tool.
With this emergency tool you can pick from several options depending on what you are going through, be it rejection, depression, relapse, or just a sudden burning desire to masturbate and it will take you to a random motivational video, image, quote or testimony that should help you get yourself back on track.
When urges get too strong, fapstronaughts are encouraged to first visit the emergency tool before allowing themselves to give in and start watching porn. You can check out the emergency tool here.
Conclusion
NoFap is a great resource for those wanting to overcome their porn addiction and stop wasting their energy and drive on unnecessary ejaculation. The self-reported benefits of participating in NoFap are overwhelmingly positive. For one wishing to improve the quality of their life in all aspects, NoFap is a great place to start. Check out the community for yourself here.
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References:
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/
[2]https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/3ky6pz/block_all_porn_various_methods/
[F1] https://forum.nofap.com/index.php
[F2] https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/2ini4e/it_will_pass/
