Reticular Activation System and NoFap
tldr: PMO makes you focus on sexual stimulus, NoFap allows you the opportunity to re-align your focus and reduce thirst.
–Just my opinion from my experience as a guy that just relapsed after some long streaks (20+,30+)–
“The reticular activating system (RAS) denotes that part of the brainstem reticular formation which performs a crucial role in maintaining behavioral arousal, consciousness, and motivation.”
PMO tunes your RAS to search for porn stimulus throughout your daily life. That’s why you might emit a creepy, lacking, or unconfident vibe when you are deep in PMO. Your subconscious mind is searching for a PMO-type stimulus as you go through your day. This is why you end up eating junk food, binging on Netflix, and skipping long term goals when you are on PMO. The difference between a long streak and the day after a binge is drastic. I notice how my RAS is subtly focusing on easy-outs after a relapse. You start checking out girls more on instagram, and it seeps into your life slowly but surely. Your mind is now in a different state where its focus is more sexualized in an over-stimulated, superficial, visual kind of way. If your RAS is completely jacked, your gaze has a perversion to it since you basically have no self-control and just “can’t help but look”. A zoned-out zombie addict.
When this constant stimulus is removed, your RAS begins to adjust. You make conscious efforts to not focus on PMO, and slowly, subconsciously you will not be searching for PMO fixes as well. At this point you will notice a change in your general attitude, presence, and vibe. Girls will trust and respect you more because they can sense your subconscious is not just looking at them to feed a mental fixture of sexual lacking. Instead, your neediness disappears since you don’t actually need PMO or artificial visual stimulus as you did before. This is why all of a sudden people might feel like you stand out among others.
Some girls might find your presence refreshing because of how not-needy, open, confident, and expressive you are; since they are used to guys being needy and fixated on sex. This is why the stereotype of guys being thirsty exists. It’s because they are drinking too much porn soda and aren’t filling their cup with life experiences. Once this happens, the tables turn and you start noticing thirst in others, as yours begins to disappear. Your thirst is not necessarily “quenched” but rather alleviated. Girls that are also in this trap might not be able to relate anymore but thats fine because you will start to attract people that really fit with your lifestyle. Then you realize what you were thirsting for was nothing substantial anyway. This path can really improve a person’s life and I hope it reaches those that need it.
It’s important to redirect your focus to your life’s purpose and things that are fulfilling to you so that your RAS can now be redirected. You’ll start being seriously motivated for these things and that will improve your life situation. If you just do nothing, you are susceptible to falling into another trap. NoFap gives you the opportunity to redirect your focus in whatever area you choose. Some call it sexual transmutation, but this is how I like to think about it; fresh RAS which you can choose to redirect.