I’m on day 31 of my Nofap streak, and I’m reaching out because I’m struggling with something I didn’t expect so soon.
On my last streak, the flatline phase didn’t hit until around day 90. But this time, it’s already here—and it’s hitting hard. I feel emotionally flat, disconnected from everything. There’s no drive, no motivation. Even things I usually enjoy—like watching a movie—feel dull and meaningless. I know the movie is interesting, but I just… feel nothing.
It’s unsettling. I’ve been using prayer and meditation to stay grounded, and they help, but I won’t lie—it still feels heavy. Like I’m just existing in a fog, trying to remember why I started this in the first place.
I know the flatline is a part of the healing process, but it’s hard to hold on to that perspective when you’re in the middle of it. I’m doing my best to stay patient and faithful, but I could really use some encouragement—or just to hear from others who’ve gone through something similar.
How did you handle it when the flatline hit early? What helped you stay grounded and hopeful?
Thanks for taking the time to read. Sending strength to everyone out there walking this path. We’re not alone.
I actually used to enjoy the flatline phase. For me, it was a time to slow down and just rest. After years of constant dopamine hits and overstimulation from fapping, the body needs this downtime to recalibrate.
So when I hit flatline, I’d let myself sleep more, take it easy, and not fight the dullness. It’s like a detox — uncomfortable but necessary. The more you resist it, the worse it feels. But if you accept it, it becomes a time of healing and reset.
You’re doing great by staying grounded in prayer and meditation. Just stay patient — this fog will pass. Energy, motivation, and emotions will return, stronger and purer than before. Hold the line.
I use quite a lot of natural, plant based testosterone boosters and adaptogenic plant extracts.
They work great, but also they make the path harder.
So I advise them only to advanced alchemists and people who train or work a lot to catalyse them.
Hmm
PMO is a deep rooted addiction which touches deeper levels of consciousness in your mind
So you cannot overcome PMO without addressing the root cause of the issue
Which is Lust in human minds
As stange as it might sound,
But I didn’t even experience flatline symptoms or anything
Its because I have completely normalized sex in my mind
Reading books, listening to psychologists, hearing words of wisdom from gurus, history of sex in human kind
All continously non-stop I did for about 1 month
And all the fantasy, cravings, temptations all vanished
I have rewired my mind on sex completely
Presently, sex is now a normal human process which takes place after marriage
Sex is no different for me from bathing, eating, sleeping, excreting etc
Just a normal biological process
Present in all living creatures
Other living creatures do NOT have the wisdom and sense to exercise sex and mating correctly
However we as civilized human beings have the sense to control lust and sex and do it at appropriate time, with appropriate person and for appropriate reason
I reached radical levels of deep understanding the core issue of lust and how human beings suffer from it
Completely brain washing and rewiring myself for 1 month.
And the results are good
I control my senses
My senses do not run wild
I do got temptations seeing random girls on streets rather I respect them as a civilized human
I do not get urges at all
Happy with life
Happy with education and being busy with life
Peace
When I hit my flatline, I sleep a lot. Like 4 times a day. Or I would go on to play any games in my phone. Occasionally I call my friends and speak some topics.
Also I eat or drink the food item which I craved for a long time but didn’t eat it for a while. I would either go with sweet or spicy. Another thing is a hot shower. Sleeping after hot shower is divine. Overall I find my own such ways to relax myself in this phase. Find your own ways to relax yourself bruh @FaithfulWalker
Personally i have struggled in flatline in beginning. I did the meditation, Cold bath, cut one time meals and i walk outside while urges comming. Starting is trouble, days goes you can easily cross it.
flatline is always a hard experience, but not everyone faces it. Maybe it varies from person to person.
Someone people think everyone faces a flatline at some point in their recovery, while others say it doesn’t exist. Science shows that recovery from an addiction does have a flatline phase where the brain rewires itself to normal dopamine levels however the PMO addiction chemically (if not extremely long term) is rather weak so some who quit have gone past flatline without even noticing it because its so mild.
So what I’d advice is not thinking too much about it, how you’re in flatline etc. it is all a product of your mind don’t give it attention. Sure, you may be feeling down but even normal people feel that way. Everyone has mood cycles, some days good some days bad (when these mood cycles become extreme its called Bipolar Disorder) but everyone has these mood cycles.
Probably just a mood cycle. So make sure to spend more time outdoors, very important to get sunlight and good exercise, that in itself will remove most symptoms. And its all just a part of the healing process.
Thank you for tagging me, I appreciate it. To be honest I love how we are sharing our experiences here. But I personally don’t think that much about flatline. I just keep going with doing things that I love the most. Those are the things that make me motivated no matter whether I’m on flatline or not.
If you feel it’s dull and meaningless to watch a movie, then don’t do it, bro, it’s totally okay to stop doing things you don’t enjoy anymore. How about doing things that make you grow, outside of nofap? For me personally, losing the will and motivation to do things that I used to enjoy doesn’t always mean that we’re on flatline.
It can be that there’s really something that we can’t enjoy anymore in that particular activity. Because as we get older, our values do change.
For example, I totally stop playing video games because I simply don’t enjoy it anymore, and more importantly, I feel like it’s meaningless to do that (it’s not as valuable as when I was a kid anymore, no offense here to people who enjoy it when they’re adult), I’m not happy even when I win, and I’m stressed when I lose, and I don’t enjoy the process of playing anymore, so I just simply stopped, and I prefer things that make me grow like reading books or watching podcasts (for self-education) and listening to music and some comedies on YouTube (for entertainment, and these activities for me don’t require tons of energy to do it).
I also try to connect with lots of my friends, this definitely helps because we do need to connect with people who we love.
Hmm I think that’s it for now, bro. Please do lots of self-reflection. Sometimes we need to look within to search for the answer, while keep learning from other available source to understand what we’re facing at the time being. Alright then, good luck!
If it is that bad, try an especific type of meditation: Loving-kindness. If not in the mood for a focused meditation, just wish one person that you love or respect to be happy, and then a random person on the street.
